Let Me Introduce Myself

Phone Rings
Caller ID - RESTRICTED
You: Hello?
Female Voice: She totally blew me off!
You: Who is this?
Female Voice: I just can't believe she didn't show up on time!
You: I think you have the wrong number.
Female Voice: Ohmigosh! I can't believe you don't know who it is!

Ever have this, or a similar situation, happen where you pick up the phone, and the person on the other end of the telephone starts talking to you assuming you know who he/she is? Although most people have caller ID today, sometimes the caller ID shows a number you don't recognize or a restricted number. In these situations, you are left to try to determine who the person on the other end is and about what he/she is talking. In the above scenario, the caller could be a friend or family member. She could be talking about a date with her girlfriend, meeting a friend, or having a relative not show up for dinner or a movie or a doctor's appointment. No confusion would exist for you if the caller had said, "Hi Jane! It's Joan. You won't believe what happened last night when I was supposed to meet Sara for dinner! I'm so angry!" If the caller had introduced herself, you would be oriented as to who is speaking and what the conversation is going to be discussing.

An introduction to an essay works the same way. Let's look at what Joan's introduction says about her telephone call.

1) She addresses her audience - Jane
2) She introduces herself - Joan
3) She tells her audience what the topic is going to be - Sara
4) She tells her audience what her she is going to discuss - The events of dinner the previous night.
5) She tells her audience the importance of her call - To express her anger over these events.

An introduction to a paper serves essentially the same purposes. The introduction to a paper should include most of these elements. The reader should know by the end of an introduction why s/he is reading the essay, what the essay is about, what the essay will discuss, and why the essay is important. For most longer essays, an introduction should be longer than a few sentences to give the reader all of these pieces of information.

First, when writing an introduction, you should explain to the reader what the topic is going to be. The essay could be about the meaning of symblism in The Great Gatsy, how education impacts people's ability to achieve the American Dream, or why stem cell research is important to advancements in medical treatment. If your introduction discusses the impact of a teacher on a student's ability to learn, the reader is going to think the essay is about teachers. However, if your introduction explains why education is important in achieving the American Dream, your reader will know that you are discussing the state of American education as a whole. Orienting your reader in your introduction keeps the reader from having the feeling that s/he is playing a game of pin the tail on the donkey. Remember that game? Someone would blindfold you, spin you around, and then ask you to pin or tape a paper tail on a paper donkey? Usually, kids laughed because the tails rarely ended up on the donkey's behind because they were dizzy and disoirented from being spun around. Being dropped into the middle of an essay without a proper introduction gives the reader the same feeling of disorientation. The purpose of all essays is clarity of thought. If the reader is unclear as to the exact topic of your essay, your thoughts are unclear to that person.

In orienting the reader, the introduction should give a basic discussion as to the importance of the topic in the broader scope of writings on the subject. What does literary theory say about the symbolism in The Great Gatsby? What has happened in the history of education that impacts your thesis? What are the differing opinions surrounding stem cell research and its importance in medical research? Any of these backgrounds will give the reader some sense as to why the essay is important in the greater scope of debate about the topics. Without understanding the importance of your topic, the reader has no idea as to why your essay is worth reading. Moreover, if the reader has no background in or limited knowledge about the topic, as with many research papers, giving this person some insight into the history or importance of your topic helps him/her better understand why you are taking the position you are taking.

Also, the introduction should give the reader a clear sense of your opinion on the subject. Always remember that your reader knows nothing about you except what is on the page in front of him/her. Therefore, to be clear, your introduction should not only contain a clear thesis statement but should also use connotation of the words used throughout to give the reader insight as to where this essay is heading. For example, if your introduction continually says things like, "stem cell research is extremely difficult to discuss" and "stem cell research has many opponents" and "stem cell research is considered immoral", you reader is going to think that you oppose the use of stem cell research. If that reader gets to a thesis that then says, "Stem cell research is important to the future of medicine since it can help cure many diseases," that reader is going to be very confused. While you may want to explain the controversy surrounding stem cell research, your specific point of view should be clear. Statements such as "Although some people think stem cell research is immoral" indicate that some, but not all, people feel this way. The reader, then, can see that you are likely a person who does not agree with "some people." When your reader finally gets to your thesis statement, s/he is well aware of your position and will not be confused as to whether your thesis is that stem cell research is important or whether the statement contains a typo.

Your introduction should also contain some kind of hint as to what your arguments are going to be and what you are going to discuss. Think of your introduction as the place in which you get to state your basic ideas without having to back them up. Supporting arguments should be broad ideas. These broad ideas can often be summarized in one or two sentences with the remainder of your supporting proof being saved for later. If you clearly lay out in the introduction what arguments you plan to use, the reader knows what to look for in the rest of the essay.

Let's look at three different introductions.

1) In today's world, computers and technology are becoming increasingly important. Many jobs require that students understand how to use computers and how to work with them. Video games can help students learn how to type. Computer word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, contain elements such as spell check and grammar check to help students in their college classes. Taking an English composition class is extremely important in college to help students prepare for life after school.

2) Writing is considered to be the most boring topic by many students. Academic writing is very different from writing in "the real world." Many students who wish to own their own businesses have no interest in learning academic writing because once they complete school they will not need these skills. With more colleges and universities requiring students to take composition classes, students feel they are wasting their time with these courses that have no application to their futures. Taking an English composition class is extremely important in college to help students prepare for life after school.

3) Although many students feel that writing is boring, many of the jobs that college graduates obtain after school require good writing skills. Even though academic and business writing are somewhat different, they both require clear explanation of thoughts. When students learn how to use words, they are able to express themselves in writing to others. As more business is done by email, written expression of ideas becomes more important to keep from having unneccessary conflict in the workplace. In addition, even though many students feel that owning their own business means that they do not need to know how to write, this belief is incorrect. Even when students believe that their businesses will have nothing to do with writing because they are trades, getting contracts and writing proposals use many of the same skills that writing an academic essay uses. These skills include logically expressing one's thoughts, using correct language to express these ideas, and sounding sophisticated through the use of correct grammar. Thus, taking an English composition class is extremely important in college to help students prepare for life after school.

Each of these introductions contains the same thesis. However, the first one does not discuss writing as a college course until the thesis. The entire time the reader is reading the essay, s/he is confused about what the topic is. This introduction fails to orient the reader as to the essay's topic. Until the reader reaches the thesis, s/he thinks that the essay is about technology and its importance in education. The thesis comes as a total surprise to the reader, and s/he is confused as to what the essay is going to discuss. Is the essay going to be about the importance of a writing class? Is the essay going to be about using technology in schools? Confusing the reader does not help him/her understand your point of view. When thoughts are not clearly expressed, the essay is not accomplishing its goal.

The second introduction clearly orients the reader as to the topic. The topic of the second introduction is clearly writing. However, the way that it is written leads the reader to believe that the writer thinks writing is a waste of a class. Writing is made to seem, in the second introduction, as boring, not applicable to the real world, and a waste of time. Thus, while the reader knows that the essay is about writing classes in colleges, s/he is surprised to see that the position is one that writing classes are important. Again, the introduction fails to clearly explain the writer's thoughts.

The third introduction, however, is what you should try to write for an essay. First of all, of the three, it is the longest. Therefore, if you have to write an essay of a specific length, you have already written quite a bit. You are well on your way at this point to any word count. Second, it clearly establishes the topic of the essay as the importance of writing classes in colleges. It shows that even though students may not realize these classes are important, they are. It also clearly shows that the skills being taught in a writing class are what make these courses important to students, regardless of what they think they will do after college. The introduction clearly indicates early on that writing classes are important. The arguments are going to discuss the skills learned in writing classes and potentially how they apply to the increased need for writing in emails in the workplace and the need for writing to obtain business if one owns a business after graduation. Thus, when the reader reaches the thesis statement, s/he is not surprised by it and even understands what the rest of the essay is going to discuss.

The good thing about introductions is that they are the place for you to discuss your opinion without having to support it with evidence. While you may use a quotation that summarizes your thoughts or gets you started with your thoughts, these are not necessary to have in an introduction. Therefore, you can talk all you want in an introduction and then support your arguments in the body of your paper.

Introductions should be interesting not just to the reader but also to the writer. They should be places in which your voice comes out clearly. Your readers want to know what you are thinking. They want to know why a topic or idea is important to you. Having fun with an introduction by incorporating stories or fake situations that show the importance of your topic are often good ways for people who are more creative to become interested in their essay topics. While you may not enjoy writing an essay with all of the citations and supporting quotations involved, try to enjoy writing the introduction. If you enjoy writing the introduction, the reader will enjoy reading it. Give your reader the best side of yourself because in a good introduction, you not only introduce your reader to your topic but to yourself.