points to establish the paper’s context and a (working) thesis statement. This draft introduction and thesis statement will allow the writer to define the scope of the paper,

Read John Powers’ introduction to his essay on the emotional climate in the United States after Barack Obama was elected. Look at how the writer assessed his rhetorical situation, opened his essay, …

You may want to start your Introduction by describing the problem you are trying to solve, or the aim of your work, but as you will see when you examine published work, this is not how most research …

In all college essays, this introductory paragraph contains a thesis statement. Some instructors and courses require the student to use a 1-3-1 essay format. The essay consists of an introductory …

The introduction is a perfect place to establish any relevant context for the information in your essay. You want the readers of your paper to have an idea about what you are going to spend the rest of …

In the example of introduction paragraph listed later in the handout, you will notice a few sentences that introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address.

Note: It is typically a good strategy to revisit your introduction after you’ve written your essay, as your argument and main points may shift during the writing process.