The introduction and conclusion are the most emotional, dramatic, inspiring, and thought-provoking sections of an essay. Have you ever been intrigued by a beautifully packaged gift? If so, consider your essay’s main body as a present and these two, the packaging. With the useful tips below, learn how to perfect this art.
The objective of an Introduction
How to start an introduction? Start by learning what elements should be present in order to nail it. A good introductory paragraph aims to offer a catchy hook and grab the attention of the reader as it is the first piece of writing to be read. Secondly, it should do a decent job at providing a background of your topic to bring the audience on board. Also, you need to present your thesis in this section. It will give an overview of what is yet to come and what the readers should be expecting. If you find writing this part challenging, you can always take inspiration from already written essays online.
How to hook the reader?
You can use several techniques and strategies to engross the reader right from the beginning while writing an introduction. For this purpose, you first need to determine who your primary audience is and what will set with them. Get in their heads and figure out a way to connect to them. For example, you can infuse a dash of humor here if it feels appropriate. Setting the mood light and fun is always a safe approach to take.
You can also begin by posing a question. This will help you engage your readers by making them feel relevant. One of the good ways to start an essay is to start with a personal anecdote. People always like knowing more about the writer to understand his thought process. You can also consider starting an exciting and rare fact to hook the person on the reading end.
Best practices for writing a striking introduction
● Short and concise
The essay introduction paragraph should be able to encapsulate the essence in just a few lines. Avoid writing long intros to stay relevant to the main gist. You do not want to bore your readers.
● The power of “you.”
While writing the introduction, ensure to write “you” at least once. This way, the readers will feel included and can relate well to what you have to say. Refer to their potential problematic areas.
● Bringing the audience on the same page
Your readers should get a clear picture of what your essay intends to narrate. Make them understand what you are trying to convey.
The objective of a conclusion
Remember how you go to a shop, and the salesperson talks about the product? Well, the conclusion is somewhat similar to it. It is a type of sales pitch. You will have to summarize all of the points that you have articulated. The purpose is to give the readers closure. You can take help from a college essay writing service in the United States in this regard.
So, think of it as content that diverges. You must never introduce new ideas or perspectives in this part. Nobody wants loose strings that the readers must tie themselves to make sense of what you wanted to conclude. It must be written spontaneously, rather than through thorough planning. The two ends, the introduction, and conclusion of the cylindrical content serve similar purposes. So, the answer to the whole riddle of how to end an essay is to keep it short and straightforward.
Best Practices to ace a conclusion
Here are some ideas regarding the essay conclusion that you can keep in view while writing one.
● Startling statement
You can end the essay by writing a startling statement. It depends on whether you want to write from every angle possible to assist your readers or want to end on a note that gets them thinking.
● Complete the circle
You can state what you spoke about at the beginning of the essay. In this way, you connect the dots back to the start, which completes the entire circle. This does not mean that the introduction and conclusion are carbon copies of each other. Keep your xerox mode under supervision! Just keep them similar to each other so that they provide the same information while fulfilling the purpose for which they were written.
● Summarize
This is the easiest way to end your essay, just briefly explain all of the ideas that you discussed earlier. Remember to keep it interesting.
What to avoid while writing a conclusion
You must be mindful that there are guidelines regarding the conclusion, just like other parts of the essay have. Let’s go through them one by one. Firstly, do not repeat what you wrote in the introduction: The conclusion serves to end the extended essay. Unlike an introduction that converges on an issue, this must diverge. Do not eat up words just for the sake of completing the word limit by repeating everything. Just say that “please refer back to introduction”! Humor aside, keep it short and use this part to conclude the argument that you presented.
Secondly, refrain from adding new points: It is where you reflect on the previous points. Try to refrain from adding new arguments, evidence, or perspectives. Finally, please do not make it complicated: Keep it short. If you complicate things, the chances are that you might leave your reader perplexed.
Check and revise
As you progress, the chances are that the focus of your argument might change. By research, you will learn more, which can lead you to propel in a different direction. This is why writing an introduction in the later stages is recommended. Once you are done with the main body and conclusion, go back to the introduction to check if all three align. Your thesis statement should accurately depict the main content in your essay. If you find your essay taking a different direction than initially stated, tweak your thesis statement to adjust to it. Other than this, by proofreading your work, you will be able to catch any errors you made while writing. It is always a good idea to revise your work before submitting it.
Just as every story has an opening and an ending, your essay must have these elements too. Keep them short, engaging, and noteworthy. Try to refrain from adding unnecessary points. Keep your introduction solely for helping the reader dive into the realm of your arguments and conclusion for giving them closure.
