An outline gives you the essay’s plan. The introduction brings the reader in: it catches their interest, gives the context they need, and leads to the thesis.
- A question the essay will answer: “What would you do with an extra hour of sleep?”
- A short scene: “At 6:15 a.m., Maya’s alarm rings for the third time.”
- A surprising fact, from a reliable source.
- A brief quotation that fits the topic.
Key idea
An introduction moves from a hook (a question, a scene, a surprising fact or a quotation) to the context the reader needs, to the thesis, usually its last sentence.
Why it works
Readers decide quickly whether to keep reading. A specific hook gives them a reason to. The context then makes sure everyone, even a reader new to the subject, can follow the thesis when it arrives.
Worked example: Replace a weak opener
Improve: “Since the beginning of time, people have needed sleep.”
- “Since the beginning of time” is a sweeping claim no one can support, and it says nothing specific.
- Replace it with something concrete about this topic: a scene, a question or a specific fact.
Answer: “At 6:15 a.m., Maya’s alarm rings for the third time.”
Worked example: The dictionary opener
What is weak about “Webster’s dictionary defines sleep as a natural state of rest”?
- Every reader already knows what sleep is.
- It uses up the first sentence on nothing new.
- Define a word only when your reader needs the definition, and then in your own context.
Answer: It tells the reader nothing new and delays the point.
Common mistake
Opening with a dictionary definition or a sweeping claim (“Since the beginning of time…”, “In today’s society…”). Check your first sentence: could it begin a hundred different essays? If so, replace it with something that only fits yours.
Many writers draft the introduction last, once they know exactly what the essay says. The sleep figure in the example is the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s recommendation for ages 13 to 18, as the CDC reports it; in your own essays, cite facts like this.