If there is anything about writing your first academic essay of the year that scares you, it's probably the very beginning. That's right: the Blank Page. It's staring directly at you. Your cursor, unmoving and blinking, mocks you.
"Why, hello", it says. "It doesn't seem that you've made any progress at all on your paper that is due tomorrow."
"I know, I know. I-" you stutter, "I-I've just got to get the introduction paragraph down then it's smooth sailing from there. I mean..."
"What introduction paragraph tho? lmao."
Yes, the introduction paragraph is insanely hard to write. For the longest time, it was the worst part of writing an essay for me. I loathed starting a paper. I loathed the blank page. I'd loathe it so much that I would push it back to the end of the week hoping that, in some miraculous way, the pain of writing an introduction paragraph would disappear into thin air. Somehow, though, I'd be starting it the night before, thinking I'd be able to stomach blank page blues and hammer out the best introduction paragraph I could ever write. How was I supposed to combat this? How is anyone ever supposed to get off the ground with their papers?
There are a number of ways that people face blank page/intro blues. They'll "vomit" all their ideas onto the blank page and go back for editing, create an outline, even save the introduction paragraph for last. With any of these styles, the best piece of advice that I've ever received on writing an intro paragraph was to "think of it as a movie trailer."
I found this hack when I was in a co-tutoring session with my dear friend, Matt, at the writing center one day. Our client was having a lot of trouble writing their intro paragraph. He offered to our client to think of their essay as a movie and their introductory paragraph a movie trailer - a hack that he learned from another friend a couple years ago. It low-key changed the way that I look at writing. And it kind of really makes sense.
So, think of your first paragraph as a GOOD movie trailer. Here are some things you can learn from writing your introductory paragraph like a movie trailer:
A good movie trailer introduces the main things that will be found in the movie
Whether that's a series of katana battles, a talking dog and a setting at the University of Kansas - include it! This means having a clear idea of what you're going to be writing about. It doesn't have to be the standard "3 main points that form into 3 main paragraphs" sort of deal that most teachers taught back in middle school, but the main takeaways, i.e. the setting(s) and the conflict. Almost all trailers come out after the movie is finished - so if you do prefer to skip the intro and write the remaining paragraphs, that is completely okay and maybe even a good idea.
Doesn't spoil the dang movie
Don't you hate those awful movie trailers disclose just about every funny scene and twist ending that the movie could possibly offer? Professors/Teachers don't like that ish either. Just like a movie trailer for a good movie, the introduction sets up the context for how the essay is going to be written, but it doesn’t “spoil” the whole paper.
Grabs the audience's attention
Like introductions, most movie trailers are very short. The directors know that they have a very limited amount of time to give the audience a pitch to see the movie - so they need to catch their attention and interest fast. Sometimes, this comes in the form of striking music, the protagonist jumping out of a burning building, cute fluffy animals, mile long conga lines or humor. There are a lot of things that a director can do, and *spoiler alert* so can you. While you're limited to using only words in your academic paper, think of things that grab your attention while reading. Use things such as startling statistics, thought-provoking questions, interesting facts or a relevant story. Austin Ballad of the blog, Writer's Domain, recommends, "Stick to one or two sentences at most in your hook—enough to engage your reader into reading the rest of your introduction. Leaving information unfinished in the beginning makes your reader anxious to find out how the various topics will connect later on."
Showcases the conflict
Or rather, in your case, the argument. This is the reason you're writing the essay in the first place. These are your thoughts, your personal discovery. Own this part for yourself and run with it.
Ends with a promise
Unlike movie trailers, the audience doesn't have to wait for "Summer of 2018" or "This Christmas," to experience your piece of work. End your movie trailer with a promise, yield a promise to share your side of the argument, or reveal the top-secret details of the next paragraphs you write. What is this? OMG A THESIS. This will be the transition to where your feature presentation will begin, make it snazzy.
Take a seat in the director's chair, my friend. Fire your requests. Write away. Defeat the Blank Page with every word that you pound into the keyboard and you'll find your movie trailers... I mean, introduction paragraphs striking the fancy of every audience you'll encounter.
