Eugh! I can't write essays!!!! How do you write the introduction?

Question

Last year I was writing essays twice a week or so, but this year I've got a total block - I still haven't handed in any work at all because I just can't start the essays, and I have five or so due in, and I know what I want to write in the middle, but it's the intro I'm having problems with...
The one I've been dribbling over all morning is to discuss the environmental impacts of mineral extraction, how would I start that one off?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Write what you know - start somewhere; anywhere - just start.

Then write your conclusion.

Write your introduction last.

The format for an essay is:

Tell people what you're going to say. (Introduction)

Say it. (body)

Tell them what you said. (conclusion)


Good luck with your work - awful when it drags on I know.

Answer 2

write the middle bit first if you know what you want to say. The introduction is only really a brief description of the middle bit, so once you've done most of the essay you can summarise what you've written as an introduction.

i guess the intro would go something like: "this essay will consider the environmental impacts of mineral extraction. it will start by giving a brief description of the process of mineral extraction, then describe the various environmental impacts in turn, including blah blah and blah

Good luck! i also hate writing essays but you always get them done eventually - starting them is the hardest part

Answer 3

With an introduction you have to assume that the reader knows absolutely nothing about the subject, in your case Romeo and Juliet. I believe that is the key to writing the introduction. All the various aspects of the play will be written in more detail in chapters after of course. Why not just google it, wikipedia, etc. and see how they start the description of the subject off. Making such a well known play sound something really interesting straight off the bat is hard I know. I would start something like : Romeo and Juliet is a well known play written in ---- by William Shakespeare... who was a court -------. The story is about ----------------- It is well known all over the World -----------. or In the 1600...s a playwright by the name of -----------. (Describe the place, history, time, environment, writer) Then to on to briefly say how popular the play is, has been recorded, rewritten? etc. Draft it several times, rewrite and ask someone else which one sound more interesting. Is there something you could write that would make the reader look twice, grab their attention. A little snippet sometimes makes it all the more interesting. Yankeeteachers idea of a quote in the introduction is excellent advice - Never thought of that! Hope it all works out well for you.

Answer 4

ok.. intros were the bain of my life throughout school and university. You have to remember that an introduction is almost like a summary of the essay.

For example, with your essay title you could
1) maybe open with a brief fact to support your title. e.g it has been caculated that mining for gold produces anough carbon to make 1 million pencils (not a real fact mind you but you get the picture)
2) Detail the premis surrounding your title. e.g with global warming consistantly in the headlines, it has highlighted the environmental impacts of mineral extraction.
3) Breifly outline the mineral extraction processes you are going to discuss.
4)Brieifly outline the main environmental impacts (e.g carbon footprints, pollution, destroying rainforests etc)
5) This essay discusses the environmental impacts of mineral extraction and examines the cost-benefits associated with each.

Hope that helps

Answer 5

The introduction should be like unfurling the body of your subject. When you have the outline before you, look at the main points and introduce them briefly. Be short and concise but not too revealing. The intro should spark interest to move to the body and unravel the theme.
I would say something about the disgusting tailings and eye sore that a mineral extraction sites bring to bear. The noisy machinery and the workers health risks of the toxic properties of the tailings. The water table at risk also, and finally the cost of cleaning the mess up.

Answer 6

Write the bit you can do and come back to the intro at the end. An introduction only needs to be about a hundred words or so; just a paragraph explaining what is the content of the essay - i.e. what it sets out to prove or disprove, or explain - and how you will approach that.

Answer 7

When I was in college, I'd start with the body of the essay then attack the intro after I'd finished the summary and an undisclosed number of beers and shore up the results of my enebriated epiphany the next day (with pretty good results most of the time). That way I got the body of the paper down. I knew where I was going with the paper, and the intro just about wrote itself.

Good luck

A.C.

Answer 8

Begin by thinking of an example you can use.. something interesting to catch the readers attention... use that idea to organize your essay to cover a specific topic "mineral extraction" use a logical order in your essay and show the steps... always show "in words" don't tell about it.. It is not a report its an essay... so have fun be creative and make it interesting...

Answer 9

If you can't get your intro on paper, leave it and work on the main body. Figure out what your main points and and work on them.

An intro is a way to show the direction you are going, clearly you are having trouble determining what that is, so give yourself some time to figure it out. First drafts are just that.

The more you work on the actual essay, the more you will understand your direction and then the intro will be easy.

Answer 10

A tip I had once: for the introduction, write what the main body of the essay will be about. For the conclusion, summarise the main body of the essay. This also applies to public speaking. You tell them what you are going to talk about, and then tell them what you have said.

Answer 11

Start with your thesis statement. This should really be the last sentence of your first paragraph, so here's a basic structure for your introduction. You can play around with it until it's just right for each paper...

1. Introductory sentence (introduce your topic)
2/3/4. List your main points/arguments, perhaps a brief description of what you say about them
5. Thesis statement