Introductions & Openings

Introduction or openings are usually the most challenging part of writing anything. In your essays, you need to develop some kind of hook and then get to your thesis in an interesting and compelling way. Since introductions are at the beginning of any written piece, most people think that is where they have to begin writing, which is not true at all. Why put the pressure on yourself to try to craft a truly interesting opening wihtout completely knowing yet what you will be addressing exactly? However, you have to craft one sooner or later, so here is some thoughts as you begin. A lot of this material is adapted from a book called Spunk & Bite, which has some of the best explanation and ideas on openings I have ever found.

Ideally, every opening should be a promise to the reader. It should implicitly say, “I promise that something will interest you if you keep reading.” But how do you anticipate what will interest a reader, real or imagined? This is where notions of writing for an audience come into play. If you know who the audience it is a whole lot easier. If you are not sure what should you do?

Here are some types of promises. The trick is to use them boldly.

Symbolism: small detail with grander meanings
Understatement: less that implies much more
Contrast: tension between multiple elements
Foreboding: hints of trouble ahead
Force: Sensual image and powerful verbs
Intimacy: establish a close, personal connection with reader

Make sure that the type of promise you choose sets the tone and the direction of the piece. The promise you choose helps you develop what people often refer to as a hook.

Once you have decided on the kind of promise you still need to find a way to get the writing started. Here are six specific techniques:

• someone’s remark, quotation
• an intriguing or amusing question
• a striking or startling statement
• a description or stage setting
• use of storytelling, narrative
• one line attention getter, “capsule”

Try to strike quickly. However you choose to open your writing do it with boldness and fearlessness. Take risks in your efforts. Sometimes you will fall. Yet, sometimes the best way to learn what works is to learn what doesn’t work, especially with different forms of writing, because the variables of the pieces you are writing are always changing.

Below is a short, developing example from a research paper project. It is modified some fromt he original and not the necessarily the greatest example of an introduction ever seen, but it is a good one. It gets the job done and uses the ideas above.

How does an upper-class European gentleman write an in-depth story about sailing the South Seas? Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish author, wrote the novel The Ebb Tide about a new ship hand, named Herrick. It is his first time being on the ocean, and he is experiencing all the hardships of sailing. Herrick is always given the harder jobs and is generally dismissed by the experienced ship hands as a greenhorn. Upon the death of Stevenson’s father, Stevenson too set off on a seafaring adventure, an uncommon thing for a wealthy gentleman of the day. Stevenson was an author keenly interested in adventure and horror. Writing at the end of the nineteenth century, all of his pieces were produced at the end of his life. Interestingly, it because he only lived to be a mere thirty-four years old. Through The Ebb Tide, Stevenson crafts a story of excitement and adventure in an effort to recapture his real-life escape from the grief and sorrow he experienced after the loss of his beloved father. 

Keep in mind, the most important aspect of any introduction or opening is sincerity. Sincerity is a synonym for the word truth. People are always interested in the truth. The truth is inherently stimulating and compelling. So that is what you always need to pursue, the truth. Good thesis statements always have the ring of truth. By truth I mean that which is real and sincere, undeniable. It may even be the first thing that interested you about the subject on which you are writing. That which is sincere and real rings true with everyone, because everyone has a connection to truth. This may seem a little abstract and hard to understand, which is what makes this element of writing so challenging.

Lastly, in the beginning of the writing process, it is always best to just slap something down and get writing. As mentioned previously, you don’t have to start writing the introduction first. Even when writing an introduction, it may not all drop out of your head and onto the page in any kind of logical order. Just try to capture it all, as much as possible. Writing can be challenging enough without the added obstacle of forcing yourself to tackle the most difficult part immediately. Ultimately, what you will find is that the strength of your developing commentary and analysis and shape it begins to take will be the biggest factors in the quality of both your thesis and opening.