Home > The Introduction of the Essay

This is the beginning portion of the essay, traditionally where the topic is identified.  Furthermore, a more general scope may be outlined in order for the reader to understand the content of the essay in light of the realm in which it exists. The essay introduction leads to the body that follows and, to a significant degree, lets the reader know how to proceed through the essay and what is to be expected ahead. Some guidelines from the writing centre at MIT mentioned that this introductory paragraph should introduce the essay topic, state the position the author is taking with regard to that topic, and also briefly mention what will take place in the essay so as to allow the reader to follow the remainder of the essay more easily.

The thesis statement is practically always found in this introduction, and this is indicative of another hallmark feature of an essay – deal with a single topic and say something about it.  Particularly, the essay is in response to a question or it is kept adequately narrow in order to stay focused and not have incoherent branching off into areas and ideas which are less than pertinent to the topic at hand. In addition, many guides point out that the idea or essay topic most likely does not exist on its own, or "in a vacuum". So, the introduction should also provide necessary background information or specific definitions of terminologies so that the evaluator knows what is intended by the author and how to understand the writing in light of an applicable context.

For students, forming an introduction can be a good training exercise in order to acquaint them with how to make their words relevant and concise at the same time.  Even if there are several facets of a single topic involved, a clear relationship must be established by the end of the essay. Authors must orgainzie their ideas in a coherent way in the essay body, yet must also let the reader know what lies ahead. This not only makes it easier for the evaluator to follow the essay, but it also allows the author to check if they actually understand what they are trying to achieve and how they are going about it.

It follows that, for evaluators, the concise yet detailed introduction makes it easier to identify what exactly the author is trying to convey.  Even if the thesis statement is not clear, the essay itself confines the student within the boundaries of a topic.  As such, from the introduction, the evaluator can pick out key ideas in order to judge how well the student has argued their point and the thoroughness of their analysis and elaboration.