How to start an essay
a. How to start an essay introduction
Writing essay introductions can be quite a difficult task for many. Worry less. This article got you covered in brilliant ways and techniques you can use to artistically draft appealing essay introductions.
Let’s get in;
Sum up all the vital elements together.
These elements should be as per the dictates of your essay topic, taking all the necessary precautions not to be out of topic. This will prevent the event of content ‘dry up’ in the course of your essay as ideas trickle and overlap each other in the writer’s head as is the case most of the time in a human head. By summing up and arranging all the areas you would like to address in your essay, this will enable the essayist to capture all the essential thematic areas in totality and exhaustion and turn to create confidence to the target audience.
Lure your target audience.
The only way to attract an audience in your essay is by making it appear unique, special and out of this world as everyone is excited to something new and which they have never encountered before other than the usual ‘pedestrian’ essays. In the case of fiction work or even non-fiction, consider being specific to whatever topic you are addressing. This will enable the audiences to easily capture whatever you are trying to put across with great ease.
Prioritize your thematic points.
A good essay will focus on the main points first and then followed by those considered less important. This will enable the readers to acquire what you are trying to put across from the onset and get the general impression even before reading the entire work. This may have the advantage of saving time that could have been used in reading the whole work.
b. Ways to start an essay (essay starters)
Thesis question.
The very first thing an essayist should formulate is a thesis statement that plays the role of summarizing what the essay is all about and which in return makes the audience get a glimpse overview of the entire work.
Cementing your topics.
A good essay should ensure that all the topics are related and unravel coherently and sequentially in the sense that one part logically leads to the other.
Provide ‘make-belief’.
In the case of fiction work in essay writing, the essayist should ensure that the presented work sounds and appears realistic and can be applied in day-day life. This means that fiction work should be free from extreme levels of exaggerations that make the work sound impossible to believe.
The dichotomy of ideas.
As much as ideas are supposed to flow, each should present independent and different points of view related to the essay topic. This is to say that one idea should carry its meaning differently from the preceding or former.
Opening formula.
This aspect will introduce the audience to the world of imagination in the case of fiction essay. This is not only limited to works of fiction but can also be used in presenting non-fiction works. In the non-fiction, the essayist can begin with a famous quote that relates to the thematic concern being addressed in the essay.
c. Creative essay
- Must be either outstanding ideal or fictitious work.
An excellent creative essay should be based on great imagination from the ordinary day-day experiences derived from the environment. This often applies to fiction work. However, fictitious the task seems, it should be referenced and sourced from the ordinary. - Should be within reasonable lengths.
Creative work however attractive it is, should not be too long or too short in terms of a sentence or even paragraph length. Long work exhausts your audience. This may be related to over-spicing. The essay length should be moderated to fit into the audience specifications without more or less. - Should allocate equal roles to characters.
Fiction work should consider both the protagonist and the villain in almost equal measure. One character, however significant they may seem, should not be over-burdened with roles. The roles matching the villain in your work should try as much as possible to equal the resolutions by the protagonist such that when weighed, they should balance off. - Should point out a distinction between the main protagonists and villains.
Fiction essays ought to bring out a clear line of a dichotomy between the villain and the protagonist in terms of role allocation, and the impacts should negate each other conspicuously in your essay. - The thematic concerns should come out uniquely.
The overriding or central main ideas should be reflected at least in each essay paragraph, and then supported by the minor themes that will act as the building blocks constructing the central ideas.
d. Starting an essay with a quote
- .Quotes from renowned personalities.
If necessary, begin your essay work with a quote from a celebrity or a great academician. The quote should be directly linked to your essay topical thematic concerns and should correlate with one another in a mutual and symbiotic manner. This will then have the advantage of luring your target audiences for it acts as a marketing strategy to your essay as you strive to sell your ideas to your audience. Depending on the fame of your quote, the audience will get attracted to your essay. - Objective and unambiguous quotes.
The essayist should ensure that the quote they are trying to put into use, brings out the points clearly and directly such that it will not attract debate in the audience later on. Subjective and relative quotes related to your essay work will do more harm than good in the sense that it will be open to criticism from the audience, making it vulnerable. The quote should play the role of a topic sentence in a paragraph of your essay. - Reinforcement, memorable and compatible quotes.
A good essayist will employ these aspects when quoting so that their work is produced and immediately seconded by a reliable source more familiar to the audience. The compatibility aspect should come in the sense that the quote blends in perfectly with the work. The advantage of this being that the work will be permanently installed in the audiences’ mind for a long time due to the permanent impact created.
Summary of the advantages and how to start an essay with a quote:
- Use quotes from tremendous and renowned sources or personalities.
- Use reinforcing memorable and compatible quotes related to your essay topic.
- Use objective quotes that negate ambiguities.
e. How to start a paragraph in an essay
- First, have an introductory paragraph.
This will be useful in ushering in and inaugurating the readers in your essay. This will also play the role of the definition of terms that will be used in your essay to lessen the audience strain in comprehension.
- Secondly, have a descriptive paragraph.
This plays the role of demystifying and illumination of concepts central points of concern in your essay to the readers. This gives a detailed account of your subject matter. - Thirdly, have an illustration in the form of a paragraph.
This will be different from the descriptive paragraph in the sense that, it provides more account on information by using physical tools such as pictorials samples or other sophisticated and easy to understand tools. - Lastly, have a concluding paragraph.
This paragraph plays a vital role in summarizing your essay by highlighting the most sticking parts.
SENTENCING IN ESSAYS.
a. Can you start an essay sentence with ‘be’?
More often than not, an essay sentence does not start with the conjunction ‘be’ being one of it. However, there are specific instances where conjunctions such as ‘be’ may be used. This presents exceptions that may not always be the case in essay writing. An essay being a literary work, therefore, can break the same few grammatical rules by beginning with a conjunction such as ‘be ‘to suit it and achieve specific intents to manipulate the plot and attract its target audiences.
Below are the specific instances where ‘be’ can be used at the beginning of an essay
- When using ‘be’ to achieve and attain a stylistic effect in an essay.
This may be applicable in the literature to bring in a stylistic effect to your work. For example a sentence like; Be bad or good; I still ate the food. The illustration has been used to create an Alliteration effect in the sentence. The focus is on the production and pronunciation of the /b/ sound in the two words. This, in essay writing, will create musicality and rhythm effect. This, therefore, grants it a poetic license and makes it viable for use. - When mentioning something for the second time.
You cannot use it if you had not mentioned or introduced it somewhere in the course of your essay write up. - When creating a melodramatic effect to your essay.
This will often be seen as an intentional or deliberate error in your essay to be melodramatic or sarcastic.
b. Can you start an essay sentence with ‘which’?
Literature, most of the time, may be allowed to break some few grammars here and there in the process of putting across a specific message to suit the target audience’s specifications and needs. Within the essay or literature space; therefore, this may be allowed. For example; in making rhetorical questions in essay plot development. This mainly serves to give forth a specific function in the work.
Instances where ‘which’ may be used
- When playing a stylistic function in an essay
This may be seen in alliteration or the rhetoric question aspect of style. - When elaborating concepts
For example;
…of which Tom had already taken from the shop.
This example demonstrates how ‘which’ has been used for the elaboration of missing parts in the essay and creates a vague idea of what the person is talking about to the target audience.
c. Can you start a sentence with ‘since’?
- ‘Since’ can be used both in literature and grammar to bring in the aspect of ‘As a result’.
For example;
I went to the kitchen since I was hungry. - ‘Since’ to show the aspect of time and duration of an event.
For example;
Since the 4th of November 2015, I have never gone for a trip.
The above illustrations offer a glimpse of the use of ‘since’ in essay writing. The essayist will use it when deemed necessary. Usually, the application does not change whether grammatically used or literarily. This offers the rare instance where grammar rules get in agreement with the literature rules. The advantage of this, as well as most of the terms in grammar, can be coined to bring in the desired effect in literature.
PARAGRAPHING IN ESSAYS
a. How long should an introduction paragraph be?
An introductory paragraph in essay writing ought to be a doorway ushering in the readers into the authors’ work. Plays the role of abstract in the case of term paper writing for it highlights all the areas the essay is anticipating to tackle. It should, therefore, be informative but still be moderate in length. In other words, it may be the opening to unwrap the other paragraphs.
b. Ways to start a paragraph
- An essay paragraph can begin with a quotation from a reputable source.
- Start with the thesis statement well reflected at the beginning
- Start with the most luring aspects to attract the reader to read the remaining parts of it.
c. Opening paragraph
An opening paragraph should contain the very best of what the essayist intends to put across. The paragraph should create a skeleton version of the entire essay. The reader should be able to grasp vaguely what the whole essay is all about through it. In other words, it is the mirror of the entire essay.
Should consider:
- Capturing the main ideas out of the essay sample.
- Using the best vocabulary and language in luring the audiences.
d. Sample of an introduction essay paragraph
Grusha crosses the rotten bridge to save Michael. Behind her, the soldiers followed her closely baying for Michael’s blood. They were intending to kill him through beheading the same way they did his father. Grusha manages to cross over, saving the child with her safely.
The sample above shows the topic and thesis statement in the first sentence. The reader can capture what is going on after reading it. It offers a summary of the events that transpire in it.
Wrapping it up
Now that you’ve gone through the above brilliant essay writing tips, inculcate them and for sure you will succeed in your creative writing.