Some Basic Guidelines
DONíT summarize – Though it might seem easy to preface your thesis with only a synopsis of the texts youíre writing about, this is a particularly dull way to begin a paper.
DON’T keep reiterating your thesis – Your thesis should appear in your intro as the culmination of the previous thoughts, not just something you mention and then keep restating to fill up a paragraph.
DO ask yourself questions – Why is your thesis relevant? How is its being proven important to the understanding of either text or fact? By linking your argument to a larger issue, you will give your argument both universality and interest.
DO be creative – Think about what aspect of your topic you find the most interesting, and figure out why. Use this to make it interesting to your reader.
Some Freebies
(The following are some pre-packaged introduction ideas. It is important, however, not to just adopt one and use it for every paper, particularly for the same instructor. This practice will become trite very quickly.)
