How to Grab Attention in an Introduction

Relate the subject of your paper to the audience.

First impressions are as important in written work as they are in your social life. If your writing fails to capture the interest of your readers within the first few sentences, they may not even glance at the rest of your writing – with all your hard work for naught. When constructing your introduction, be organized, concise and intriguing.

Instructions

1. Pose a question to the audience about your topic. This will grab the interest of readers because they will need to apply the topic to their personal lives. For example, you could pose the question, “How many college students do you know participate in heavy drinking at parties?”

2. Tell a story to set a scene before delivering your thesis statement. In the scene, use imagery to appeal to the reader’s senses. Write from a second person perspective to make the experience more personal for the audience.

3. Offer the readers a famous quote that relates to your topic. The quote does not have to agree with your thesis statement; challenging a famous quote or saying will also catch your audience’s attention.

4. Present a statistic that relates to your topic. The aim is to astonish the readers with a surprising number. For example, you could write, “According to Cascade Business News; female workers earn less than their male counterparts in roughly 99 percent of all professions.” This stems from oft-quoted statistics that originate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in which women's earnings over a lifetime of work during a 47-year period are less than men's earnings over the same time period, in 99 percent of all fields.

Tips & Warnings

• Write your essay first. You may find that your work takes unexpected turns that you will need to address in the introduction. If you are in the habit of writing your introduction first, always revisit it after you have completed the body of your work. Be sure that the opening matches the body.

• Avoid introductions that involve textbook definitions that may bore the reader. If you must define your subject, be concise and balance it with an intriguing statement.

References

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Introductions
• School for New Learning: What Does an Introduction Need?
• Cascade Business News; "Women in the Workplace;" Pamela Hulse Andrews; August 16, 2011

Resources

• Briefcase Essentials: Facts About Women in Business