college essay introduction paragraph

How to Write an Introduction Paragraph [50+ Examples]

Writing a captivating introduction paragraph is arguably your most important goal as a writer.

Here is a quick answer for how to write an introduction paragraph:

Write an introduction paragraph by starting with a hook to grab attention, providing necessary context to set the stage, and presenting a clear thesis statement to outline the main idea. Ensure your tone matches your audience, keep the language clear, and smoothly transition into the next section.

As someone with years of writing experience, I’ll guide you through how to write introductory paragraphs with over 50 examples.

What Is an Introductory Paragraph?

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Table of Contents

An introductory paragraph is the opening section of your essay or article.

It sets the stage by providing essential background information, introducing the topic, and presenting the main idea or thesis.

This paragraph is crucial because it establishes the context and framework for the rest of your writing, helping the reader understand the subject and its significance from the very beginning.

The primary goal of an introductory paragraph is to engage the reader.

It should capture their interest and make them want to keep reading.

This can be achieved through various techniques, such as starting with a compelling hook, providing intriguing facts, or posing a thought-provoking question.

A well-crafted introduction not only grabs attention but also guides the reader smoothly into the body of the essay.

Types of Introduction Paragraphs

There are 10 types of introduction paragraphs that you need to know.

Start with a short, interesting story relevant to your topic.
Engages the reader emotionally.
Pose a thought-provoking question.
Invites the reader to ponder and seek answers in your writing.
Use a famous quote related to your topic.
Adds credibility and interest.
Present a surprising fact or statistic.
Captures attention with interesting information.
Define a key term or concept.
Provides clarity and sets the foundation.
Make a strong, controversial statement.
Provokes curiosity and debate.
Paint a vivid picture of a hypothetical situation.
Helps readers visualize and connect.
Give a brief history of your topic.
Provides context and background.
Share a personal anecdote or experience.
Creates a personal connection with the reader.
Speak directly to the reader.
Engages the reader by making it personal.

Here’s How to Write an Introduction Paragraph

You don’t want an okay introduction — you need to wow your reader with a phenomenal opening.

Here’s how to do it.

A hook is the first sentence that grabs the reader’s attention.

It can be a question, a quote, a fact, or an anecdote. A strong hook is crucial because it determines whether the reader will continue reading. From my experience, crafting a compelling hook takes practice.

It should be relevant and intriguing, making the reader want to learn more about your topic.

Providing context helps the reader understand the background of your topic.

This can include historical information, definitions, or a brief overview of the subject. Context is important because it sets the stage for your argument.

Without it, readers may feel lost or confused.

In my writing, I ensure the context is clear and concise, giving readers the information they need to follow my narrative.

3. Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the main idea of your essay or article. It tells the reader what to expect and sets the direction of your writing.

A strong thesis is specific, clear, and debatable.

In my teaching, I emphasize the importance of a well-crafted thesis because it guides the entire piece.

A weak thesis can lead to a disorganized and unfocused essay.

4. Relevance

Explain why your topic is important.

Show the reader why they should care about what you’re writing.

Relevance connects your topic to the reader’s interests or concerns.

I often ask myself, “Why does this matter to my audience?” This helps me ensure my writing is meaningful and engaging.

Your introduction should be clear and easy to understand.

Avoid jargon or complex sentences that could confuse the reader. Clarity is essential for effective communication.

In my experience, simple language and straightforward sentences make a stronger impact.

Always aim for clarity to keep your readers engaged.

The tone of your introduction sets the mood for your entire piece.

It can be formal, informal, serious, or humorous, depending on your audience and purpose.

I always consider my audience when choosing a tone. For academic writing, a formal tone is appropriate.

For a blog post, a conversational tone works better.

The right tone helps connect with your readers.

7. Transition

A smooth transition from your introduction to the body of your essay is essential.

It helps maintain the flow and coherence of your writing.

A good transition links your thesis statement to the main points you’ll discuss. In my writing, I use transitional phrases to guide readers from one idea to the next seamlessly.

This keeps the narrative logical and easy to follow.

Here is a good video about how to write an introduction paragraph:

Examples of Introduction Paragraphs

Other than practice, probably the most important way to learn how to write introduction paragraphs is to read good examples.

Academic Essays

Anecdote : “When I was in high school, I witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of bullying. One incident, in particular, stuck with me. This essay explores the long-term psychological impacts of bullying on teenagers.”
Question : “What would you do if you found yourself stranded on a deserted island? This essay will examine survival strategies and the psychological effects of isolation.”
Quotation : “‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,’ said Nelson Mandela. This paper discusses the role of education in social transformation.”
Fact or Statistic : “Did you know that over 1 billion people lack access to clean water? This essay addresses the global water crisis and potential solutions.”
Definition : “Globalization is the process by which businesses and other organizations develop international influence. This paper explores the economic and cultural impacts of globalization.”
Bold Statement : “Climate change is the single greatest threat to humanity’s future. This essay argues for immediate action to mitigate its effects.”
Scenario : “Imagine waking up in a world where technology has ceased to exist. This essay examines our dependency on technology and its implications for society.”
Historical Overview : “Since the Industrial Revolution, the world has seen unprecedented technological advancements. This paper explores the history and future of technological innovation.”
Personal Experience : “Growing up in a multicultural neighborhood, I learned the value of diversity. This essay discusses the benefits of multiculturalism in modern society.”
Direct Address : “Have you ever wondered what makes a good leader? This essay will delve into the qualities and characteristics that define effective leadership.”
Anecdote : “Last summer, I embarked on a solo backpacking trip through Europe. In this blog post, I’ll share tips and tricks for solo travel.”
Question : “Ever struggled to stay productive while working from home? This blog post offers practical strategies to boost your productivity.”
Quotation : “‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,’ said Lao Tzu. This post explores the importance of taking the first step in achieving your goals.”
Fact or Statistic : “Did you know that 8 out of 10 startups fail within the first 18 months? This blog post examines common pitfalls and how to avoid them.”
Definition : “Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment. In this post, we’ll explore mindfulness techniques to reduce stress.”
Bold Statement : “Social media is destroying our ability to connect in real life. This blog post argues for a digital detox.”
Scenario : “Picture yourself on a serene beach, the sound of waves lapping at the shore. This post will guide you through the best beach destinations for relaxation.”
Historical Overview : “Blogging has come a long way since its inception in the late 1990s. This post traces the evolution of blogging and its impact on media.”
Personal Experience : “After years of struggling with anxiety, I found relief through yoga. This post shares my journey and the benefits of yoga for mental health.”
Direct Address : “Are you tired of yo-yo dieting? This blog post will introduce you to sustainable weight loss strategies that actually work.”

Creative Writing

Anecdote : “As a child, I often got lost in the world of books. This story is a tribute to the power of imagination and the magic of storytelling.”
Question : “What if you could time travel to any era? This story explores the adventures and challenges of a modern-day time traveler.”
Quotation : “‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,’ wrote Shakespeare. This story delves into the complexities of human relationships.”
Fact or Statistic : “Over 3 million shipwrecks lie on the ocean floor. This tale follows a daring expedition to uncover the secrets of a legendary shipwreck.”
Definition : “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. This narrative follows a young hero’s journey to find their inner strength.”
Bold Statement : “True love is just a myth. This story challenges conventional notions of romance and explores what it means to truly connect with another person.”
Scenario : “Imagine a world where dreams are currency. This story takes you on a journey through a fantastical realm where dreams hold unimaginable power.”
Historical Overview : “During the Victorian era, society was obsessed with appearances. This story uncovers the hidden lives of people behind closed doors.”
Personal Experience : “One summer, I decided to hitchhike across the country. This story is inspired by the unforgettable characters I met along the way.”
Direct Address : “Do you believe in fate? This narrative invites you to explore the intertwining destinies of two strangers brought together by chance.”

Technical Writing

Anecdote : “When I first started coding, I encountered countless bugs. This guide will help you debug your code efficiently and effectively.”
Question : “Struggling to understand machine learning? This guide breaks down the basics of machine learning for beginners.”
Quotation : “‘Software is eating the world,’ said Marc Andreessen. This guide explores the impact of software development on modern industries.”
Fact or Statistic : “Over 90% of data has been created in the last two years. This guide explains how to manage and analyze big data.”
Definition : “API stands for Application Programming Interface. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of how to use APIs in your projects.”
Bold Statement : “The future of technology lies in artificial intelligence. This guide delves into the fundamentals of AI and its applications.”
Scenario : “Imagine you’re building a website from scratch. This guide walks you through the essential steps of web development.”
Historical Overview : “The history of programming languages is a fascinating journey. This guide explores the evolution of programming from its inception to the present day.”
Personal Experience : “As a software developer, I’ve faced numerous challenges. This guide shares practical solutions to common programming problems.”
Direct Address : “Are you new to coding? This guide provides step-by-step instructions for beginners to start their coding journey.”

Marketing Copy

Anecdote : “Last year, our sales skyrocketed after implementing a new strategy. This article reveals the secrets behind our success.”
Question : “Looking to boost your brand’s online presence? This guide offers proven techniques to enhance your digital marketing efforts.”
Quotation : “‘Content is king,’ said Bill Gates. This article discusses the importance of high-quality content in digital marketing.”
Fact or Statistic : “Did you know that email marketing has an ROI of 4,400%? This guide explains how to leverage email marketing for maximum results.”
Definition : “SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This article provides an in-depth look at SEO best practices.”
Bold Statement : “Traditional advertising is dead. This article argues for the shift to digital marketing and its benefits.”
Scenario : “Imagine your website appearing at the top of search results. This guide shows you how to achieve top rankings with effective SEO strategies.”
Historical Overview : “The landscape of marketing has drastically changed over the years. This article traces the evolution of marketing from print to digital.”
Personal Experience : “As a marketing professional, I’ve tested numerous strategies. This article shares the most effective techniques I’ve discovered.”
Direct Address : “Do you want to increase your social media engagement? This guide provides actionable tips to grow your audience and boost interaction.”

Final Thoughts: How to Write Introduction Paragraphs

Writing killer intro paragraphs is like setting the stage for an epic adventure—start strong, and the rest will follow.

How to Write an Essay Introduction (with Examples)  

The introduction of an essay plays a critical role in engaging the reader and providing contextual information about the topic. It sets the stage for the rest of the essay, establishes the tone and style, and motivates the reader to continue reading.

What is an essay introduction , what to include in an essay introduction, how to create an essay structure , step-by-step process for writing an essay introduction , how to write an introduction paragraph , how to write a hook for your essay , how to include background information , how to write a thesis statement .

Argumentative Essay Introduction Example:
Expository Essay Introduction Example

Literary Analysis Essay Introduction Example

Check and revise – checklist for essay introduction , key takeaways , frequently asked questions .

An introduction is the opening section of an essay, paper, or other written work. It introduces the topic and provides background information, context, and an overview of what the reader can expect from the rest of the work. 1 The key is to be concise and to the point, providing enough information to engage the reader without delving into excessive detail.

The essay introduction is crucial as it sets the tone for the entire piece and provides the reader with a roadmap of what to expect. Here are key elements to include in your essay introduction:

Hook : Start with an attention-grabbing statement or question to engage the reader. This could be a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or a compelling anecdote.
Background information : Provide context and background information to help the reader understand the topic. This can include historical information, definitions of key terms, or an overview of the current state of affairs related to your topic.
Thesis statement : Clearly state your main argument or position on the topic. Your thesis should be concise and specific, providing a clear direction for your essay.

Before we get into how to write an essay introduction, we need to know how it is structured. The structure of an essay is crucial for organizing your thoughts and presenting them clearly and logically. It is divided as follows: 2

Introduction:  The introduction should grab the reader’s attention with a hook, provide context, and include a thesis statement that presents the main argument or purpose of the essay.
Body:  The body should consist of focused paragraphs that support your thesis statement using evidence and analysis. Each paragraph should concentrate on a single central idea or argument and provide evidence, examples, or analysis to back it up.
Conclusion:  The conclusion should summarize the main points and restate the thesis differently. End with a final statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. Avoid new information or arguments.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write an essay introduction:

Start with a Hook : Begin your introduction paragraph with an attention-grabbing statement, question, quote, or anecdote related to your topic. The hook should pique the reader’s interest and encourage them to continue reading.
Provide Background Information : This helps the reader understand the relevance and importance of the topic.
State Your Thesis Statement : The last sentence is the main argument or point of your essay. It should be clear, concise, and directly address the topic of your essay.
Preview the Main Points : This gives the reader an idea of what to expect and how you will support your thesis.
Keep it Concise and Clear : Avoid going into too much detail or including information not directly relevant to your topic.
Revise : Revise your introduction after you’ve written the rest of your essay to ensure it aligns with your final argument.

Here’s an example of an essay introduction paragraph about the importance of education:

Education is often viewed as a fundamental human right and a key social and economic development driver. As Nelson Mandela once famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” It is the key to unlocking a wide range of opportunities and benefits for individuals, societies, and nations. In today’s constantly evolving world, education has become even more critical. It has expanded beyond traditional classroom learning to include digital and remote learning, making education more accessible and convenient. This essay will delve into the importance of education in empowering individuals to achieve their dreams, improving societies by promoting social justice and equality, and driving economic growth by developing a skilled workforce and promoting innovation.

This introduction paragraph example includes a hook (the quote by Nelson Mandela), provides some background information on education, and states the thesis statement (the importance of education).

This is one of the key steps in how to write an essay introduction. Crafting a compelling hook is vital because it sets the tone for your entire essay and determines whether your readers will stay interested. A good hook draws the reader in and sets the stage for the rest of your essay.

Avoid Dry Fact : Instead of simply stating a bland fact, try to make it engaging and relevant to your topic. For example, if you’re writing about the benefits of exercise, you could start with a startling statistic like, “Did you know that regular exercise can increase your lifespan by up to seven years?”
Avoid Using a Dictionary Definition : While definitions can be informative, they’re not always the most captivating way to start an essay. Instead, try to use a quote, anecdote, or provocative question to pique the reader’s interest. For instance, if you’re writing about freedom, you could begin with a quote from a famous freedom fighter or philosopher.
Do Not Just State a Fact That the Reader Already Knows : This ties back to the first point—your hook should surprise or intrigue the reader. For Here’s an introduction paragraph example, if you’re writing about climate change, you could start with a thought-provoking statement like, “Despite overwhelming evidence, many people still refuse to believe in the reality of climate change.”

Including background information in the introduction section of your essay is important to provide context and establish the relevance of your topic. When writing the background information, you can follow these steps:

Start with a General Statement:  Begin with a general statement about the topic and gradually narrow it down to your specific focus. For example, when discussing the impact of social media, you can begin by making a broad statement about social media and its widespread use in today’s society, as follows: “Social media has become an integral part of modern life, with billions of users worldwide.”
Define Key Terms : Define any key terms or concepts that may be unfamiliar to your readers but are essential for understanding your argument.
Provide Relevant Statistics:  Use statistics or facts to highlight the significance of the issue you’re discussing. For instance, “According to a report by Statista, the number of social media users is expected to reach 4.41 billion by 2025.”
Discuss the Evolution:  Mention previous research or studies that have been conducted on the topic, especially those that are relevant to your argument. Mention key milestones or developments that have shaped its current impact. You can also outline some of the major effects of social media. For example, you can briefly describe how social media has evolved, including positives such as increased connectivity and issues like cyberbullying and privacy concerns.
Transition to Your Thesis:  Use the background information to lead into your thesis statement, which should clearly state the main argument or purpose of your essay. For example, “Given its pervasive influence, it is crucial to examine the impact of social media on mental health.”

A thesis statement is a concise summary of the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, or other type of academic writing. It appears near the end of the introduction. Here’s how to write a thesis statement:

Identify the topic:  Start by identifying the topic of your essay. For example, if your essay is about the importance of exercise for overall health, your topic is “exercise.”
State your position:  Next, state your position or claim about the topic. This is the main argument or point you want to make. For example, if you believe that regular exercise is crucial for maintaining good health, your position could be: “Regular exercise is essential for maintaining good health.”
Support your position:  Provide a brief overview of the reasons or evidence that support your position. These will be the main points of your essay. For example, if you’re writing an essay about the importance of exercise, you could mention the physical health benefits, mental health benefits, and the role of exercise in disease prevention.
Make it specific:  Ensure your thesis statement clearly states what you will discuss in your essay. For example, instead of saying, “Exercise is good for you,” you could say, “Regular exercise, including cardiovascular and strength training, can improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.”

Examples of essay introduction

Here are examples of essay introductions for different types of essays:

Argumentative Essay Introduction Example:

Topic: Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

“The question of whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has sparked nationwide debate. While some argue that 16-year-olds lack the requisite maturity and knowledge to make informed decisions, others argue that doing so would imbue young people with agency and give them a voice in shaping their future.”

Expository Essay Introduction Example

Topic: The benefits of regular exercise

“In today’s fast-paced world, the importance of regular exercise cannot be overstated. From improving physical health to boosting mental well-being, the benefits of exercise are numerous and far-reaching. This essay will examine the various advantages of regular exercise and provide tips on incorporating it into your daily routine.”

Text: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

“Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ is a timeless classic that explores themes of racism, injustice, and morality in the American South. Through the eyes of young Scout Finch, the reader is taken on a journey that challenges societal norms and forces characters to confront their prejudices. This essay will analyze the novel’s use of symbolism, character development, and narrative structure to uncover its deeper meaning and relevance to contemporary society.”

Engaging and Relevant First Sentence : The opening sentence captures the reader’s attention and relates directly to the topic.
Background Information : Enough background information is introduced to provide context for the thesis statement.
Definition of Important Terms : Key terms or concepts that might be unfamiliar to the audience or are central to the argument are defined.
Clear Thesis Statement : The thesis statement presents the main point or argument of the essay.
Relevance to Main Body : Everything in the introduction directly relates to and sets up the discussion in the main body of the essay.

Writing a strong introduction is crucial for setting the tone and context of your essay. Here are the key takeaways for how to write essay introduction: 3

Hook the Reader : Start with an engaging hook to grab the reader’s attention. This could be a compelling question, a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or an anecdote.
Provide Background : Give a brief overview of the topic, setting the context and stage for the discussion.
Thesis Statement : State your thesis, which is the main argument or point of your essay. It should be concise, clear, and specific.
Preview the Structure : Outline the main points or arguments to help the reader understand the organization of your essay.
Keep it Concise : Avoid including unnecessary details or information not directly related to your thesis.
Revise and Edit : Revise your introduction to ensure clarity, coherence, and relevance. Check for grammar and spelling errors.
Seek Feedback : Get feedback from peers or instructors to improve your introduction further.

The purpose of an essay introduction is to give an overview of the topic, context, and main ideas of the essay. It is meant to engage the reader, establish the tone for the rest of the essay, and introduce the thesis statement or central argument.

An essay introduction typically ranges from 5-10% of the total word count. For example, in a 1,000-word essay, the introduction would be roughly 50-100 words. However, the length can vary depending on the complexity of the topic and the overall length of the essay.

An essay introduction is critical in engaging the reader and providing contextual information about the topic. To ensure its effectiveness, consider incorporating these key elements: a compelling hook, background information, a clear thesis statement, an outline of the essay’s scope, a smooth transition to the body, and optional signposting sentences.

The process of writing an essay introduction is not necessarily straightforward, but there are several strategies that can be employed to achieve this end. When experiencing difficulty initiating the process, consider the following techniques: begin with an anecdote, a quotation, an image, a question, or a startling fact to pique the reader’s interest. It may also be helpful to consider the five W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where, why, and how. For instance, an anecdotal opening could be structured as follows: “As I ascended the stage, momentarily blinded by the intense lights, I could sense the weight of a hundred eyes upon me, anticipating my next move. The topic of discussion was climate change, a subject I was passionate about, and it was my first public speaking event. Little did I know , that pivotal moment would not only alter my perspective but also chart my life’s course.”

Crafting a compelling thesis statement for your introduction paragraph is crucial to grab your reader’s attention. To achieve this, avoid using overused phrases such as “In this paper, I will write about” or “I will focus on” as they lack originality. Instead, strive to engage your reader by substantiating your stance or proposition with a “so what” clause. While writing your thesis statement, aim to be precise, succinct, and clear in conveying your main argument.

To create an effective essay introduction, ensure it is clear, engaging, relevant, and contains a concise thesis statement. It should transition smoothly into the essay and be long enough to cover necessary points but not become overwhelming. Seek feedback from peers or instructors to assess its effectiveness.

References

Cui, L. (2022). Unit 6 Essay Introduction.  Building Academic Writing Skills .
West, H., Malcolm, G., Keywood, S., & Hill, J. (2019). Writing a successful essay.  Journal of Geography in Higher Education ,  43 (4), 609-617.
Beavers, M. E., Thoune, D. L., & McBeth, M. (2023). Bibliographic Essay: Reading, Researching, Teaching, and Writing with Hooks: A Queer Literacy Sponsorship. College English, 85(3), 230-242.

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College essay

How to Write a Great College Essay Introduction | Examples

Published on October 4, 2021 by Meredith Testa . Revised on August 14, 2023 by Kirsten Courault.

Admissions officers read thousands of essays each application season, and they may devote as little as five minutes to reviewing a student’s entire application. That means it’s critical to have a well-structured essay with a compelling introduction. As you write and revise your essay , look for opportunities to make your introduction more engaging.

There’s one golden rule for a great introduction: don’t give too much away . Your reader shouldn’t be able to guess the entire trajectory of the essay after reading the first sentence. A striking or unexpected opening captures the reader’s attention, raises questions, and makes them want to keep reading to the end .

Start with a surprise, start with a vivid, specific image, avoid clichés, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

A great introduction often has an element of mystery. Consider the following opening statement.

This opener is unexpected, even bizarre—what could this student be getting at? How can you be bad at breathing?

The student goes on to describe her experience with asthma and how it has affected her life. It’s not a strange topic, but the introduction is certainly intriguing. This sentence keeps the admissions officer reading, giving the student more of an opportunity to keep their attention and make her point.

In a sea of essays with standard openings such as “One life-changing experience for me was …” or “I overcame an obstacle when …,” this introduction stands out. The student could have used either of those more generic introductions, but neither would have been as successful.

This type of introduction is a true “hook”—it’s highly attention-grabbing, and the reader has to keep reading to understand.

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If your topic doesn’t lend itself to such a surprising opener, you can also start with a vivid, specific description.

Many essays focus on a particular experience, and describing one moment from that experience can draw the reader in. You could focus on small details of what you could see and feel, or drop the reader right into the middle of the story with dialogue or action.

Some students choose to write more broadly about themselves and use some sort of object or metaphor as the focus. If that’s the type of essay you’d like to write, you can describe that object in vivid detail, encouraging the reader to imagine it.

Cliché essay introductions express ideas that are stereotypical or generally thought of as conventional wisdom. Ideas like “My family made me who I am today” or “I accomplished my goals through hard work and determination” may genuinely reflect your life experience, but they aren’t unique or particularly insightful.

Unoriginal essay introductions are easily forgotten and don’t demonstrate a high level of creative thinking. A college essay is intended to give insight into the personality and background of an applicant, so a standard, one-size-fits-all introduction may lead admissions officers to think they are dealing with a standard, unremarkable applicant.

Quotes can often fall into the category of cliché essay openers. There are some circumstances in which using a quote might make sense—for example, you could quote an important piece of advice or insight from someone important in your life. But for most essays, quotes aren’t necessary, and they may make your essay seem uninspired.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

Writing process
Transition words
Passive voice
Paraphrasing

Communication

How to end an email
Ms, mrs, miss
How to start an email
I hope this email finds you well
Hope you are doing well

Parts of speech

Personal pronouns
Conjunctions

The introduction of your college essay is the first thing admissions officers will read and therefore your most important opportunity to stand out. An excellent introduction will keep admissions officers reading, allowing you to tell them what you want them to know.

The key to a strong college essay introduction is not to give too much away. Try to start with a surprising statement or image that raises questions and compels the reader to find out more.

Cliché openers in a college essay introduction are usually general and applicable to many students and situations. Most successful introductions are specific: they only work for the unique essay that follows.

In most cases, quoting other people isn’t a good way to start your college essay . Admissions officers want to hear your thoughts about yourself, and quotes often don’t achieve that. Unless a quote truly adds something important to your essay that it otherwise wouldn’t have, you probably shouldn’t include it.

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How to Start a College Essay Perfectly

College Essays

If you've been sitting in front of a blank screen, unsure of exactly how to start a personal statement for college, then believe me—I feel your pain. A great college essay introduction is key to making your essay stand out, so there's a lot of pressure to get it right.

Luckily, being able to craft the perfect beginning for your admissions essay is just like many other writing skills— something you can get better at with practice and by learning from examples.

In this article, I'll walk you through exactly how to start a college essay. We'll cover what makes a great personal statement introduction and how the first part of your essay should be structured. We'll also look at several great examples of essay beginnings and explain why they work, how they work, and what you can learn from them.

What Is the College Essay Introduction For?

Before we talk about how to start a college essay, let's discuss the role of the introduction. Just as your college essay is your chance to introduce yourself to the admissions office of your target college, your essay's beginning is your chance to introduce your writing.

Wait, Back Up—Why Do Colleges Want Personal Statements?

In general, college essays make it easier to get to know the parts of you not in your transcript —these include your personality, outlook on life, passions, and experiences.

You're not writing for yourself but for a very specific kind of reader. Picture it: your audience is an admissions officer who has read thousands and thousands of essays. This person is disposed to be friendly and curious, but if she hasn't already seen it all she's probably seen a good portion of it.

Your essay's job is to entertain and impress this person, and to make you memorable so you don't merely blend into the sea of other personal statements. Like all attempts at charm, you must be slightly bold and out of the ordinary—but you must also stay away from crossing the line into offensiveness or bad taste.

What Role Does the Introduction Play in a College Essay?

The personal statement introduction is basically the wriggly worm that baits the hook to catch your reader. It's vital to grab attention from the get-go—the more awake and eager your audience is, the more likely it is that what you say will really land.

How do you go about crafting an introduction that successfully hooks your reader? Let's talk about how to structure the beginning of your college essay.

How to Structure a Personal Statement Introduction

To see how the introduction fits into an essay, let's look at the big structural picture first and then zoom in.

College Essay Structure Overview

Even though they're called essays, personal statements are really more like a mix of a short story and a philosophy or psychology class that's all about you.

Usually, how this translates is that you start with a really good (and very short) story about something arresting, unusual, or important that happened to you. This is not to say that the story has to be about something important or unusual in the grand scheme of things—it just has to be a moment that stands out to you as defining in some way, or an explanation of why you are the way you are . You then pivot to an explanation of why this story is an accurate illustration of one of your core qualities, values, or beliefs.

The story typically comes in the first half of the essay, and the insightful explanation comes second —but, of course, all rules were made to be broken, and some great essays flip this more traditional order.

College Essay Introduction Components

Now, let's zero in on the first part of the college essay. What are the ingredients of a great personal statement introduction? I'll list them here and then dissect them one by one in the next section:

A killer first sentence: This hook grabs your readers' attention and whets their appetite for your story.
A vivid, detailed story that illustrates your eventual insight: To make up for how short your story will be, you must insert effective sensory information to immerse the reader.
An insightful pivot toward the greater point you're making in your essay: This vital piece of the essay connects the short story part to the part where you explain what the experience has taught you about yourself, how you've matured, and how it has ultimately shaped you as a person.

How to Write a College Essay Introduction

Here's a weird secret that's true for most written work: just because it'll end up at the beginning doesn't mean you have to write it first. For example, in this case, you can't know what your killer first sentence will be until you've figured out the following details:

The story you want to tell
The point you want that story to make
The trait/maturity level/background about you that your essay will reveal

So my suggestion is to work in reverse order! Writing your essay will be much easier if you can figure out the entirety of it first and then go back and work out exactly how it should start.

This means that before you can craft your ideal first sentence, the way the short story experience of your life will play out on the page, and the perfect pivoting moment that transitions from your story to your insight, you must work out a general idea about which life event you will share and what you expect that life event to demonstrate to the reader about you and the kind of person you are.

If you're having trouble coming up with a topic, check out our guide on brainstorming college essay ideas . It might also be helpful to read our guides to specific application essays, such as picking your best Common App prompt and writing a perfect University of California personal statement .

In the next sections of this article, I'll talk about how to work backwards on the introduction, moving from bigger to smaller elements: starting with the first section of the essay in general and then honing your pivot sentence and your first sentence.

How to Write the First Section of Your College Essay

In a 500-word essay, this section will take up about the first half of the essay and will mostly consist of a brief story that illuminates a key experience, an important character trait, a moment of transition or transformation, or a step toward maturity.

Once you've figured out your topic and zeroed in on the experience you want to highlight in the beginning of your essay, here are 2 great approaches to making it into a story:

Talking it out, storyteller style (while recording yourself): Imagine that you're sitting with a group of people at a campfire, or that you're stuck on a long flight sitting next to someone you want to befriend. Now tell that story. What does someone who doesn't know you need to know in order for the story to make sense? What details do you need to provide to put them in the story with you? What background information do they need in order to understand the stakes or importance of the story?
Record yourself telling your story to friends and then chatting about it: What do they need clarified? What questions do they have? Which parts of your story didn't make sense or follow logically for them? Do they want to know more, or less? Is part of your story interesting to them but not interesting to you? Is a piece of your story secretly boring, even though you think it's interesting?

Later, as you listen to the recorded story to try to get a sense of how to write it, you can also get a sense of the tone with which you want to tell your story. Are you being funny as you talk? Sad? Trying to shock, surprise, or astound your audience? The way you most naturally tell your story is the way you should write it.

After you've done this storyteller exercise, write down the salient points of what you learned. What is the story your essay will tell? What is the point about your life, point of view, or personality it will make? What tone will you tell it with? Sketch out a detailed outline so that you can start filling in the pieces as we work through how to write the introductory sections.

How to Write the First Sentence of Your College Essay

In general, your essay's first sentence should be either a mini-cliffhanger that sets up a situation the reader would like to see resolved, or really lush scene-setting that situates your audience in a place and time they can readily visualize. The former builds expectations and evokes curiosity, and the latter stimulates the imagination and creates a connection with the author. In both cases, you hit your goal of greater reader engagement.

Now, I'm going to show you how these principles work for all types of first sentences, whether in college essays or in famous works of fiction.

First Sentence Idea 1: Line of Quoted Direct Speech

"Mum, I'm gay." ( Ahmad Ashraf '17 for Connecticut College )

The experience of coming out is raw and emotional, and the issue of LGBTQ rights is an important facet of modern life. This three-word sentence immediately sums up an enormous background of the personal and political.

"You can handle it, Matt," said Mr. Wolf, my fourth-grade band teacher, as he lifted the heavy tuba and put it into my arms. ( Matt Coppo '07 for Hamilton College )

This sentence conjures up a funny image—we can immediately picture the larger adult standing next to a little kid holding a giant tuba. It also does a little play on words: "handle it" can refer to both the literal tuba Matt is being asked to hold and the figurative stress of playing the instrument.

First Sentence Idea 2: Punchy Short Sentence With One Grabby Detail

I live alone—I always have since elementary school. ( Kevin Zevallos '16 for Connecticut College )

This opener definitely makes us want to know more. Why was he alone? Where were the protective grown-ups who surround most kids? How on earth could a little kid of 8-10 years old survive on his own?

I have old hands. ( First line from a student in Stanford's class of 2012 )

There's nothing but questions here. What are "old" hands? Are they old-looking? Arthritic? How has having these hands affected the author?

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. (Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre )

There's immediately a feeling of disappointment and the stifled desire for action here. Who wanted to go for a walk? And why was this person being prevented from going?

First Sentence Idea 3: Lyrical, Adjective-Rich Description of a Setting

We met for lunch at El Burrito Mexicano, a tiny Mexican lunch counter under the Red Line "El" tracks. ( Ted Mullin '06 for Carleton College )

Look at how much specificity this sentence packs in less than 20 words. Each noun and adjective is chosen for its ability to convey yet another detail. "Tiny" instead of "small" gives readers a sense of being uncomfortably close to other people and sitting at tables that don't quite have enough room for the plates. "Counter" instead of "restaurant" lets us immediately picture this work surface, the server standing behind it, and the general atmosphere. "Under the tracks" is a location deeply associated with being run down, borderline seedy, and maybe even dangerous.

Maybe it's because I live in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where Brett Favre draws more of a crowd on Sunday than any religious service, cheese is a staple food, it's sub-zero during global warming, current "fashions" come three years after they've hit it big with the rest of the world, and where all children by the age of ten can use a 12-gauge like it's their job. ( Riley Smith '12 for Hamilton College )

This sentence manages to hit every stereotype about Wisconsin held by outsiders—football, cheese, polar winters, backwardness, and guns—and this piling on gives us a good sense of place while also creating enough hyperbole to be funny. At the same time, the sentence raises the tantalizing question: maybe what is because of Wisconsin?

High, high above the North Pole, on the first day of 1969, two professors of English Literature approached each other at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour. (David Lodge, Changing Places )

This sentence is structured in the highly specific style of a math problem, which makes it funny. However, at the heart of this sentence lies a mystery that grabs the reader's interest: why on earth would these two people be doing this?

First Sentence Idea 4: Counterintuitive Statement

To avoid falling into generalities with this one, make sure you're really creating an argument or debate with your counterintuitive sentence. If no one would argue with what you've said, then you aren't making an argument. ("The world is a wonderful place" and "Life is worth living" don't make the cut.)

If string theory is really true, then the entire world is made up of strings, and I cannot tie a single one. ( Joanna '18 for Johns Hopkins University )

There's a great switch here from the sub-microscopic strings that make up string theory to the actual physical strings you can tie in real life. This sentence hints that the rest of the essay will continue playing with linked, albeit not typically connected, concepts.

All children, except one, grow up. (J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan )

In just six words, this sentence upends everything we think we know about what happens to human beings.

First Sentence Idea 5: The End—Making the Rest of the Essay a Flashback

I've recently come to the realization that community service just isn't for me. ( Kyla '19 for Johns Hopkins University )

This seems pretty bold—aren't we supposed to be super into community service? Is this person about to declare herself to be totally selfish and uncaring about the less fortunate? We want to know the story that would lead someone to this kind of conclusion.

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. (Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude )

So many amazing details here. Why is the Colonel being executed? What does "discovering" ice entail? How does he go from ice-discoverer to military commander of some sort to someone condemned to capital punishment?

First Sentence Idea 6: Direct Question to the Reader

To work well, your question should be especially specific, come out of left field, or pose a surprising hypothetical.

How does an agnostic Jew living in the Diaspora connect to Israel? ( Essay #3 from Carleton College's sample essays )

This is a thorny opening, raising questions about the difference between being an ethnic Jew and practicing the religion of Judaism, and the obligations of Jews who live outside of Israel to those who live in Israel and vice versa. There's a lot of meat to this question, setting up a philosophically interesting, politically important, and personally meaningful essay.

While traveling through the daily path of life, have you ever stumbled upon a hidden pocket of the universe? ( First line from a student in Stanford's class of 2012 )

There's a dreamy and sci-fi element to this first sentence, as it tries to find the sublime ("the universe") inside the prosaic ("daily path of life").

First Sentence Idea 7: Lesson You Learned From the Story You're Telling

One way to think about how to do this kind of opening sentence well is to model it on the morals that ended each Aesop's fable . The lesson you learned should be slightly surprising (not necessarily intuitive) and something that someone else might disagree with.

Perhaps it wasn't wise to chew and swallow a handful of sand the day I was given my first sandbox, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. ( Meagan Spooner '07 for Hamilton College )

The best part of this hilarious sentence is that even in retrospect, eating a handful of sand is only possibly an unwise idea—a qualifier achieved through that great "perhaps." So does that mean it was wise in at least some way to eat the sand? The reader wants to know more.

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina )

This immediately sets readers to mentally flip through every unhappy family they've ever known to double-check the narrator's assertion. Did he draw the right conclusion here? How did he come to this realization? The implication that he will tell us all about some dysfunctional drama also has a rubbernecking draw.

How to Write a Pivot Sentence in Your College Essay

This is the place in your essay where you go from small to big—from the life experience you describe in detail to the bigger point this experience illustrates about your world and yourself.

Typically, the pivot sentence will come at the end of your introductory section, about halfway through the essay. I say sentence, but this section could be more than one sentence (though ideally no longer than two or three).

So how do you make the turn? Usually you indicate in your pivot sentence itself that you are moving from one part of the essay to another. This is called signposting, and it's a great way to keep readers updated on where they are in the flow of the essay and your argument.

Here are three ways to do this, with real-life examples from college essays published by colleges.

Pivot Idea 1: Expand the Time Frame

In this pivot, you gesture out from the specific experience you describe to the overarching realization you had during it. Think of helper phrases such as "that was the moment I realized" and "never again would I."

Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation. ( Stephen '19 for Johns Hopkins University )

This is a pretty great pivot, neatly connecting the story Stephen's been telling (about having to break into a car on a volunteering trip) and his general reliance on his own resourcefulness and ability to roll with whatever life throws at him. It's a double bonus that he accomplishes the pivot with a play on the word "click," which here means both the literal clicking of the car door latch and the figurative clicking his brain does. Note also how the pivot crystallizes the moment of epiphany through the word "suddenly," which implies instant insight.

But in that moment I realized that the self-deprecating jokes were there for a reason. When attempting to climb the mountain of comedic success, I didn't just fall and then continue on my journey, but I fell so many times that I befriended the ground and realized that the middle of the metaphorical mountain made for a better campsite. Not because I had let my failures get the best of me, but because I had learned to make the best of my failures. (Rachel Schwartzbaum '19 for Connecticut College)

This pivot similarly focuses on a "that moment" of illuminated clarity. In this case, it broadens Rachel's experience of stage fright before her standup comedy sets to the way she has more generally not allowed failures to stop her progress—and has instead been able to use them as learning experiences. Not only does she describe her humor as "self-deprecating," but she also demonstrates what she means with that great "befriended the ground" line.

It was on this first educational assignment that I realized how much could be accomplished through an animal education program—more, in some cases, than the aggregate efforts of all of the rehabilitators. I found that I had been naive in my assumption that most people knew as much about wildlife as I did, and that they shared my respect for animals. ( J.P. Maloney '07 for Hamilton College )

This is another classically constructed pivot, as J.P. segues from his negative expectations about using a rehabilitated wild owl as an educational animal to his understanding of how much this kind of education could contribute to forming future environmentalists and nature lovers. The widening of scope happens at once as we go from a highly specific "first educational assignment" to the more general realization that "much" could be accomplished through these kinds of programs.

Pivot Idea 2: Link the Described Experience With Others

In this pivot, you draw a parallel between the life event that you've been describing in your very short story and other events that were similar in some significant way. Helpful phrases include "now I see how x is really just one of the many x 's I have faced," "in a way, x is a good example of the x -like situations I see daily," and "and from then on every time I ..."

This state of discovery is something I strive for on a daily basis. My goal is to make all the ideas in my mind fit together like the gears of a Swiss watch. Whether it's learning a new concept in linear algebra, talking to someone about a programming problem, or simply zoning out while I read, there is always some part of my day that pushes me towards this place of cohesion: an idea that binds together some set of the unsolved mysteries in my mind. ( Aubrey Anderson '19 for Tufts University )

After cataloging and detailing the many interesting thoughts that flow through her brain in a specific hour, Aubrey uses the pivot to explain that this is what every waking hour is like for her "on a daily basis." She loves learning different things and finds a variety of fields fascinating. And her pivot lets us know that her example is a demonstration of how her mind works generally.

This was the first time I've been to New Mexico since he died. Our return brought so much back for me. I remembered all the times we'd visited when I was younger, certain events highlighted by the things we did: Dad haggling with the jewelry sellers, his minute examination of pots at a trading post, the affection he had for chilies. I was scared that my love for the place would be tainted by his death, diminished without him there as my guide. That fear was part of what kept my mother and me away for so long. Once there, though, I was relieved to realize that Albuquerque still brings me closer to my father. ( Essay #1 from Carleton College's sample essays )

In this pivot, one very painful experience of visiting a place filled with sorrowful memories is used as a way to think about "all the other times" the author had been to New Mexico. The previously described trip after the father's death pivots into a sense of the continuity of memory. Even though he is no longer there to "guide," the author's love for the place itself remains.

Pivot Idea 3: Extract and Underline a Trait or Value

In this type of pivot, you use the experience you've described to demonstrate its importance in developing or zooming in on one key attribute. Here are some ways to think about making this transition: "I could not have done it without characteristic y , which has helped me through many other difficult moments," or "this is how I came to appreciate the importance of value z, both in myself and in those around me."

My true reward of having Stanley is that he opened the door to the world of botany. I would never have invested so much time learning about the molecular structure or chemical balance of plants if not for taking care of him. ( Michaela '19 for Johns Hopkins University )

In this tongue-in-cheek essay in which Michaela writes about Stanley, a beloved cactus, as if "he" has human qualities and is her child, the pivot explains what makes this plant so meaningful to its owner. Without having to "take care of him," Michaela "would never have invested so much time learning" about plant biology. She has a deep affinity for the natural sciences and attributes her interest at least partly to her cactus.

By leaving me free to make mistakes and chase wild dreams, my father was always able to help ground me back in reality. Personal responsibilities, priorities and commitments are all values that are etched into my mind, just as they are within my father's. ( Olivia Rabbitt '16 for Connecticut College )

In Olivia's essay about her father's role in her life, the pivot discusses his importance by explaining his deep impact on her values. Olivia has spent the story part of her essay describing her father's background and their relationship. Now, she is free to show how without his influence, she would not be so strongly committed to "personal responsibilities, priorities and commitments."

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College Essay Introduction Examples

We've collected many examples of college essays published by colleges and offered a breakdown of how several of them are put together . Now, let's check out a couple of examples of actual college essay beginnings to show you how and why they work.

Sample Intro 1

A blue seventh place athletic ribbon hangs from my mantel. Every day, as I walk into my living room, the award mockingly congratulates me as I smile. Ironically, the blue seventh place ribbon resembles the first place ribbon in color; so, if I just cover up the tip of the seven, I may convince myself that I championed the fourth heat. But, I never dare to wipe away the memory of my seventh place swim; I need that daily reminder of my imperfection. I need that seventh place.

Two years ago, I joined the no-cut swim team. That winter, my coach unexpectedly assigned me to swim the 500 freestyle. After stressing for hours about swimming 20 laps in a competition, I mounted the blocks, took my mark, and swam. Around lap 14, I looked around at the other lanes and did not see anyone. "I must be winning!" I thought to myself. However, as I finally completed my race and lifted my arms up in victory to the eager applause of the fans, I looked up at the score board. I had finished my race in last place. In fact, I left the pool two minutes after the second-to-last competitor, who now stood with her friends, wearing all her clothes.

(From "The Unathletic Department" by Meghan '17 for Johns Hopkins University )

Why Intro Sample 1 Works

Here are some of the main reasons that this essay's introduction is super effective.

#1: It's Got a Great First Sentence

The sentence is short but still does some scene setting with the descriptive "blue" and the location "from my mantel." It introduces a funny element with "seventh place"—why would that bad of a showing even get a ribbon? It dangles information just out of reach, making the reader want to know more: what was this an award for? Why does this definitively non-winning ribbon hang in such a prominent place of pride?

#2: It Has Lots of Detail

In the intro, we get physical actions: "cover up the tip," "mounted the blocks," "looked around at the other lanes," "lifted my arms up," and "stood with her friends, wearing all her clothes." We also get words conveying emotion: "mockingly congratulates me as I smile," "unexpectedly assigned," and "stressing for hours." Finally, we get descriptive specificity in the precise word choice: "from my mantel" and "my living room" instead of simply "in my house," and "lap 14" instead of "toward the end of the race."

#3: It Explains the Stakes

Even though everyone can imagine the lap pool, not everyone knows exactly what the "500 freestyle" race is. Meghan elegantly explains the difficulty by describing herself freaking out over "swimming 20 laps in a competition," which helps us to picture the swimmer going back and forth many times.

#4: It Has Great Storytelling

We basically get a sports commentary play-by-play here. Even though we already know the conclusion—Meghan came in 7th—she still builds suspense by narrating the race from her point of view as she was swimming it. She's nervous for a while, and then she starts the race.

Close to the end, she starts to think everything is going well ("I looked around at the other lanes and did not see anyone. 'I must be winning!' I thought to myself."). Everything builds to an expected moment of great triumph ("I finally completed my race and lifted my arms up in victory to the eager applause of the fans") but ends in total defeat ("I had finished my race in last place").

Not only that, but the mildly clichéd sports hype is hilariously undercut by reality ("I left the pool two minutes after the second-to-last competitor, who now stood with her friends, wearing all her clothes").

#5: It Uses a Pivot Sentence

This essay uses the time expansion method of pivoting: "But, I never dare to wipe away the memory of my seventh place swim; I need that daily reminder of my imperfection. I need that seventh place." Coming last in the race was something that happened once, but the award is now an everyday experience of humility.

The rest of the essay explores what it means for Meghan to constantly see this reminder of failure and to transform it into a sense of acceptance of her imperfections. Notice also that in this essay, the pivot comes before the main story, helping us "hear" the narrative in the way she wants us to.

Sample Intro 2

"Biogeochemical. It's a word, I promise!" There are shrieks and shouts in protest and support. Unacceptable insults are thrown, degrees and qualifications are questioned, I think even a piece of my grandmother's famously flakey parantha whizzes past my ear. Everyone is too lazy to take out a dictionary (or even their phones) to look it up, so we just hash it out. And then, I am crowned the victor, a true success in the Merchant household. But it is fleeting, as the small, glossy, plastic tiles, perfectly connected to form my winning word, are snatched out from under me and thrown in a pile with all the disgraced, "unwinning" tiles as we mix for our next game of Bananagrams. It's a similar donnybrook, this time ending with my father arguing that it is okay to use "Rambo" as a word (it totally is not).

Words and communicating have always been of tremendous importance in my life: from silly games like Bananagrams and our road-trip favorite "word game," to stunted communication between opposing grandparents, each speaking a different Indian language; from trying to understand the cheesemonger behind the counter with a deep southern drawl (I just want some Camembert!), to shaping a script to make people laugh.

Words are moving and changing; they have influence and substance.

From an Essay by Shaan Merchant ‘19 for Tufts University

Why Intro Sample 2 Works

Let's take a look at what qualities make this essay's introduction particularly memorable.

With the first sentence, we are immediately thrust into the middle of the action —into an exciting part of an argument about whether "biogeochemical" is really a word. We're also immediately challenged. Is this a word? Have I ever heard it before? Does a scientific neologism count as a word?

#2: It Shows Rather Than Tells

Since the whole essay is going to be about words, it makes sense for Shaan to demonstrate his comfort with all different kinds of language:

Complex, elevated vocabulary, such as "biogeochemical" and "donnybrook"
Foreign words, such as "parantha" and "Camembert"
Colorful descriptive words, such as "shrieks and shouts," "famously flakey, "whizzes past," and "hash it out"
"Fake" words, such as "unwinning" and "Rambo"

What's great is that Shaan is able to seamlessly mix the different tones and registers these words imply, going from cerebral to funny and back again.

#3: It Uses a Pivot Sentence

This essay uses the value-extraction style of pivot: "Words and communicating have always been of tremendous importance in my life." After we see an experience linking Shaan's clear love of his family with an interest in word games, he clarifies that this is exactly what the essay will be about—using a very straightforward pivoting sentence.

#4: It Piles On Examples to Avoid Vagueness

The danger of this kind of pivot sentence is slipping into vague, uninformative statements, such as "I love words." To avoid making a generalization the tells us nothing, the essay builds a list of examples of times when Shaan saw the way that words connect people: games ("Bananagrams and our road-trip favorite ‘word game,'"), his mixed-language family ("grandparents, each speaking a different Indian language"), encounters with strangers ("from trying to understand the cheesemonger"), and finally the more active experience of performing ("shaping a script to make people laugh").

But the essay stops short of giving so many examples that the reader drowns. I'd say three to five examples is a good range—as long as they're all different kinds of the same thing.

The Bottom Line: How to Start a College Essay

The college essay introduction should hook your reader and make her want to know more and read more.

Good personal statement introductions will contain the following features:

A killer first line
A detailed description of an experience from your life
A pivot to the bigger picture, in which you explain why and how this experience has shaped you, your point of view, and/or your values.

You don't have to write the introduction first, and you certainly don't have to write your first sentence first . Instead, start by developing your story by telling it out loud to a friend. You can then work on your first sentence and your pivot.

The first sentence should either be short, punchy, and carry some ambiguity or questions, or be a detailed and beautiful description setting an easily pictured scene. The pivot, on the other hand, should answer the question, "How does the story you've told connect to a larger truth or insight about you?"

What's Next?

Wondering what to make of the Common Application essay prompts? We have the complete list of this year's Common App prompts with explanations of what each is asking as well as a guide to picking the Common App prompt that's perfect for you .

Thinking of applying to the University of California system? Check out our detailed guide on how to approach their essay prompts and craft your ideal UC essay .

If you're in the middle of the essay-writing process, you'll want to see our suggestions on what essay pitfalls to avoid .

Working on the rest of your college application? Read what admissions officers wish applicants knew before applying .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

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Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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How To Write An Essay

Essay Introduction

Writing an Essay Introduction - Step by Step Guide

Published on: Dec 26, 2020

Last updated on: Jul 23, 2024

What is a Good Essay Introduction?

An introduction is good if it gives a clear idea of what an essay is about. It tells the reader what to expect from the type of academic writing you are presenting.

However, it should strike a balance between being informative and engaging, avoiding excessive detail that may lead to confusion.

A strong introduction is engaging, attractive, and also informative. Itâs important to note that an essay introduction paragraph should not be too short or too long.

Remember, the introduction sets the stage for the body of your essay. So, keep it concise and focused while hinting at the critical elements you'll explore in more depth later.

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How to Write an Essay Introduction?

Crafting an effective essay introduction is essential for capturing your reader's attention and setting the tone for your entire piece of writing. To ensure your introduction is engaging and impactful, you can follow an introduction format.

Here is the essay introduction format that will help you write an introduction for your essay easily.

1. Hook Sentence

A hook sentence is a must for the introductory part of an essay. It helps to keep the reader engaged in your content and seek the readerâs attention. It is an attention-grabbing sentence that develops the interest of the reader. It develops the anxiousness of reading the complete essay.

You can use the following as the hook sentence in your essay introduction:

A famous quotation
An interesting fact
An anecdote

All of the above are attention-grabbing things that prove to be perfect for a hook sentence.

Not sure how to create an attention-grabbing hook statement? Check out these hook statement examples to get a better idea!

2. Background Information

Once you have provided an interesting hook sentence, it's time that you provide a little background information related to your essay topic.

The background information should comprise two or three sentences. The information should include the reason why you chose the topic and what is the expected scope of the topic.

Also, clarify the theme and nature of your essay.

3. Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a significant element of not just the introduction but also the whole essay. It is a statement that gives an overview of your complete essay.

It should be written in such a way that the reader can have an idea about the whole purpose of your essay.

Before you write a thesis statement for your essay, try looking into some thesis statement examples. It will help you write a meaningful statement for your essay.

A thesis statement is mentioned after the background information and before the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. The last sentence of the introduction is a transitional sentence.

Need more information on crafting an impactful thesis statement? Read this insightful guide on writing a thesis statement to get started!

4. Transition Sentence

To end the introduction paragraph in a good way, a transition sentence is used. This sentence helps to relate the introduction to the rest of the essay.

In such a sentence, we mention a hint about the elements that we will be discussing next.

Check out this list of transition words to write a good transition sentence.

Essay Introduction Template

Essay Introduction Starters

The introduction of your essay plays a crucial role in captivating your readers and setting the tone for the rest of your paper.

To help you craft an impressive introduction, here are some effective essay introduction phrases that you can use:

"In today's society, [topic] has become an increasingly significant issue."
"From [historical event] to [current trend], [topic] has shaped our world in numerous ways."
"Imagine a world where [scenario]. This is the reality that [topic] addresses."
"Have you ever wondered about [question]? In this essay, we will explore the answers and delve into [topic]."
"Throughout history, humanity has grappled with the complexities of [topic]."

Here are some more words to start an introduction paragraph with:

"Throughout"
"In today's"
"With the advent of"
"In recent years"
"From ancient times"

Remember, these words are just tools to help you begin your introduction. Choose the words that best fit your essay topic and the tone you want to set.

Essay Introduction Examples

To help you get started, here are some examples of different essay types:

Argumentative Essay Introduction Examples

In an argumentative essay, we introduce an argument and support the side that we think is more accurate. Here is a short example of the introduction of a short argumentative essay.

Reflective Essay Introduction Examples

A writer writes a reflective essay to share a personal real-life experience. It is a very interesting essay type as it allows you to be yourself and speak your heart out.

Here is a well-written example of a reflective essay introduction.

Controversial Essay Introduction Examples

A controversial essay is a type of expository essay. It is written to discuss a topic that has controversy in it.

Below is a sample abortion essay introduction

Here are some more examples:

Essay introduction body and conclusion

Heritage Day essay introduction

Covid-19 essay introduction body conclusion

Tips for Writing an Essay Introduction

The following are some tips for what you should and should not do to write a good and meaningful essay introduction.

Do grab the reader's attention with a captivating opening sentence.
Do provide a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument of your essay.
Do give a brief overview of the key points you will discuss in the body paragraphs.
Do use relevant and engaging examples or anecdotes to support your introduction.
Do consider the tone and style that best suits your essay topic and audience.
Do revise and edit your introduction to ensure it flows smoothly with the rest of your essay.
Don't use clichÃ©s or overused phrases as your opening line.
Don't make your introduction overly lengthy or complex .
Don't include unnecessary background information that doesn't contribute to the main idea.
Don't introduce new information or arguments in the introduction that will be discussed later in the body paragraphs.
Don't use informal language or slang unless it aligns with the essay's purpose and audience.
Don't forget to proofread your introduction for grammar and spelling errors before finalizing it.

Remember to follow the do's and avoid the don'ts to create an impactful opening that hooks your readers from the start.

Now you know the steps and have the tips and tools to get started on creating your essayâs introduction. However, if you are a beginner, it can be difficult for you to do this task on your own.

This is what our professional essay writing service is for! We have a team of professional writers who can help you with all your writing assignments. Also, we have a customer support team available 24/7 to assist you.

Place your order now, and our customer support representative will get back to you right away. Try our essay writer ai today!

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Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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How to Write a Compelling College Essay Introduction? + [Examples]

EssayEdge > Blog > How to Write a Compelling College Essay Introduction? + [Examples]

This article provides simple yet effective guidance on how to write a college essay introduction. You’ll learn what makes a great introduction and how it should be structured.

Additionally, it offers some examples of successful introductions and do’s and don’ts that will help ensure your intro “wows” the admissions officers and sets the stage for the rest of the essay.

A general rule to follow is this: Move your most compelling experience to the forefront and structure your essay around it.

Table of Contents:

What Makes a Great First Paragraph of an Essay?

The main components of a compelling introduction for a college essay include:

An attention-grabbing first sentence that hooks the reader.
A vivid yet short story that illustrates your insights and contains effective sensory information.
An insightful pivot that serves as a bridge between the life experience you describe and the part where you elucidate the lessons you have learned about yourself, your growth, and the impact of the experience on your personality.

Here’s a Great Outline to Follow:

I. Introduction A. Attention-Grabber B. Personal Connection C. Purpose Statement D. Thesis Statement

How to Start a College Essay [With Examples & Explanations]

1. begin with an attention-grabber.

The opening sentence of your essay should function as a “ hook ,” capturing the reader’s attention and enticing them to continue reading. This sentence should offer intriguing details, pique the reader’s curiosity, or differentiate itself from the rest of the essay in some way.

These are the four most effective ways to do it:

By Including an Anecdote or a Personal Story: A short personal insight or experience that relates to the broader theme of the essay and highlights your qualities. Example: “I quickly ran through my speech in my mind. While I waited to present, my hands shook from nervousness, and my entire body began to break out in a cold sweat. As I looked out at my fellow student senators of the Judiciary Committee, I forced myself to take a deep breath. Then I launched into talking about my proposed bill.” Why It Works: In this college essay intro, the author describes a relatable and high-stakes situation – giving a speech in front of peers – that immediately draws the reader in. It also reveals the author’s vulnerability, helping the reader connect with them personally and showing their determination and willingness to take on challenges.
By Posing a Rhetorical Question: A question that makes a point rather than elicits a direct answer. It can also be used to emphasize a particular idea. Example: “Who would have ever imagined how far I would come from the days when I was just a quiet little boy with a humiliating speech disorder?” Why It Works: This question highlights the author’s personal growth and transformation, contrasting their past struggles with their present-day accomplishments. Additionally, it creates a sense of curiosity and anticipation, encouraging the reader to continue reading to learn more about the author’s story.
By Making a Bold Statement: A b, assertive declaration that often challenges conventional thinking or presents a unique perspective. Example: “I hate to admit it, but I have been doing ballet for the past 10 years, and I am not very good at it.” Why It Works: By admitting their weakness or lack of skill in ballet, the author demonstrates vulnerability and humility, establishing a connection with the reader. The statement also suggests that the author is being honest and genuine about their abilities rather than trying to present themselves in an overly positive way. This helps build trust with the reader and makes the essay more credible and interesting to read.
By Adding an Immersive Description: A descriptive scene that allows the reader to fully immerse into a specific moment or setting relevant to your essay. Example: “That’s another worm burner,’ my grandfather remarked, a smile creeping across his face as my fairway shot skipped, low and angrily, in the general direction of the hole. I looked down at where the ball had been; I had hit the top of the ball, a fluke that causes a speedy, low, and wimpy shot.” Why It Works: This immersive description uses vivid sensory details to transport the reader to the golf play scene and create a clear picture in their mind. The phrase “worm burner” is a colorful and memorable way to describe the type of shot the author hit, and the description of the shot skipping “low and angrily” helps to convey a sense of movement and emotion. The author’s action of looking down at where the ball had been and noticing that they hit the top of the ball adds a layer of self-reflection and analysis to the scene, making it more engaging for the reader.

2. Establish a Connection

And what better way to do it than through sharing a brief insight into your background or interests that relate to the story you’re about to tell?

Example: “I am who I am today because of what came after the split: my step-parents. Because I met them at such a young age, my step-parents influenced my personality just as much as my biological parents. In fact, people often tell me that I am ‘just like my dad,’ referring to my step-dad, or that I act ‘just like my mom,’ referring to my step-mom.”

Why It Works: In this example, the author shares a personal experience of growing up with step-parents and how it has shaped their personality. They also describe how people often comment on their similarities to their step-parents, which suggests a close and meaningful relationship. Such a personal connection will undoubtedly resonate with readers who have experienced significant life changes.

3. State the Purpose of Your Essay

In this part of your college essay starters, the committee will expect you to clearly explain why you’re writing this essay and what you want them to take away from it.

Example: “After three years’ of study in the U.S., I’ve decided to apply to Harvard Business School to pursue my dream of achieving high-quality college education to be competent and effective in the world of business.”

Why It Works: This statement clearly outlines the author’s goal of pursuing a college education to become competent in the world of business. The rest of the paragraph provides background for this goal, emphasizing their motivation and determination to move forward.

4. Present the Main Argument or Thesis Statement

This part of your introduction provides a roadmap for the reader. To be successful, it should succinctly summarize the central point you will argue or support throughout the rest of your essay.

Example: “It did not take me long to make up my mind – I wanted to pursue this path in college.”

Why It Works: This statement is clear, focused, and demonstrates the author’s potential for success in college – attributes committees often seek in applicants.

Expert tip: Include specific, descriptive adjectives in your introduction. This will help paint a detailed image in the admissions officer’s mind and make your writing more memorable.

Do’s and Dont’s of How to Start Your College Essay

Here are a few basic do’s and don’ts to help you write a b college admission essay that wins the committee’s hearts from the very first paragraph.

Keep It Brief Ideally, limit your introduction to 80-150 words long or up to 20% of the word count of the entire college essay.
Use Natural Language and Be Honest The admissions officers want to read your unique, authentic voice . Therefore, try to use language that feels natural and reflects your personality. Additionally, be honest in your writing, and only make assertions you can support with evidence. Example: “First, I have b leadership and entrepreneurial skills. My mom is a businesswoman, and she owns four companies in China. When I was a middle school student, she brought me to listen to the Harvard University MBA lesson. Even though I was just a child, I listened and learned how to manage my time, how to collect the necessary resources to reach a goal, how to set up a goal, and how to achieve it. I bring that knowledge with me, and I act more maturely than my peers. When I was a freshman in high school, I was a class monitor and secretary of the Committee X. When I went to college, I became a CFO of Company X. We earned $500K from that, which we donated to local homeless women.”
Write It Last While the introduction appears at the beginning of the essay, writing it first is not always a good idea. If you find the introduction challenging or experience writer’s block, consider writing the rest of the essay first. Later, it will be much easier for you to return to the introduction and add a captivating yet relevant hook.
Proofread Your Essay It’s especially important for the introductory part as it provides the first impression to the admissions officer. Any mistake in grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and use of vocabulary in the introduction would be similar to showing up late for an interview for a job and in ragged jeans. Not the kind of impression you want to make, right? Therefore, proofreading your introduction multiple times before sending it off is a definite must.

Here are some tips to make sure your introduction for college essay is mistake-free:

Use Grammarly’s spell-checker tool.
Ask your English teacher or friend to review your writing.
Highlight all the necessary sentences in your introduction and eliminate those that will not alter the effectiveness of your introduction once omitted.
Don’t Use Predictable Introductory Techniques The purpose of your introduction is to catch the attention of the admissions officer among the pool of other candidates’ works they have read. This means you must avoid vague sentences, cliches, and formulaic essay writing at all costs. Examples: “The obstacles I’ve experienced have played a significant role in shaping my identity and character.” “In my essay, I will tell you about…” Rather than that, try to be as imaginative as possible to tell your story in a different way, and the hard work will pay off. Example: “I’d like a cheeseburger,’ I stuttered as my friends and I approached the counter of our local Golden Arches franchise. ‘Except minus the burger and extra lettuce, please.’ While the person behind the counter at least tried to hide the look of disbelief, my friends openly questioned my sanity. This automatically launched me into explaining the reasons behind my pescetarian diet, which I enthusiastically described like a docent explaining a masterpiece to museum visitors. I believe that my diet is the culmination of my values and experiences, representing the impetus of who I am. It represents my values of compassion and ethics; it represents my courage to support non-conventional beliefs; and, most importantly, it represents my love for the environment and passion for sustainability.”
Don’t Use Multi-Syllable Vocabulary Words Of course, you can include a few advanced words in your writing to impress the admissions officers. However, make sure not to overdo it. Otherwise, your introduction will not only sound unnatural but might also have adverse effects. Remember, the admissions officers want to read your unique, authentic voice in the first place. Examples : spectacular, conscientious, donnybrook, etc.
Don’t Overwhelm Your Reader with Details or Irrelevant Data Your introduction should be clear, concise, focused, and relevant to the topic. Therefore, avoid including unnecessary or irrelevant information that doesn’t contribute to your main argument. Instead, stick to the essentials and make every word count. Summarizing your accomplishments, experiences, or qualifications will also do no good.

Handling Sensitive or Controversial Topics in a Personal Essay

Writing on a topic that’s too controversial or sensitive is always tricky, especially when it comes to college admissions. “Yes, I know that. But how should I start my college essay if it needs to address a topic I’d prefer to avoid?” you might ask.

First and foremost, try to take an honest look at that situation and turn it around so that it’s relatable and demonstrates your growth trajectory. Tell it in the kindest, most authentic way you can. Couple this with how this particular institution would fit that trajectory, and you’re halfway to success!

Another trick when writing about potentially sensitive topics is to be more general about the sensational parts (e.g., describing someone’s illness, injury, or disability). In other words, just provide enough information for the reader to understand what you are talking about, but don’t go into too much detail.

Example: “I grew up in a household where the term ’failure’ was defined as an opportunity to try again. Up until a week ago, this definition was simple for me to uphold. Whenever I failed, I was able to pinpoint where I went wrong and improve until I reached my goal. Then, on September 10, 2023, I received a call from my leader, James, who explained that my nine-month-old Golden Retriever, Toronto, was being career-changed due to anxiety issues stemming from a disability. This meant that he could never be a service dog and, instead, would be put up for adoption.”

A compelling college essay introduction is key to making your candidacy stand out, so there’s a lot of pressure to get it right. However, with proper preparation, creativity, genuineness, and truthfulness, you’ll nail the task!

Write straight into the emotional center of admissions officers, including vivid details that touch upon anything from sight to touch.

Write toward vulnerability. Open up. Share your feelings, thoughts, and opinions, and you’ll definitely make the admissions officer interested in what you have to say.

For more details on how to start a college essay, you can refer to the EssayEdge blog.

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College Essay Introduction Examples

Reading some college essay introduction examples is a great place to start if you’re struggling to begin writing your college essay. The college essay is a significant hurdle for many college applicants but reading sample college essays can help inspire your writing. Knowing how to write a killer introduction, though, is the first step, as the introduction of your essay can make or break your entire essay. In this blog, we’ll learn why the college essay introduction is so important, how to structure it and a step-by-step guide on how to write a killer essay introduction. We’ve also included some college essay introduction examples to guide you!

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Article Contents 7 min read

Why the college essay introduction is so important.

Your college essay can be vital to your admission to your top school, and the introduction of your college essay can make it or break it. The introduction of your college admissions essay, or common app essay , is often overlooked, but it is a crucial part of the overall essay. Why? Because your introduction is quite literally the first opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions committee, and you need to make an impression. Getting into college requires more than high grades and good test scores nowadays. You need a well-rounded and impressive application. And to do this you need to know how to write a college essay . To write an essay that stands out from the crowd and makes you a memorable candidate for admission, you’ll need to know how to write an excellent college essay introduction.

The introduction of your college essay is so crucial because it is what first grabs your reader’s attention. Like any good piece of writing, if you don’t snag your reader’s interest in the first sentence, they won’t be inclined to read the rest of your essay. And you need them to be interested and engaged so you can make your point. A college essay counts for a significant portion of your overall candidacy as a college applicant. It can even be your secret to how to get into college with a low GPA . But writing essays is not easy, and introductions can be especially tricky for students to write. This is why plenty of college applicants hire college essay advisors to help them write their common app essays or supplemental college essays .

If you plan to apply to any of the schools which use the common app essay, you’ll be somewhat familiar with the required short essay format and structure. Your college essay will be around 250-650 words maximum, so your introduction needs to be fairly concise. It’s best to keep your introduction just a few sentences long, so you’ll need to be very wise with your words and make the most of each one. You may also want to add a title to your essay. This is not a requirement and should only be included if you think the title adds something significant. Otherwise, leave it out.

Here’s a list of what to include in your college essay introduction:

A college essay needs to have good flow, and this starts in the introduction. This means your \u201chook\u201d sentence needs to connect to the rest of your introduction, and then needs to connect seamlessly to your body paragraphs. Your writing should follow a clear path from your hook to your conclusion. One way to keep good flow is to use a strong transition sentence, but another way is to guide your reader. The second sentence, after your hook, shouldn\u2019t be unrelated or step away from your point, it should lead your reader to the reason why you are writing this essay. ","label":"Good flow","title":"Good flow"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

Before any writing can begin, we’ll need to start the brainstorming process. This is essentially gathering and writing down the key experiences, significant moments and important lessons you have learned throughout your life. Everyone’s experiences are unique, and the ideas you write down may vary depending on your situation. If you’re a non-traditional college applicant, you might write about the gap year you took after high school, or why you’re going back to college after years of working in your field. International students might write about their decision to study overseas or their experience with culture shock. First time college applicants may draw on their experiences with summer programs for high school students or the work experiences they’ve included in their high school resume .

Your choice of essay topic or the personal experiences you choose to highlight in your essay may also be influenced by the essay prompt or essay question, if the school provides one. If this is the case, you can reflect on which prompt or question resonates most with you or choose to write more than one essay if more than one prompt resonates. For schools that do not provide a question or essay prompt, you can reflect on your future career goals, personal goals or the reasons why you are applying to college.

Whatever your situation or your story, gather all of the personal experiences you can think of and jot them down. Brainstorming is an important process, but they key is to write down absolutely every idea you can think of to start.

Some personal experiences you might draw from for your brainstorming session could be:

What sparked your interest in applying to college
What life experiences sparked your interest in a particular field of study
What made you interested in a career in this field of study
What activities did you partake in growing up that grew your interest in this field
What activities did you pursue during high school that grew your interest in this field
What solidified your decision to apply to college

Your college essay is at heart a narrative that either answers the essay question or answers the question “why are you applying to this school?” Your essay should take the reader through each stage of your decision, but your introduction’s primary role is to grab the reader’s interest and set the stage. And just like an excellent stage play seizes the audience’s attention from the moment the lights turn on the stage, your essay needs to do the same. Be the narrator of your narrative and share with the audience what will be learned about you from reading your essay.

Here’s a quick guide to brainstorming and writing your college essay introduction

Once your essay is fully outlined, or even drafted, you might write your introduction last. This way you already know what your essay is about and just need to introduce it to the reader. "}]">

Once you’ve drafted your introduction, give it a read. Does the hook sentence grab you? Try reading it aloud and see how it flows into the body of your essay. If it doesn’t pique your own interest, it won’t hold your reader’s! Ask a friend, family member, college advisor or acquaintance to read it and give you feedback on your intro. Try a few different versions of your hook sentence or refine your transition sentence. Make sure your introduction is as strong as can be.

For our college essay introduction examples, we’ve used a few of the common app essay prompts you might see on your application. We’ve included sample introductions for essays from students of various different life experiences and situations to help you!

Prompt: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

My love affair with painting started late in life. After 25 years of working as a science teacher, I never expected my hunt for a pre-retirement hobby to turn into a shift in career path. Painting has become a daily solace for me, and my involvement in my local arts community has opened up career opportunities I never dreamed of. And it has sparked a fascination with the arts and what it can add to my life. This fascination first started when I accepted an invitation from a friend to see her work on display at a local Art Walk.

Prompt: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

I thought I would spend my gap year after high school laying on a beach and getting tan. Instead, I experienced a profound transformation within myself as I immersed myself in a new culture and a new people. A month after my graduation, I was on a plane on my way to Thailand, nothing on my mind except sun and sad. A year after, Thailand sent me home with an entirely new perspective and appreciation for life. When I left home, I was still unsure what I wanted from my life and whether I would apply for college. My wavering feelings were solidified after working with an amazing not-for-profit in some of Thailand’s remote villages, which also lead to the most impactful friendship of my life.

Prompt: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

What I remember most from the night my entire life collapsed was the brightness of the stadium lights overhead. Not the chaos of the crowd or the faces staring down at me, talking over me. I was deaf to all that. The lights were so blinding, so distracting. And I kept thinking, over and over, ‘don’t take me out of the game’. Thoughts that would be strangely prophetic later, in the hospital, when they told me I wouldn’t be able to play the rest of the season, or maybe ever again. My entire life, my expected future, flew off a cliff. In those coming months, I would learn what it really means to start over, to pick yourself back up and keep playing the game.

To write a killer opening to your college essay, focus on the very first sentence, your “hook”. It should be unique, interesting and “hook” the reader’s attention. It’s the “big idea” or main lesson learned from your college essay. Play around with the sentence length and structure to see what works and try reading the introduction aloud to hear how it sounds to your ear.

Try not to start your college essay introduction with a cliché or a quote. Cliches have been read thousands of times by admissions officers, and they want to see something unique and interesting, not the same old things. And using a quote to start your essay isn’t a good idea, since it is meant to be written in your own words, not someone else’s.

Writing a good hook takes some work. Try to think of how you would summarize your essay or the personal experience you are highlighting. What was the key lesson you learned? What is at the centre of your motivations? Try writing this topic sentence a few different ways and read it aloud to see how it sounds.

The introduction of your essay needs to grab your reader’s attention right away. If it doesn’t, the admissions committee won’t want to read the rest of your essay and you’ll have lost them already. As the college essay counts for a significant part of your overall application, the introduction is crucial for your success.

It’s best not to do this, even if the quote is inspirational for you. College admission committees want to hear what you have to say, not someone else.

You can include a title if you choose, but it’s best to leave it out unless the title adds something important to your overall essay.

The introduction of a college essay needs to include a “hook” sentence, a transition sentence, an introduction of your essay content and good flow.

It’s advisable to keep your college essay introduction short and concise. It should make up about 10% of your essay’s word count, so in some cases this is quite short!

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What’s Covered:

What is the purpose of the college essay introduction, tips for getting started on your essay, 6 effective techniques for starting your college essay.

Cliche College Essay Introduction to Avoid

Where to Get Your Essay Edited for Free

Have you sat down to write your essay and just hit a wall of writer’s block? Do you have too many ideas running around your head, or maybe no ideas at all?

Starting a college essay is potentially the hardest part of the application process. Once you start, it’s easy to keep writing, but that initial hurdle is just so difficult to overcome. We’ve put together a list of tips to help you jump that wall and make your essay the best it can be.

The introduction to a college essay should immediately hook the reader. You want to give admissions officers a reason to stay interested in your story and encourage them to continue reading your essay with an open mind. Remember that admissions officers are only able to spend a couple minutes per essay, so if you bore them or turn them off from the start, they may clock out for the rest of the essay.

As a whole, the college essay should aim to portray a part of your personality that hasn’t been covered by your GPA, extracurriculars, and test scores. This makes the introduction a crucial part of the essay. Think of it as the first glimpse, an intriguing lead on, into the read rest of your essay which also showcases your voice and personality.

Brainstorm Topics

Take the time to sit down and brainstorm some good topic ideas for your essay. You want your topic to be meaningful to you, while also displaying a part of you that isn’t apparent in other aspects of your application. The essay is an opportunity to show admissions officers the “real you.” If you have a topic in mind, do not feel pressured to start with the introduction. Sometimes the best essay openings are developed last, once you fully grasp the flow of your story.

Do a Freewrite

Give yourself permission to write without judgment for an allotted period of time. For each topic you generated in your brainstorm session, do a free-write session. Set a time for one minute and write down whatever comes to mind for that specific topic. This will help get the juices flowing and push you over that initial bit of writer’s block that’s so common when it comes time to write a college essay. Repeat this exercise if you’re feeling stuck at any point during the essay writing process. Freewriting is a great way to warm up your creative writing brain whilst seeing which topics are flowing more naturally onto the page.

Create an Outline

Once you’ve chosen your topic, write an outline for your whole essay. It’s easier to organize all your thoughts, write the body, and then go back to write the introduction. That way, you already know the direction you want your essay to go because you’ve actually written it out, and you can ensure that your introduction leads directly into the rest of the essay. Admissions officers are looking for the quality of your writing alongside the content of your essay. To be prepared for college-level writing, students should understand how to logically structure an essay. By creating an outline, you are setting yourself up to be judged favorably on the quality of your writing skills.

1. The Scriptwriter

“No! Make it stop! Get me out!” My 5-year-old self waved my arms frantically in front of my face in the darkened movie theater.

Starting your essay with dialogue instantly transports the reader into the story, while also introducing your personal voice. In the rest of the essay, the author proposes a class that introduces people to insects as a type of food. Typically, one would begin directly with the course proposal. However, the author’s inclusion of this flashback weaves in a personal narrative, further displaying her true self.

Read the full essay.

2. The Shocker

A chaotic sense of sickness and filth unfolds in an overcrowded border station in McAllen, Texas. Through soundproof windows, migrants motion that they have not showered in weeks, and children wear clothes caked in mucus and tears. The humanitarian crisis at the southern border exists not only in photographs published by mainstream media, but miles from my home in South Texas.

This essay opener is also a good example of “The Vivid Imaginer.” In this case, the detailed imagery only serves to heighten the shock factor. While people may be aware of the “humanitarian crisis at the southern border,” reading about it in such stark terms is bound to capture the reader’s attention. Through this hook, the reader learns a bit about the author’s home life; an aspect of the student that may not be detailed elsewhere in their application. The rest of the essay goes on to talk about the author’s passion for aiding refugees, and this initial paragraph immediately establishes the author’s personal connection to the refugee crisis.

3. The Vivid Imaginer

The air is crisp and cool, nipping at my ears as I walk under a curtain of darkness that drapes over the sky, starless. It is a Friday night in downtown Corpus Christi, a rare moment of peace in my home city filled with the laughter of strangers and colorful lights of street vendors. But I cannot focus.

Starting off with a bit of well-written imagery transports the reader to wherever you want to take them. By putting them in this context with you, you allow the reader to closely understand your thoughts and emotions in this situation. Additionally, this method showcases the author’s individual way of looking at the world, a personal touch that is the baseline of all college essays.

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4. The Instant Plunger

The flickering LED lights began to form into a face of a man when I focused my eyes. The man spoke of a ruthless serial killer of the decade who had been arrested in 2004, and my parents shivered at his reaccounting of the case. I curiously tuned in, wondering who he was to speak of such crimes with concrete composure and knowledge. Later, he introduced himself as a profiler named Pyo Chang Won, and I watched the rest of the program by myself without realizing that my parents had left the couch.

Plunging readers into the middle of a story (also known as in medias res ) is an effective hook because it captures attention by placing the reader directly into the action. The descriptive imagery in the first sentence also helps to immerse the reader, creating a satisfying hook while also showing (instead of telling) how the author became interested in criminology. With this technique, it is important to “zoom out,” so to speak, in such a way that the essay remains personal to you.

5. The Philosopher

Saved in the Notes app on my phone are three questions: What can I know? What must I do? What may I hope for? First asked by Immanuel Kant, these questions guide my pursuit of knowledge and organization of critical thought, both skills that are necessary to move our country and society forward in the right direction.

Posing philosophical questions helps present you as someone with deep ideas while also guiding the focus of your essay. In a way, it presents the reader with a roadmap; they know that these questions provide the theme for the rest of the essay. The more controversial the questions, the more gripping a hook you can create.

Providing an answer to these questions is not necessarily as important as making sure that the discussions they provoke really showcase you and your own values and beliefs.

6. The Storyteller

One Christmas morning, when I was nine, I opened a snap circuit set from my grandmother. Although I had always loved math and science, I didn’t realize my passion for engineering until I spent the rest of winter break creating different circuits to power various lights, alarms, and sensors. Even after I outgrew the toy, I kept the set in my bedroom at home and knew I wanted to study engineering.

Beginning with an anecdote is a strong way to establish a meaningful connection with the content itself. It also shows that the topic you write about has been a part of your life for a significant amount of time, and something that college admissions officers look for in activities is follow-through; they want to make sure that you are truly interested in something. A personal story such as the one above shows off just that.

Cliche College Essay Introductions to Avoid

Ambiguous introduction.

It’s best to avoid introductory sentences that don’t seem to really say anything at all, such as “Science plays a large role in today’s society,” or “X has existed since the beginning of time.” Statements like these, in addition to being extremely common, don’t demonstrate anything about you, the author. Without a personal connection to you right away, it’s easy for the admissions officer to write off the essay before getting past the first sentence.

Quoting Someone Famous

While having a quotation by a famous author, celebrity, or someone else you admire may seem like a good way to allow the reader to get to know you, these kinds of introductions are actually incredibly overused. You also risk making your essay all about the quotation and the famous person who said it; admissions officers want to get to know you, your beliefs, and your values, not someone who isn’t applying to their school. There are some cases where you may actually be asked to write about a quotation, and that’s fine, but you should avoid starting your essay with someone else’s words outside of this case. It is fine, however, to start with dialogue to plunge your readers into a specific moment.

Talking About Writing an Essay

This method is also very commonplace and is thus best avoided. It’s better to show, not tell, and all this method allows you to do is tell the reader how you were feeling at the time of writing the essay. If you do feel compelled to go this way, make sure to include vivid imagery and focus on grounding the essay in the five senses, which can help elevate your introduction and separate it from the many other meta essays.

Childhood Memories

Phrases like “Ever since I was young…” or “I’ve always wanted…” also lend more to telling rather than showing. If you want to talk about your childhood or past feelings in your essay, try using one of the techniques listed earlier (such as the Instant Plunger or the Vivid Imaginer) to elevate your writing.

CollegeVine has a peer essay review page where peers can tell you if your introduction was enough to hook them. Getting feedback from someone who hasn’t read your essay before, and thus doesn’t have any context which may bias them to be more forgiving to your introduction, is helpful because it mimics the same environment in which an admissions officer will be reading your essay.

Writing a college essay is hard, but with these tips hopefully starting it will be a little easier!

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Traditional Academic Essays In Three Parts

Part i: the introduction.

An introduction is usually the first paragraph of your academic essay. If you’re writing a long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to introduce your topic to your reader. A good introduction does 2 things:

Gets the reader’s attention. You can get a reader’s attention by telling a story, providing a statistic, pointing out something strange or interesting, providing and discussing an interesting quote, etc. Be interesting and find some original angle via which to engage others in your topic.
Provides a specific and debatable thesis statement. The thesis statement is usually just one sentence long, but it might be longer—even a whole paragraph—if the essay you’re writing is long. A good thesis statement makes a debatable point, meaning a point someone might disagree with and argue against. It also serves as a roadmap for what you argue in your paper.

Part II: The Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs help you prove your thesis and move you along a compelling trajectory from your introduction to your conclusion. If your thesis is a simple one, you might not need a lot of body paragraphs to prove it. If it’s more complicated, you’ll need more body paragraphs. An easy way to remember the parts of a body paragraph is to think of them as the MEAT of your essay:

Main Idea. The part of a topic sentence that states the main idea of the body paragraph. All of the sentences in the paragraph connect to it. Keep in mind that main ideas are…

like labels. They appear in the first sentence of the paragraph and tell your reader what’s inside the paragraph.
arguable. They’re not statements of fact; they’re debatable points that you prove with evidence.
focused. Make a specific point in each paragraph and then prove that point.

Evidence. The parts of a paragraph that prove the main idea. You might include different types of evidence in different sentences. Keep in mind that different disciplines have different ideas about what counts as evidence and they adhere to different citation styles. Examples of evidence include…

quotations and/or paraphrases from sources.
facts , e.g. statistics or findings from studies you’ve conducted.
narratives and/or descriptions , e.g. of your own experiences.

Analysis. The parts of a paragraph that explain the evidence. Make sure you tie the evidence you provide back to the paragraph’s main idea. In other words, discuss the evidence.

Transition. The part of a paragraph that helps you move fluidly from the last paragraph. Transitions appear in topic sentences along with main ideas, and they look both backward and forward in order to help you connect your ideas for your reader. Don’t end paragraphs with transitions; start with them.

Keep in mind that MEAT does not occur in that order. The “ T ransition” and the “ M ain Idea” often combine to form the first sentence—the topic sentence—and then paragraphs contain multiple sentences of evidence and analysis. For example, a paragraph might look like this: TM. E. E. A. E. E. A. A.

Part III: The Conclusion

A conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay, or, if you’re writing a really long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to conclude. A conclusion typically does one of two things—or, of course, it can do both:

Summarizes the argument. Some instructors expect you not to say anything new in your conclusion. They just want you to restate your main points. Especially if you’ve made a long and complicated argument, it’s useful to restate your main points for your reader by the time you’ve gotten to your conclusion. If you opt to do so, keep in mind that you should use different language than you used in your introduction and your body paragraphs. The introduction and conclusion shouldn’t be the same.
For example, your argument might be significant to studies of a certain time period .
Alternately, it might be significant to a certain geographical region .
Alternately still, it might influence how your readers think about the future . You might even opt to speculate about the future and/or call your readers to action in your conclusion.

Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Essay Papers Writing Online

Tips and tricks for crafting engaging and effective essays.

Writing essays can be a challenging task, but with the right approach and strategies, you can create compelling and impactful pieces that captivate your audience. Whether you’re a student working on an academic paper or a professional honing your writing skills, these tips will help you craft essays that stand out.

Effective essays are not just about conveying information; they are about persuading, engaging, and inspiring readers. To achieve this, it’s essential to pay attention to various elements of the essay-writing process, from brainstorming ideas to polishing your final draft. By following these tips, you can elevate your writing and produce essays that leave a lasting impression.

Understanding the Essay Prompt

Before you start writing your essay, it is crucial to thoroughly understand the essay prompt or question provided by your instructor. The essay prompt serves as a roadmap for your essay and outlines the specific requirements or expectations.

Here are a few key things to consider when analyzing the essay prompt:

Read the prompt carefully and identify the main topic or question being asked.
Pay attention to any specific instructions or guidelines provided, such as word count, formatting requirements, or sources to be used.
Identify key terms or phrases in the prompt that can help you determine the focus of your essay.

By understanding the essay prompt thoroughly, you can ensure that your essay addresses the topic effectively and meets the requirements set forth by your instructor.

Researching Your Topic Thoroughly

One of the key elements of writing an effective essay is conducting thorough research on your chosen topic. Research helps you gather the necessary information, facts, and examples to support your arguments and make your essay more convincing.

Here are some tips for researching your topic thoroughly:

	Don’t rely on a single source for your research. Use a variety of sources such as books, academic journals, reliable websites, and primary sources to gather different perspectives and valuable information.
	While conducting research, make sure to take detailed notes of important information, quotes, and references. This will help you keep track of your sources and easily refer back to them when writing your essay.
	Before using any information in your essay, evaluate the credibility of the sources. Make sure they are reliable, up-to-date, and authoritative to strengthen the validity of your arguments.
	Organize your research materials in a systematic way to make it easier to access and refer to them while writing. Create an outline or a research plan to structure your essay effectively.

By following these tips and conducting thorough research on your topic, you will be able to write a well-informed and persuasive essay that effectively communicates your ideas and arguments.

Creating a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a crucial element of any well-crafted essay. It serves as the main point or idea that you will be discussing and supporting throughout your paper. A strong thesis statement should be clear, specific, and arguable.

To create a strong thesis statement, follow these tips:

Be specific: Your thesis statement should clearly state the main idea of your essay. Avoid vague or general statements.
Be concise: Keep your thesis statement concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy explanations.
Be argumentative: Your thesis statement should present an argument or perspective that can be debated or discussed in your essay.
Be relevant: Make sure your thesis statement is relevant to the topic of your essay and reflects the main point you want to make.
Revise as needed: Don’t be afraid to revise your thesis statement as you work on your essay. It may change as you develop your ideas.

Remember, a strong thesis statement sets the tone for your entire essay and provides a roadmap for your readers to follow. Put time and effort into crafting a clear and compelling thesis statement to ensure your essay is effective and persuasive.

Developing a Clear Essay Structure

One of the key elements of writing an effective essay is developing a clear and logical structure. A well-structured essay helps the reader follow your argument and enhances the overall readability of your work. Here are some tips to help you develop a clear essay structure:

1. Start with a strong introduction: Begin your essay with an engaging introduction that introduces the topic and clearly states your thesis or main argument.

2. Organize your ideas: Before you start writing, outline the main points you want to cover in your essay. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure a logical flow of ideas.

3. Use topic sentences: Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. This helps the reader understand the purpose of each paragraph.

4. Provide evidence and analysis: Support your arguments with evidence and analysis to back up your main points. Make sure your evidence is relevant and directly supports your thesis.

5. Transition between paragraphs: Use transitional words and phrases to create flow between paragraphs and help the reader move smoothly from one idea to the next.

6. Conclude effectively: End your essay with a strong conclusion that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis. Avoid introducing new ideas in the conclusion.

By following these tips, you can develop a clear essay structure that will help you effectively communicate your ideas and engage your reader from start to finish.

Using Relevant Examples and Evidence

When writing an essay, it’s crucial to support your arguments and assertions with relevant examples and evidence. This not only adds credibility to your writing but also helps your readers better understand your points. Here are some tips on how to effectively use examples and evidence in your essays:

Choose examples that are specific and relevant to the topic you’re discussing. Avoid using generic examples that may not directly support your argument.
Provide concrete evidence to back up your claims. This could include statistics, research findings, or quotes from reliable sources.
Interpret the examples and evidence you provide, explaining how they support your thesis or main argument. Don’t assume that the connection is obvious to your readers.
Use a variety of examples to make your points more persuasive. Mixing personal anecdotes with scholarly evidence can make your essay more engaging and convincing.
Cite your sources properly to give credit to the original authors and avoid plagiarism. Follow the citation style required by your instructor or the publication you’re submitting to.

By integrating relevant examples and evidence into your essays, you can craft a more convincing and well-rounded piece of writing that resonates with your audience.

Editing and Proofreading Your Essay Carefully

Once you have finished writing your essay, the next crucial step is to edit and proofread it carefully. Editing and proofreading are essential parts of the writing process that help ensure your essay is polished and error-free. Here are some tips to help you effectively edit and proofread your essay:

1. Take a Break: Before you start editing, take a short break from your essay. This will help you approach the editing process with a fresh perspective.

2. Read Aloud: Reading your essay aloud can help you catch any awkward phrasing or grammatical errors that you may have missed while writing. It also helps you check the flow of your essay.

3. Check for Consistency: Make sure that your essay has a consistent style, tone, and voice throughout. Check for inconsistencies in formatting, punctuation, and language usage.

4. Remove Unnecessary Words: Look for any unnecessary words or phrases in your essay and remove them to make your writing more concise and clear.

5. Proofread for Errors: Carefully proofread your essay for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Pay attention to commonly misused words and homophones.

6. Get Feedback: It’s always a good idea to get feedback from someone else. Ask a friend, classmate, or teacher to review your essay and provide constructive feedback.

By following these tips and taking the time to edit and proofread your essay carefully, you can improve the overall quality of your writing and make sure your ideas are effectively communicated to your readers.

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Writing Effective Conclusions

It’s a wrap writing effective conclusions.

Kay Chubbuck

Princeton Writing Program

Conclusions are critical for any essay’s success. They provide your last opportunity for persuasion, for argument, for kicking your thesis home. They need to provide closure – to convey a sense of completeness – yet they should also leave readers thinking about your points. Conclusions can do this by illustrating the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger (or modern, or real-life) implications, your essay’s true meaning or “so what?” Like the introduction, the conclusion is propelled by your motive in writing the essay – but rather than giving readers reason to read, the conclusion shapes their memory of your words once the essay is done. Often, the conclusion divides the distinguished from the undistinguished essay: the one readers will remember from the one readers will forget. As such, it should not simply restate your thesis or voice a vague, general point. It needs to make a lasting impression.

Different things an effective conclusion can do:

Create a “bookend” with the introduction by revisiting an image or anecdote raised in the first paragraph. How do we then “read” this image, or understand this anecdote, in light of the evidence your essay has presented? This is also called “putting a human face on the problem,” and is a common strategy in journalism. For example, imagine you begin an essay on Kent State by looking at John Filo’s photograph (“Pieta”) of the dead student in the parking lot. After stating your thesis, you investigate the events of Kent State from a particular angle. In your conclusion, you return to the photo and look it once more. What new angle has your evidence provided? Bring your essay full circle – with a twist.

Redefine your argument, particularly if your introduction asked a question or raised a “key term” that your essay examined. This is much like the previous example, but in this case the “bookend” is intellectual rather than personal or visual. For example, imagine your essay begins by questioning the stereotype of the Vietnamese civilian as an agent of the Vietcong. You have just spent several pages enriching or complicating that perception. In your conclusion, you could revisit the original question and place a new spin on it. Does this mean American perceptions are wrong? Is there some kind of culpability at work? Why does this matter? What is the greater issue here? This is much like the next type of conclusion: the “greater implication” ending.

Conclude by considering the implications of your argument. How does your analysis matter in the context of history, politics, science, literature, or other discipline in which the essay is written? Be sure, when writing this type of paragraph, to keep it specific. Suppose, for example, you have written an essay about the genocide that took place in Cambodia because of Pol Pot. Surely, this topic has real-world implications. What can we learn from these events? Why do they matter? What is the “so what?” factor to this paper? Suppose, too, that your essay considered the “tolerance” other countries gave to Pol Pot, the blind eye the world community turned on his atrocities. What can we learn from this? What implications does this have for diplomacy in the future? Why did we ignore what transpired? Similarly, imagine you have written an essay about the differing perceptions of the jungle in Vietnamese and American literature about the war. At first glance, this topic may not seem to have the “greater implications” of a paper on Pol Pot. But if you think about it, the American fear of the landscape can be blamed to some degree for our use of defoliants, while the Vietnamese bond with the landscape led to the creation of tunnel warfare: digging into the very earth for protection. Most topics about the Vietnam War will have some kind of real-life implications, and one technique you can use in your conclusion is to exploit them.

Conclude with a quotation from or reference to a source that amplifies your thesis and perhaps puts it in a new perspective. Be careful with this one: it’s tricky. You don’t want to end solely with someone else’s words – and you don’t want to introduce new, unrelated material — but this strategy can provide a means of complicating your essay, of putting a new spin on your topic. For example, an essay that has examined patriotism among Vietnamese soldiers could end with a quotation from Ho Chi Minh (which you then analyze) that illuminates your own reading of patriotism among North Vietnamese troops. Or you might end with facts about troops’ patriotism from a nonfiction source without quoting directly. This is different from putting your entire essay into context, from placing a creative work into its historical frame. Instead, it’s a broadening device, a means of widening your focus at the very end. This is a method of looking at the “big picture” without making general or sweeping claims.

End with the questions raised by your paper. This, too, is tricky. It’s the “inconclusive conclusion”: the conclusion that illuminates the questions raised by your work without necessarily answering them, often because there are no easy answers. This can be a powerful way to leave your readers thinking, but it can also comes across as apologetic or annoying. It works best in papers that analyze some moral issue (what is truth? what is justice? what is honorable in war?) because these type of questions often do not have answers. It works least well for essays that point toward an obvious conclusion because essays that are strongly persuasive don’t leave these doors open. For this reason, a paper that explores why the world community did nothing about Pol Pot – why the atrocities in fact took place – might be able to end with some provocative questions. But a paper that analyzes Jimi Hendrix’s status as an anti-war icon would need a different type of conclusion, perhaps an anecdote or a quotation.

Effective conclusions also end with a “kicker”: a simple sentence, often composed of one-syllable words or structured in a parallel fashion, that “kicks” your point home. Sometimes, this kicker is a quotation from another writer, but more often the “kicker” is composed of your own words, your own commentary on the quotation (if you use one) or the anecdote or the implications discussed in this last paragraph. The reason the “kicker” is important is because the final line of your essay, like the first one, generates interest for your topic. Done well, it will leave your reader thinking and create a good impression. Short sentences have punch; long sentences belabor the point, dragging and trailing as they attempt to remake the essay in the last few words, gasping their way to the finale as this sentence is doing because the writer obviously isn’t sure what to do and isn’t happy about the conclusion and so tries to say everything again all at once. Don’t do this.

Other don’ts for the conclusion:

Don’t restate the thesis in so many words.
Don’t repeat the language of the assignment, particularly if it was not part of your essay. (This was a big problem with Essay #2. Suddenly, there were all these sentences about “true” war stories in essays that otherwise did not mention this issue. Don’t do this. It’s jejune.)
Don’t apologize for your paper or your claims.
Don’t engage in platitudes or generalizations.
Don’t introduce completely new material. The conclusion shouldn’t look like a body paragraph.
Don’t refute the claims you have made. The counter-argument does not belong in this paragraph.
Don’t belabor the same point in six sentences. Have something worthwhile to say.

Ultimately, you should devote as much time to writing your conclusion as you do to crafting your introduction. It is one of the set pieces of your argument, and the impression your conclusion makes will last long after your readers forget the middle of your essay. In real-world terms, you should realize, too, that lazy readers often skip to the conclusion when they get bored or frustrated. They look for the “so what?” This could happen to you. For this reason, your conclusion needs to have snap, or purpose. Use it to end your essay with a bang.

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Create a "bookend" with the introduction by revisiting an image or anecdote raised in the first paragraph. How do we then "read" this image, or understand this anecdote, in light of the evidence your essay has presented? This is also called "putting a human face on the problem," and is a common strategy in journalism.

How to Write an Introduction Paragraph [50+ Examples]

What Is an Introductory Paragraph?

Types of Introduction Paragraphs

Here’s How to Write an Introduction Paragraph

3. Thesis Statement

4. Relevance

7. Transition

Examples of Introduction Paragraphs

Academic Essays

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Technical Writing

Marketing Copy

Final Thoughts: How to Write Introduction Paragraphs

How to Write an Essay Introduction (with Examples)

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Literary Analysis Essay Introduction Example

Examples of essay introduction

Argumentative Essay Introduction Example:

Expository Essay Introduction Example

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How to Write a Great College Essay Introduction | Examples

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How to Start a College Essay Perfectly

What Is the College Essay Introduction For?

Wait, Back Up—Why Do Colleges Want Personal Statements?

What Role Does the Introduction Play in a College Essay?

How to Structure a Personal Statement Introduction

College Essay Structure Overview

College Essay Introduction Components

How to Write a College Essay Introduction

How to Write the First Section of Your College Essay

How to Write the First Sentence of Your College Essay

First Sentence Idea 1: Line of Quoted Direct Speech

First Sentence Idea 2: Punchy Short Sentence With One Grabby Detail

First Sentence Idea 3: Lyrical, Adjective-Rich Description of a Setting

First Sentence Idea 4: Counterintuitive Statement

First Sentence Idea 5: The End—Making the Rest of the Essay a Flashback

First Sentence Idea 6: Direct Question to the Reader

First Sentence Idea 7: Lesson You Learned From the Story You're Telling

How to Write a Pivot Sentence in Your College Essay

Pivot Idea 1: Expand the Time Frame

Pivot Idea 2: Link the Described Experience With Others

Pivot Idea 3: Extract and Underline a Trait or Value

College Essay Introduction Examples

Sample Intro 1

Why Intro Sample 1 Works

#1: It's Got a Great First Sentence

#2: It Has Lots of Detail

#3: It Explains the Stakes

#4: It Has Great Storytelling

#5: It Uses a Pivot Sentence

Sample Intro 2

Why Intro Sample 2 Works

#2: It Shows Rather Than Tells

#3: It Uses a Pivot Sentence

#4: It Piles On Examples to Avoid Vagueness

The Bottom Line: How to Start a College Essay

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Writing an Essay Introduction - Step by Step Guide

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How to Write an Essay Introduction?

Essay Introduction Starters

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How to Write an Essay Introduction (with Examples)  