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Step 1
Begin with an anecdote. An anecdote is a short story told in one or two sentences; it is the relaying of something that happened to you or someone you know.
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Step 2
Ask a question. Engage readers' attention by asking them a question that they might personally relate to. If you can get a reader to say, "Yes! I agree with that!" then you will most likely have that reader's attention all the way to the end of the essay.
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Step 3
Give a quotation. Find a quotation from another source that supports your topic and include it in the introduction. For example, you can begin with, "Statistics show that 40 percent of high school students do not complete their homework." Be sure to mention where the quote was found.
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Step 4
Develop a good thesis statement. A thesis statement is a complete sentence that includes the topic of the essay and a specific impression about the topic.
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Step 5
Include two to three support points in your introduction. These points can be included in the thesis statement (called a triple-point thesis), or you can include them in two to three separate sentences. An example of a triple point thesis is as follows: "My sons have different tastes in music; one loves gospel, another loves rap and the third loves rock and roll." Each of these support points will become the topic sentences of the paragraphs to follow.
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Step 6
Finish off the first paragraph by giving your readers a challenge. For example: "How would you convince your teen that homework is important?"
