The introduction is the most important part of any essay. This fact is well known, and often causes people to spend an excessive amount of time trying to get the introduction as a whole, and in particular the first line, just right.
The content of the introduction is the important part, not the wording. Concentrate on what you intend to say, not on how you wish to say it. If stylistic elegance doesn’t come naturally, then coherence and grammatical accuracy will suffice.
The first task of the introduction is to define the problem. Most examination questions can be interpreted in several different ways, and approached from several angles. Begin the introduction by stating your distinctive ‘take’ on the question. Be careful not to proffer an obviously invalid interpretation. Examiners do not look kindly on those who twist questions to match pre-written essays.
Once the problem has been clearly defined, state the answer that you intend to work toward. A good essay should resemble a mathematical proof. Both the question and the answer are stated at the beginning. An argument is much easier to follow if the reader knows the conclusion in advance.
After stating your intended answer, state in detail exactly how you plan to get from question to answer. The argumentative content of each of the coming paragraphs should be summarized as briefly as possible within the introduction. You will benefit from including this information in your introduction in three ways.
Firstly, it makes life much easier for the examiner. Because he has been forewarned of not only the final conclusion of, but also the route to be taken by the argument, the examiner will have much less difficulty in following that argument, and will thus be more likely to credit the candidate fully for each step. An examiner who is not forced to think is a happy examiner, and happy examiners give high marks.
Secondly, because the introduction has stated that the essay will make a certain set of points, the examiner will be actively looking for those points. If the candidate is very lucky, he may simply tick them off as he finds them, allowing the candidate to get away with substandard evidentiary support. Some tired and hurried examiners may only skim the body of the essay, having read the introduction and conclusion carefully.
Finally, clearly marking out the content of each paragraph in the introduction will reinforce and flesh out your plan. If you are unable to briefly summarize the argumentative content of a paragraph, it may be because the paragraph has no argumentative content, and is thus redundant, or it may because that paragraph should be split into several separate paragraphs.
