How to Write an Opening Paragraph

Start with the opening. As mentioned above, the introduction can be anything you want — especially a personal essay — as long as it’s contextually correct and relevant to the essay’s content. You can refer to a few of the openings below:

• “I was walking down the street when the disaster happened.”
• “Although my mother was ignorant at the time, she was willing to make a political statement on the morning of June 4, 1976, despite saying nothing.”
• “I made a few mistakes when I was young, but the mistake that taught me the most expensive lesson was that I broke the law for the first time.”

Don’t worry about being too specific about yourself. Personal essays are powerful because in them we share information that is not normally revealed. It could be anything: an obsession or an affair. Don’t be afraid to give some information about the story you tell in the opening. If you don’t want to share too much, just tell the truth.

Personal essays do not need to have a traditional thesis. Although the introduction may require a thesis, it is not the same as the thesis in an explanatory or argumentative essay. The opening of a personal essay can be a story, an explanation of an event. As long as it helps you tell the story, or provides some information that plays a role in the story, the opening doesn’t need to have a traditional thesis.

You need to understand the difference between summary and introduction. The summary is a summary of the experiment. It assumes that readers already know a little about the subject, but have not learned it themselves. Abstracts are usually 200 words long. ^[1] Meanwhile, the introduction details the type of experiment, its subjects, and importance, along with general background information for understanding the experiments. Test results should not be added.

Briefly explain the experiment. Whether you work with temperature models, DNA/RNA replication, or constructs, you should write an introduction that fully explains the experiment. A good introduction will help clarify other factors that determine the success of an experiment.

Explain test subjects. What do you want to prove by doing an experiment? These objects should be related but not synonymous with your hypothesis. The subject will be analyzed in the conclusion, and necessarily clarified.

Provide theoretical predictions of experimental outcomes where possible. Listing theoretical predictions can be useful for what an experiment will yield, especially if the result of the experiment is a groundbreaking discovery. This shows a contrast between what we expect and what happens in reality.

Start with a statement. This statement can be about the work or a conclusion regarding the theme and meaning of the work. The beneficial claim is that it sounds authoritative and grabs the reader’s attention. A few examples of the first sentence in the statement:

• “The illustration of Terrance Malick’s ‘Tree of Life’ is one of the best things about it.”

If possible, include your thesis statement in the opening paragraph. The thesis can be an analysis or presentation about the work you comment on. In general, you can confirm or deny a work of art, or avoid making a general judgment, focusing instead on the content. Because so many people read reviews and wait to hear about the movie you’re talking about, it’s best to mention it a bit in the opening paragraph.

Place the commentary in a literary or filmic context if necessary. Many readers of serious art commentary expect critics to include art content. What does this mean? It means writing about a book or movie that has influenced the work, whether related to an artistic movement or political inspiration. Many readers appreciate you adding this to the opening.

Introduce the topic. Research papers can be in the fields of science or humanities, so whatever the topic, summarize and give readers a clue so they can understand what topic you are researching in the field. Science and Humanities. Take a look at a few examples:

• “Specialist scholars have been studying language and culture side-by-side since the beginning of the link between the two.”
• “Throughout the 20th century, the view of life on another planet has undergone a major shift.”

Consider specifying the direction of the research paper. If your research paper is complex and involves many forms of material, it’s best to make it clear in the opening body of the next research paper. This helps readers grasp the basic argument of the research paper before reading, and makes it easier for them to understand.