The Aim of a Strong Introduction
Along with excellent organization, your presentation lets the visitor know that what you ’ ve written is of sake. For what reasons would person come to read your post ? Craft an presentation that shows them they ’ ve come to the proper place. here are a few tactics and presentation examples to help you accomplish that .
RELATED: 3 Ways to Master the Power of Empathy In Your Writing
1
Answer the question “Why should I read this?”
In the intro to this article, I smacked you in the face with a statistic : If you don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate capture a lector ’ mho attention within fifteen seconds, 55 percentage will surf on to something else. right from the first conviction, I ’ ve told you why this article matters, which is a mighty way to compel person to read on.
2
Engage the visitor with an anecdote.
Hook the visitor in with an challenging narrative that gives a hint as to what the article is about and she ’ s more probably to continue recitation .
Example:
In the summer of 2015, Stan Transkiy was 16 years into a life sentence, and he had last found a direction to occupy his time .
—Colin Lecher, Ghost in the Cell
Here’s a tip: flush how-to articles can benefit from the storytelling proficiency. Consider the problems your lector might have that caused them to seek out your mail, then begin with a brief relatable history to engage their attention .
3
Tell the reader “This is not for you. (But not really. It totally is.)”
When you tell person “ Whatever you do, don ’ triiodothyronine think of a purple gorilla ! ” the first thing they do is think of a empurpled gorilla. ( You ’ rhenium welcome ! Don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate concern ; he ’ s friendly. ) The same psychological tactic can work in writing an presentation .
Example:
Why do you look so angry ? This article hasn ’ t even begun and already you disapprove. Why can ’ thymine I ever win with you ? I see it in your confront .
If this sounds unfamiliar, beneficial for you. You don ’ metric ton motivation this .
—Heather Murphy, Why It Seems Like Everyone Is Always Angry With You
4
Share something personal.
much like storytelling, sharing something personal in an introduction can pique a visitor ’ second curio. Either he ’ ll feel he can relate, or the narrative will be sol unique that he ’ ll be driven to read on to discover more .
Example:
I write to fill the page, preferably with nothing .
This ambition was in me before I could write. I grew up in a family of refugees speaking russian, a language that, as my teachers and classmates took pains to remind me, did not belong to me .
—Roman Muradov, Art as a second linguistic process
Here’s a tip: Grammarly runs on powerful algorithms developed by the world’s leading linguists, and it can save you from misspellings, hundreds of types of grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and words that are spelled right but used in the wrong context. Grammarly runs on knock-down algorithms developed by the global ’ s leading linguists, and it can save you from misspellings, hundreds of types of grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and words that are spelled right but used in the wrong context. Learn More 
5
Ask a question.
Some may argue that this introduction-writing proficiency is overused, but now and then a compel question is the pilfer your patch needs. It ’ s particularly effective if the visitor has to read on to uncover the answer .
Example:
What do you get when you combine a classic psychology experiment with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence ?
—Stephanie Pappas, Why We Might Miss Extraterrestrial Life even If It ’ mho Staring Us in the face
Best Practices for Writing an Introduction
There ’ s no one perfective way to write an introduction. Your technique will vary depending on factors like your topic, the tone of your issue, and your consultation. here are a few do ’ second and don ’ thymine .
- Do keep your introduction paragraph short. There are no hard and fast rules, but for most types of features and blog posts three or four sentences is a reasonable goal.
- Don’t waste words. Write lean. Get rid of filler words and phrases. It’s good to practice clean, crisp writing in general, but it’s especially important in an opening paragraph to capture your reader’s attention.
- Do consider eliminating your first sentence. Your first sentence (or even your first two or three) is often a sort of writer’s warmup. Cut it and see if it makes the intro stronger.
- Don’t oversell it. Never let your intro write a check your article can’t cash. Whatever you promise in the opening paragraph, make sure you deliver in the post itself.
- Do try drafting the rest of your article before working on the introduction. Often, writing a piece will reveal the best way to introduce it. If your intro doesn’t flow from the beginning, start with a placeholder and write the opening paragraph after the article is complete.
Take time craft and carefully edit your presentation. It can mean the difference between a reviewer navigating away to greener digital pastures or staying on the page to read what you ’ ve written, share, and prosecute. 
