Effectively introducing essay topics

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Effectively introducing essay topics
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Tips on starting an essay

• Introductions are important as they grab the
  attention of the reader.
• Introductions set the tone for the essay. Is the
  topic serious? Humorous? Sad?
• Introductions demonstrate the way the essay will
  be tied together.
• It is important to select the right type of
  introduction as it sets up the structure the
  writer will use.
• Useful tips on writing an introduction follow.

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Anecdote

• Start with an anecdote
• Tell the reader a story. For example, behind the
  Dunker Church a group of Texans was having
  breakfast and a break from the battle when a
  shell exploded in their camp. This so upset the
  Texans that they immediately swept the Yankees
  from the battlefield.

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Another viewpoint

• For a long time, a souvenir was open for business
  at Antietam. Here is a photo of the story.
  Consider the stories the store owner could have
  told about the tourists and scholars who visited
  the area.

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Use the five senses

• Take the reader to the scene, using all five
  senses. For example, the night before the battle
  at Antietam, Union cavalry escaped a Confederate
  attack at Harpers Ferry on a back road on the
  other side of this stream. Let the reader see,
  hear, touch, smell and even taste the scene.

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Ask a question

• A simple technique is to ask a pertinent
  question. For example, how did it happen that
  this peaceful road, known as Sunken Road, was
  stacked so high in bodies on Sept. 17, 1862, that
  one could not walk across it without stepping on
  the dead? Careful, though, because if you ask a
  question, you must answer it.

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Write a Profile

• Profile a person as an introduction technique. At
  Antietam, a writer could introduce an essay by
  profiling one of the soldiers who fought there
  that day.

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Use chronological order

• Writing in the order of an event is a logical way
  to present an essay. How did events unfold at
  Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, one might ask? Well,
  the dawns first light came with a haze over the
  battlefield. One may start the essay with the
  beginning of the day.

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Compare and Contrast

• Effectively comparing and contrasting the past
  and present is an effective way to start and
  continue to develop an essay. Here is the Sunken
  Road, as it is seen today, contrasted with a
  Matthew Brady photograph taken immediately after
  the battle.

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Deduction in introduction

• Battles are full of what ifs. One can use
  deduction to set up a thesis, main body and
  conclusion. For example, had Burnside made it
  across this bridge earlier in the day, the late
  arrival of A.P. Hill on the battlefield would not
  have come in time and the South could have lost
  the war on Sept. 17, 1862, at Antietam.

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Use definition

• The use of definition can be an effective
  introduction technique. For example, how can one
  define the dedication that Civil War enactors
  demonstrate to the cause of keeping the war alive
  even today? Be careful to not use dictionary
  definitions as they are often seen as trite and
  may even restrict your own definitions.

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Significant statistics

• Depending upon your focus, the use of significant
  statistics can be a useful introduction strategy.
  For example, this battle resulted in over 23,000
  casualties, the most ever for U.S. soldiers in a
  one-day battle. Start an essay with that fact. It
  is significant.

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Start with a twist, a novelty

• When a story has a unique twist, include it in
  the introduction. This bridge, today known as
  Burnside Bridge, saw heavy Union losses. The
  twist? Well, a witness of the event lives on.
  Yes, the tree in the upper right-hand corner was
  around that day and today is known as a Witness
  Tree to the battle. Make it speak.

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Use a metaphor

• Use a metaphor to bridge the distance between
  two sides. Yes, a bridge as metaphor can be
  overdone, so proceed with caution. Shifting to
  the literal, this is Burnside Bridge where Union
  losses were huge. The North finally took the
  bridge after officers promised to restore whiskey
  rations.

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Introduce with a summary

• Summaries quickly outline the way an essay will
  be structured. Memorials illustrate the
  technique. For example, how does a writer
  summarize the significance of a man, a brigade,
  or a moment fully enough to be captured in stone
  and also introduce the story?

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Poetic device

• The technique of rhyme can become overdone, but
  writers can use the technique to start an essay.
  This Goldfinch was found chirping at the end of a
  days tour on the battlefield. After my own day
  of reflecting upon death and destruction in this
  battle, the birds song was most appreciated.

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Other tips

• Many other tips may be used as an introductory
  device, such as
• Well-known quotations, but avoid trite phrases
  such as, War is Hell.
• Use figures of speech dont push them too far,
  however.
• Writers should also watch out that they
• Apologizing I am sure I am not right, but it is
  my opinion
• Stating the obvious The assignment calls for me
  to write about
• Overreaching with bold and vague statements
  Antietam was an important battle in the Civil
  War.
• Finally, be sure to use some form of a
  introductory device. Dont merely start writing
  Three important things about Antietam are

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Take your best shot

• To summarize, a good introduction helps your
  essay to take its best shot in helping the
  reader to understand your message. The
  introduction sets up the essays purpose and
  leads the reader into the thesis.