Introductions
Your introduction sells your essay. It is the first chance for someone to evaluate your ideas. If your ideas are not clear, no one will bother continuing to read.
- Study the introductions you wrote. Which one is best? How many of the ten functions appear?
- Would the introduction be better if you added other functions? Rewrite the introduction to include some of them.
- Does the introduction make the structure of the essay clear.
- How have you made your essay interesting, eye-catching or appealing?
- Does the reader have a clear idea of your attitude or position? If you have not done this in the introduction, when will you do it?
- Have you gone into too much detail in the introduction. A long introduction
may confuse the reader into believing he has already reached the body
of the text, or may create a feeling of impatience as it delays involvement
with the real substance.
- If you have defined academic terms, have you quoted an academic source. `The dictionary defines .... as ......' may not be academic enough. Often the popular or `normal' definition is contrasted with a more specific academic one.
- Have you gone back and rewritten your introduction after you have
finished writing the rest of the essay. This is a good idea as the introduction
and conclusion are often complementary. The conclusion, for instance,
may return to the points raised in the introduction to answer the issues
outlined there.
- Have you been careful not to repeat the exact words of the title too often e.g. `This essay looks at the role of women in present day Hong Kong. When we consider the role of women in present day Hong Kong we find that the role of women in present day Hong Kong has undergone many changes'. The title of this essay was, of course, `The Role of Women in Present-day Hong Kong'.