Page 155 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

3. An introduction provides the necessary background.
Background information is not always necessary. But if it is, the

introduction is a good place for it. Background information

tucked into the introduction gives the necessary details without

intruding on the rest of the essay. In an essay about your job,

for instance, the introduction should include where you work

and what you do. Then you won’t have to include the
information as an afterthought. In an essay about a short story

or a novel, your introduction should include the title of the work

and the author’s name. If you are writing about an event in your

life, use the introduction to establish background details such

as your age at the time, where it happened, and who else was

involved.
4. An introduction presents your essay’s thesis.

The most important job of an introductory paragraph is to

present your essay’s thesis. Every sentence in the introduction

should follow a path of logic that leads directly to your thesis,

which will be the last sentence of your introduction. Once you
have stated the thesis, stop. Your body paragraphs will flow

naturally from a thesis that comes at the end of the introduction.