Introductions to Essays

Are you losing your sleep over your graduate school admission essay? Well, I am sure the most worrisome part of the whole thing must be the big question, 'how do I begin?' Although, you may have written hundreds of essays for your high school projects, writing essay for graduate school admission is indeed unnerving. When you are writing a narrative essay for getting admission in college or for employment purposes, you need to be extra careful about your essay. Introduction or opening paragraph plays a crucial role in determining your chances of admission or employment. Your introduction to an essay reflects a lot about you and help the reader to form an opinion about you, even before they proceed to the rest of your essay. Needless to say, introduction part in essay writing is of immense importance and you have to make it unusual and impressive.

How to Write an Effective Introduction to Essay

There are no introduction etiquette as such and you have the liberty to begin your essay the way you want. However, there certainly are some dos and don'ts while writing introductions for narrative essays.

Choose Your Format
There are certain formats of writing introductions. You may choose any of the following formats as per your personal taste. However, make sure that it goes well with the rest of the content. These include

• Academic
• Creative
• Action
• Dialog
• Overarching Societal Statements
• Personal
• Question
• Quotation

Don't Say Too Much
Stuffing too much of information in your first paragraph itself is extremely detrimental. This is particularly true when you are going for academic or personal introduction where you might be tempted to write too much about yourself. If you load your introductory paragraph with lot of information, you are likely to lose the interest of your reader. Such lengthy introduction may put the reader off, so much so that he may not even bother to read the rest of your essay.

Do Not Summarize
You need to divide the sentences in your introductory paragraph wisely. First 2 - 3 sentences should be used to arouse the interest of the user so that he is intrigued enough to read your essay. The last sentence of the introduction paragraph should exactly and precisely state what the essay is all about. However, do not summarize the points of your essay in a long, complex sentence.

Bring Innovation
Your admissions officer probably reads hundreds of essays in a day. Obviously, his attention is bound to drift after a few hours. So, how can you keep him interested enough, so that he gives your essay a fair chance? A creative or action introduction may do the trick. Narrating certain influential incidences in your life in a creative way may distinguish your essay from the hundreds of others.

Avoid Clichés
When you are using quotations or questions for introductions for narrative essay, avoid clichés under all circumstances. Beginning your essay with sentences like 'To be or not to be' or 'Are you looking for a dynamic and devoted candidate? Well, I am your guy' are a big NO NO! Your essay will most probably land atop a dustbin, without being given a second chance. However, that does not mean that you cannot start your essay with quotations or questions. Just, make sure to render your personalized touch even to the most famous and popular quotes.

Introductions to essays can be written at the end, when you gather a proper insight of your essay. A well drafted conclusion is equally important to give the ultimate finishing touch to your essay. Thus, essay introduction and conclusion should be written after you have properly gathered your thoughts and already have a rough draft of your essay at hand.