Writing Introductory Paragraphs: Essays

When you write introductory paragraphs for essays, you want to introduce the reader to what you will be talking about without giving everything away. Lets start off with some weak and strong examples of introductory paragraphs.

Weak:
JK Rowling is an author. She was born in 1990 and got divorced I think in 1997. She wrote a lot of books. She won the Smarties Prize for he Chamber of Secrets book. Her books are really famous. I'm going to tell you more about her.

Strong:
JK Rowling is a popular British children's book author who was born in 1990. She wrote many popular books including the Harry Potter series in which many children and adults love. But what else did she do other than writing the Harry Potter series? Well, you're about to find out!

In the weak example, too much was given away. We would save her divorce date and the date of the Smarties prize announcement for the body of the essay, and we would never use the phrase, "I think." And the last sentence which reads, "I'm going to tell you more about her" should never be used. You should never directly say what you will be writing about, and you try to end in a nice, fun way.

Using a question like in the strong example grabs the reader's attention- that is if it is used properly. The strong example did not get too specific, but it still gave some really good details. The strong example is clearly better than the weak one.

Tools and tips to make the paragraph better:

• Start out with a question or a cliffhanger to grab the reader's attention.
• Never directly say what you will write about.
• Don't reveal too much of your essay.

I hope this post helped!

Replacing "Boring" Words

When you write, you will want to use good words like, "excellent, gigantic, and hilarious," instead of "good, big, and funny." Here are some examples.

Before:
There was a big wolf blocking the road. I stopped our small car. He ran across the road when he saw us. We heard howls only minutes after he left. It was a good experience seeing him.

After:
There was an almost huge wolf blocking the road. I stopped our tiny car. He ran across the road when he saw us. We heard howls only minutes after he left. It was an awesome experience seeing him.

You can really see the difference! You can also add words in between your other ones to add details.

Before:
There was an almost huge wolf blocking the road. I stopped our tiny car. He ran across the road when he saw us. We heard howls only minutes after he left. It was an awesome experience seeing him.

After:
There was an almost huge grey wolf blocking the road. I quickly stopped our tiny car. He ran swiftly across the road when he saw us. We heard multiple howls only a few minutes after he left. It was an awesome experience seeing him.

There is even more detail after adding just these few words! I hope this helps!

Adding Details

Whenever you write, you want to capture the reader's attention. One way you can do this is by adding details. You could describe what you saw, how something looked, or what you heard. You could describe someone's personality or appearance. When you add details that are about what you hear, taste, smell, see, or feel, you are adding sensory details. Sensory details along with other descriptions can really make your writing better. For example:

Before:
When I was about to cross the street, a car drove past me. I was shocked but continued after it left.

After:
When I was about to cross the busy street, a shiny, bright red car flew past me! I was shocked but slowly continued with much hesitation after the loud speed demon left.

You can immediately recognize the difference. In the first example, you can't make that good of a picture in your head. In the second example, the writing is interesting and fun to read. Another thing you can do is replacing words like "good" and "bad" with words like "awesome" and "terrible." You can also become more specific with details. Let's do one more example.

Before:
In Alaska, I found sea glass. It looked cool. My mom and I thought that the beach we found it on was pretty. We went inside the shop after that. It was fun.

After:
In Juneau, Alaska, I found a gorgeous piece of sea glass! It looked amazing with a light blue color and a perfect diamond shape. My mom and I thought that the rocky beach we had found it on was simply amazing. We went into the bordering shop after that. It was awesome.

It's kind of funny how just a few words can make such a huge difference! Well, I hope this helped. Thanks for reading. Bye!

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   Hi! Its Brinley here. You may know me as the author of Saving Big Cats and We're Making a Difference. On this blog, I write about writing! I love to write. It's very fun for me. I think that my blog will help people learn to write stories, articles, and essays. Hope you enjoy!