Your introduction will need to do 3 things:
1) Answer the question
2) Indicate how the essay paragraphs 2 - 4 will be answered
3) 'Hook' the reader so they want to read more
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS (NCEA 2010)
WE WILL WORK WITH QUESTION 3. NOTE THERE ARE 2 PARTS TO THE QUESTION. IN THIS EXAMPLE, WE WILL JUST WORK WITH THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION.
ANSWER
THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS ANSWER THE QUESTION.
What do we know about SETTING in The Hobbit?
1) We could recall details about Hobbiton OR...
1) We could recall details about Hobbiton OR...
2) We could recall details about several settings in the book
So, in our answer, we use the words from the question to start us off e.g. ...
1) One aspect of setting in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is the place where Bilbo lives known as Hobbiton in The Shire.
OR
2) Some settings featured in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien are Bag End (Bilbo's House, Mirkwood and the Elves' Dungeons.
1) One aspect of setting in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is the place where Bilbo lives known as Hobbiton in The Shire.
OR
2) Some settings featured in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien are Bag End (Bilbo's House, Mirkwood and the Elves' Dungeons.
INDICATE
The second sentence in the introduction breaks down for the reader what will be the structure of the remainder of the essay. So in this diagram it is shown as paragraphs 2 - 4. The easiest way to do this is to use a technique called LISTING. This gives the reader advance notice of what to expect in the rest of the essay.
So, in our answer, we would write our second sentence like this:
1) The setting of The Shire shows the reader an unusual village where Hobbits live in holes in the ground with round doors, trees and a lake.
OR
2) The settings often reflect Bilbo's state of mind as he journeys from the safety of his home, through the dangers of Mirkwood to the dark dungeons of the Elves.
So, in our answer, we would write our second sentence like this:
1) The setting of The Shire shows the reader an unusual village where Hobbits live in holes in the ground with round doors, trees and a lake.
OR
2) The settings often reflect Bilbo's state of mind as he journeys from the safety of his home, through the dangers of Mirkwood to the dark dungeons of the Elves.
HOOK
Creating a 'hook' means making your writing interesting so that the reader will engage with your writing style and want to read more. It is like using a hook to catch a fish. This means adding to your introduction or changing your introduction in some way. Examples are:
START WITH THE TITLE OR SETTING
One aspect of setting in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is the place where Bilbo lives
known as Hobbiton in The Shire.
START YOUR ESSAY WITH A QUESTION
Using the above examples you could change the opening sentence like this:
Why did JRR Tolkien decide to open his novel, The Hobbit in The Shire?
Essentially this is the same content but the style is way more interesting.
START YOUR ESSAY WITH A LITTLE KNOWN FACT
Before Hobbiton existed as a place, it was created as a fiction in the mind of JRR
Tolkien.
START YOUR ESSAY WITH INTERESTING POINTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Names of settings in Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit, were strongly influenced by
Norse mythology.
START WITH A MEANINGFUL QUOTE
Tolkien was marking School Certificate papers when he found a blank page and wrote "In a
hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
Note: Although we have learned about the HOOK last, it is the thing that should come first in your introduction.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Finally, after brainstorming your introduction ideas, you put it altogether like these examples below:
OPTION A
Tolkien was marking School Certificate papers when he found a blank page and wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." This is one aspect of setting in his novel, The Hobbit, and it is the place where Bilbo lives known as Hobbiton in The Shire. The Shire shows the reader an unusual village where Hobbits live in holes in the ground with round doors, trees and a lake.
OPTION B
Names of settings in Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit, were strongly influenced by Norse mythology. Some of these settings are: Bag End (Bilbo's House), Mirkwood and the Elven Kingdom. The settings often reflect Bilbo's state of mind as he journeys from the safety of his home, through the dangers of the forest to the dark dungeons of the Elves.
OPTION A
Tolkien was marking School Certificate papers when he found a blank page and wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." This is one aspect of setting in his novel, The Hobbit, and it is the place where Bilbo lives known as Hobbiton in The Shire. The Shire shows the reader an unusual village where Hobbits live in holes in the ground with round doors, trees and a lake.
OPTION B
Names of settings in Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit, were strongly influenced by Norse mythology. Some of these settings are: Bag End (Bilbo's House), Mirkwood and the Elven Kingdom. The settings often reflect Bilbo's state of mind as he journeys from the safety of his home, through the dangers of the forest to the dark dungeons of the Elves.