
What is an essay? The essay is a text in which the author presents and argues his opinion or opinions on a specific topic (this can be social, cultural, political, etc.). The essay is usually used in academic settings, however, today, many authors publish essays for the general reading public thanks to the large increase in sales of this type of writing in recent years.
Each essay, like each author, is totally different. However, there are some basic rules, as far as the structure of an essay is concerned, that allow the text to be presented in an accessible and understandable way for those who read it. If you are thinking of writing one, it is necessary that you know, to begin with, how to introduce an essay. In this oneHOWTO article we will explain exactly what the introduction of an essay is, what it should include and other questions of great interest.
How to introduce an essay
What is an essay introduction? Before knowing how to make an introduction to an essay, you should bear in mind that this part is the reader’s first exposure to the topic at hand, a section that comes just after the essay title. Readers may not be experts on the subject they are going to read about and, for this reason, the introduction should be clear and show mastery of the topic to be discussed. A example of how to start an essay introduction It would be to start by defining the basic terms of the subject or to review the history or theories that cover it. In this article we will explain what the words should be to start an introduction to an essay and what structure it should have.
To learn well how to introduce an essay, it is convenient that you know the basic parts in which these types of texts are usually divided:
- The introduction (which we will talk about in this article).
- The development of the text: where you will present your ideas, opinions, agreements and / or reasoned and argued disagreements.
- The conclusion: where you will review all the ideas developed throughout the text, exposing your final results.
- The annexes– Annexes may or may not appear in an essay. This will depend on whether you have consulted specific sources, cited authors and their works, and so on.
There are different test types, such as literary, critical, scientific or narrative essays. The language of your essay, as well as its purposes, should be adapted to the genre you will use. However, roughly all types of essays should contain the same parts.
If, beyond knowing how to introduce an essay, you want to know more about the structure of the essays and how to develop each of its parts, we invite you to visit What is the structure of an essay, where we explain everything about it.

How to start an essay introduction
The first thing you need to know about how to make an introduction to an essay is to be clear about what you are going to talk about. Do you want to express your opinion and reflection on current politics in the country? Do you want to analyze and make your ideas about the consumer society known to the world? There are many topics to talk about when deciding write an essay. The important thing is that you are clear about what you want to write and why. When in doubt of How to do an essay and then an introduction, you should keep this in mind:
- How you are going to present the topic you are going to deal with.
- How are you going to approach the writing. Will it take the form of a dialogue in which two people ask questions and give answers to the main topic? Or, on the contrary, will it be a chapter narrative in which the various parts of your reasoning will be exposed?
Remember that what you tell is as important as how you tell it, especially when you intend for your work to be read by as many people as possible.
How to start an introduction is as important a task as writing the essay itself. Thanks to a good introduction, you will be able to capture the attention of the reader. For it, it is important that you start your essay with a phrase that “hooks up” and that, in addition, it clearly shows the subject you will be dealing with.
If you want the introduction of your essay to be effective, it is convenient that you take into account the following tips:
- Structure the introduction in a clear way where the paragraphs are well differentiated.
- Use academic or more specialized language if the text is aimed at a scholarly audience.
- If you are looking to write essays that reach the general public, use a language that, although formal, can be understood without having to resort to specialized dictionaries.
- If you need to use a specific term, explain it clearly through annotation or illustrative examples.
Also, you should expose the topic you want to talk about while putting the reader in the situation. To give a example of an academic essay introduction: It is not the same to say “Mobile phones are ending personal relationships and I am against” than to start your text like this:
“Nowadays and, due to the great social and technological changes that we are experiencing, our interpersonal relationships have been diminished by the use of mobile phones, and, as a consequence, of social networks. We all use these virtual communication channels to establish new friendships and even love relationships. Will there come a time when technological advances end up nullifying or transforming the feelings of human beings? Will we lose our innate communication and social skills in pursuit of an exclusively virtual world? ” .
It is about offering the reader the possibility to put themselves in context and, if possible, to identify or understand the problem, idea or theory that you will talk about next. In this other oneHOWTO article we explain How to write an argumentative essayso if you want more examples of an essay introduction, we recommend reading it.

How to make an introduction to an academic essay
For college or academic essays, any introduction begins with what is called a “hypothesis”. Following this hypothesis, and using it as a common thread, the entire essay is developed and argued.
Unlike non-academic essays, to write a university essay you must know that it is very important to know in depth the topic you are going to develop and, in addition, the opinions expressed by other authors on that topic. For this, it is essential that you investigate and know in depth what you are going to talk about. It would not make sense, for example, for you to decide to do an essay on astronomy if your knowledge of it is scarce or very limited.
Just as important as how to begin an essay introduction is knowing what you should never put in it. An excess of information at the beginning of the text, for example, will cause the reader’s interest to end up running out before turning the first page. So that, never include the following in your introduction:
- The conclusions– Your essay conclusions should be like the icing on the cake. You always have to save them for last. In this other article we explain How to conclude an essay.
- Proposals or solutions to the problems raisedNo one ever knows the solution before they know what the problem is, so don’t be in a hurry and get ahead of the facts.

How to write an essay
You already know what an essay introduction is and how to do an essay introduction, however, you have to learn to develop it properly. Writing an essay is a meticulous task that requires work and effort, yes, it is a rewarding job that allows you to express your ideas and expose yourself to your readers. If you are thinking of writing an essay, in addition to conviction, it is important that you have the following tools:
- Written skill: essential to express and argue what you want to convey to the public. Forget monosyllables and short phrases; Reading an essay should provide information and opinions, but it should also make reading a satisfying and enriching action.
- Good spellingBefore you start writing, you must learn how to write. This article about How to expand my vocabulary.
- Synthesis capacity: it is important to develop the topic to be discussed and your opinions, but going around the bush too much can cause the reader to stop reading or lose interest.
- Oral communication skills: This is not always necessary, of course, but in most academic essays there is an oral presentation in which the author must present his work and its results before an audience. If you think you do not have great communication skills, this article on How to improve diction you can help.
To write an essay, and this also includes the question of how to do a university essay, it is recommended that you follow this structure:
- The introduction: be it the presentation of a hypothesis about gamma rays or your ideas about the loss of romanticism in football in pos …