How to write the introduction, body and conclusion of an essay

How do I write an introduction? How do I write the body of an essay? How do I write a conclusion? How do I use all of these to write an amazing essay that will get me an A-plus? Check out our tips below to learn how you can improve your papers and essay grades in easy ways.

How to write an introduction

The introduction has a couple purposes.

1. Get the reader interested in your paper

2. Tell the reader what you are writing about

3. The introduction may explain why the topic is relevant or why you have written the paper (without saying 'I wrote this because...'. Never use "I" in an essay.

Getting the reader interested in your essay is VERY important! This is the difference between an essay that gets a B and an essay that gets an A. The introduction to your essay gets people excited and interested in the topic, and to that, you must talk about the topic as thought it is exciting. If you are bored by your topic and you show it, your reader will be bored. This may not sound important, but it is.

In a newspaper article, the writer wants you to be interested enough to read the article, so they start off with something exciting and maybe show a little bit of mystery. That is what you want to do in your intro.

How to draw in your reader

Some ways to get your reader interested are:

1. Start with a quote that is related to your topic

2. Start with a short story or anecdote that is related to your topic. If it is a book, you can start by describing in a few sentences a poignant scene of the book and then relating it to what you will be writing about. A memorable scene or one with suspense, or intrigue works well - but use only a few sentences to describe it.

3. If your essay is about a book or poem, pull one of the important phrases to use as a quote to get you started

After that, you have to state why you included the quote. For instance, if you are writing about Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, you could choose a quote from the book or you could choose a quote about something related to the book. It works well is the quote is slightly ironic or has a double meaning or talks about some great truth that relates to life as a whole and relates to the book. You can explain briefly why this is important, and get people interested in your topic because they understand why the topic applies to life. See the introduction sample below for an example of how to do this.

Sample Introduction:

Title: The evolving role of friendship in Huckleberry Finn

"This communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects; for it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in half." (Gets the reader's attention)

If Huckleberry Finn, Jim and Tom Sawyer heard this quote by Francis Bacon, they would have all agreed with the sentiment, and yet each in his own way. (This sets up a bit of mystery - the reader wonders what you mean by such a statement.) Each character in Mark Twain's novel, "Huckleberry Finn", has a markedly different approach to friendship. This multi-faceted and changeable definition of friendship is one reason Twain's story has fascinated readers for more than one hundred years.

How to write the body of an essay

1. For the body of your essay, use your thesis statement to create three parts.

2. The first part is the point of your thesis statement. The second part is your second point and the third point is your third section.

3. Within each section, you will use sub-points to prove your big point. This isn't as hard as it sounds.

4. Start each section with a mini-thesis statement that tells the reader what that section is going to be about.

Sample body of an essay:

One reason Martin Luther King Jr was a great leader is that he motivated others to take action. (State the paragraph by telling people what they will read about). He inspired common people to get involved (sub-point 1), he inspired leaders to listen to him (sub-point 2) and he was an effective communicator whose speeches and sermons influenced people's opinions (sub-point 3).

In the following paragraphs just give some examples that prove those points. For example, you can say that he inspired common people to get involved because many people marched in the streets with Dr. King. Or you can point out that he was covered by the media which meant many people heard what he said. You can also say that people read his writings, which inspired them to get involved.

How to write a conclusion

1. Re-state your thesis statement and your three points that went with it.

2. Add some new idea at the end, some kind of 'kicker' that gives the essay something special. Again, this is VERY important and the difference between a B and an A paper.

3. The special bit at the end could be something that says why the topic is relevant to people today, something ironic, something poetic, or could even point out something obvious that is related to your topic. It could also call the listener into action by telling them what they can do about the topic or how it applies to the reader's own life. It could also ask a question or make the reader think about what could happen in the future with the topic.

Sample conclusion

In conclusion, changes in women's fashion trends have matched how the average woman's life has changed over the past century and half approximately. Those changes could be seen in the way that fashion fit with lifestyle changes for women from 1850-1900, from 1900-1950 and from 1950 to the present. (Thesis statement and restate your points - summarize what the reader just read about)

The question now is how fashion will change over the next 50 years to reflect the changing lifestyles of women. Will the fashion continue to keep pace with our fast-paced, ever-changing, global world? (Ask the reader some question to make them wonder)/ The answer should be self-evident: as we change, so we will change the clothes we wear and the appearance we try to show to the world. It has been true throughout time, and will continue into the next century. (This reinforces the point you've just made in the essay and gives the reader the idea that the essay is now finished).

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