How to Write a Good Introduction for an Article

Sometimes the hardest part of writing an article is getting started. Your introduction will pull in readers, so it needs to be the best paragraph of the entire article. Writing a good introduction is easy as easy as 1-2-3, if you know exactly how to go about doing it

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• An article topic
• Writing materials

1. Choose a topic for your article. This is will be what the article is mainly about.
2. Write a first sentence that draws in readers. Some great ideas include asking a question, using a quote or stating an amazing fact.
3. Write one or two sentences that answer the questions who, what, when, where, why and how. This is the typical outline for the first paragraph of a news article.
4. Consider a final sentence to sum up your article. This works in much of the same way as a thesis sentence in an essay.
5. Revise the paragraph. You may want to play with word choice and order to make it as readable as possible.
6. Check for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Tips & Warnings

• You can move some of the information from the first paragraph to subsequent paragraphs if you think it will make the article more interesting. However, for articles in a newspaper, answering the questions in the first paragraph is usually a must.
• Try not to use words and language that is over-complicated. Simple words and sentence construction is best.
• If you're using a computer, save often in case your computer freezes or the power goes out.