Writing an introduction paragraph is a lesson that all English students have to learn at one time or another. It’s a skill that you can apply in many places, not just in academic writing but also at work and in your everyday life.
And while it may seem like you’ll never need it again once you leave school, the truth is that you’ll almost certainly use it frequently throughout your life. One of the most common causes of struggle when writing an introduction paragraph is not knowing what to put first, second, or third.
DARE TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION
I’ll show you how to write a fantastic introduction paragraph in this post. It’ll get your reader interested in what you have to say and make your essay more engaging.
I’ll also show you how to write a conclusion paragraph and its link to your introduction paragraph. Introduction paragraphs are also called attention grabbers. They earn readers’ attention and help them pay attention to your writing.
Because they’re already interested in what you have to say, this means they’ll almost certainly remember what you wrote in your introduction if you do it often enough.
And because it’s so crucial to your readers, the right way to do it is to write an intelligent introduction paragraph, unlike the hundreds of other similar bullet points at the bottom of thousands of other writing articles.
The fact that it’s a skill that needs to develop is just one of the plusses of this exercise.
Most importantly, you learn a couple of skills about writing, which saves you time on essay creation, and it shows your potential employers that you know how to write well.
So get out there and read a couple of high-quality academic articles on writing.
Read them and think like a writer – what is the tone of voice?
What kind of pace should I be writing at?
What questions should I be answering?
And then try writing a few essays for your school paper or work (if you have to).
WHAT SHOULD WRITE IN AN INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
The introduction paragraph should be an overview of the entire article. It should tell the reader what they’re going to learn and why they should care.
You can analogize with the introduction paragraph and the article’s title. The title is the tagline or the promise of the article, and the introduction paragraph is the product that you deliver.
WHAT SHOULD YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR INTRODUCTION
Let’s look at an example: Punctuated sentences are great for writing catchy titles. They quickly and accurately convey the gist of what they’re about. But at what point do they lose their power?
The beginning of your article is where writers are likely to put unusual, intellectual sentences that could be better saved for the end of the article or included in the sub-header. Learn More==>>
You’re writing an introduction to a webinar about how to market to b2b sales leads. Your opening sentence could be something like this: Since the fall of 2021, companies have been scrambling to figure out the “next big thing” in their industry. Learn More==>>
They’ve implemented such brilliant ideas as dynamic shopping carts, integrated social listening chatbots, in-app chat room platforms, and online video conferencing to meet customer demand.
However, what’s missing from the list of products is “your next big thing.” “Waiting for this ultimately defeats the purpose of writing an introduction paragraph in the first place.
Instead, name the article the same way you would an introduction to your friend or colleague, starting with the obvious: This webinar aims to answer the following questions: How can you maximize the conversion rate of lead gen calls?
Why is this tactic sometimes called “lead gen on steroids?”
How can you prevent the “no call back” problem?
Your following two questions could be even more important: How do these tactics differ from what your current customers are using?
And, Why are these tactics worth trying at all?
The second question is probably a bit vague, and this is where you need a good answer to give a strong argument.
Cheers,
Kevin
