Writing Lessons & Advice: Essay Help-Introductions
In school, learning the basics of grammar is not enough. That knowledge base gets put to practice by writing projects like essays, reports, themes, papers, and the like. I’m going to spend a few posts sharing some insight on essay writing.
Essay writing involves a more formal, intellectual, or even reflective approach than creative, fictional, or personal writing might. Where the prompt ideas suggested in the writer’s block post are great for fun story-telling, essay prompts encourage critical thinking on either a real-world topic or on personal life. Additionally, some essays may involve research to support any claims being made in the essay.
Examples of essay prompts and topics:
Write about a time that you failed at something. How did the failure affect you?
Write about a problem that you have or want to solve.
Should schools require their students to wear school uniforms?
Should schools abolish homework?
Are curfews for teenagers effective?
Should unpaid internships be legal?
Should drug possession be decriminalized?
Should some items be taxed more than others? Is there anything that should be exempt from sales tax?
The starting point is one of the toughest parts of a writing project, and essays are no different. Most may know to start with an introductory paragraph, but how is one created? To keep with the cooking theme, think of an introductory paragraph like a restaurant menu: a menu presents its dishes with clever names, sometimes an appealing picture, and highlights the key ingredients. The introduction works the same way by attracting the readers, directly presenting the main idea, and highlighting the supporting ones. This is managed with two primary ingredients: A thesis and a hook.
Thesis:
A thesis statement is a sentence that expresses the main idea and supporting ideas of the written discussion. It is to an essay what noodles are to spaghetti or protein is to sandwiches; the base ingredient, the “meat”, the heart of the essay-writing recipe. Crafting the thesis statement is an important place to start because the rest of the essay can be organized around it. It typically concludes the first paragraph.
A well-prepared thesis statement will clearly express your main idea and the supporting examples. An ideal formula to follow is: (main idea) + (supporting details).
To better illustrate the formula in action, the following example is from a hypothetical essay about the benefits of modern technology: Current technology improves all aspects of life through its features of instant connection and communication, unique tools, and adaptability.
The main idea is: Current technology improves all aspects of life... while the supporting examples behind that are through its features of instant connection and communication, unique tools, and adaptability.
Hook:
In the context of writing, a hook is a brief portion of relevant content meant to attract or “hook” readers into the discussion at hand. They often do so by invoking curiosity, intrigue, shock, surprise, or humor. Oftentimes, the hook can be the first sentences of an introductory paragraph.
Common types of hooks:
an anecdote- a short story, often from personal experience, that ties into the main idea of the essay.
a question- using a “w question”—one that starts with who, what, when, where, why, or how—can be an ideal start because answering them often requires detail and elaboration.
a quote or statistic- a quote is a particular statement or saying, often from a famous or significant source. Quotes come from anywhere meaningful conversation or writing is documented, like one-liners in tv or movies, or from literature, music, religious texts, government or political documents, monologues, or even dictionary definitions.
If you don’t have a relevant quote on-hand, you can find one quickly and easily at :http://www.thequotationstation.com/
A statistic some kind of numeric value incorporated into a fact or statement, like:
Attendance is up fifteen percent.
Stocks increased by forty-two points.
Today’s generation spends five hundred times more hours engaged with screens than their parents did.
YouTube Channel A received fifty-thousand more views this month than YouTube Channel B but Channel B’s videos have eighty-thousand more likes.
Statistics will come from academic, scientific, or business sources, or data collection/records of some kind. To boost the appeal they’ll give to readers, frame them with wording like: Did you know attendance is up fifteen percent? Or: A little-known (or well-known) fact is that YouTube Channel B’s videos have eighty-thousand more likes than YouTube Channel A.
Hooks can be fun but choosing them requires discretion. Relevance is key in using any kind of hook. It needs to relate to your main idea in some way. For instance, an anecdote about your tenth birthday won’t fit in the hypothetical technology essay unless the story relates to a good experience in receiving or using a computer, phone, tablet, gaming device, etc. Conversely, statistics correlating technology with poor health and behavior would not be useful if you are trying to express the opposite idea.
Also, some hooks are more appropriate than others for certain types of writing. Any of these hooks can be used in most MLA style papers but APA or other styles don’t have as much room for creativity. Especially if writing a school assignment or project, be sure to comply with any requirements or criteria of the format or assignment that need to be followed. (Also see lessons on research and style.)
Hopefully this gives you some ideas on how to start your essay. Again, be sure your hook connects to your thesis statement and don’t forget to proofread when completing your draft.
If there's a topic you want me to cover in the future, you're welcome to reach out to me on the web chat feature or socials!
