Hi Jenny,

am really poor constructing an essay, and am lost in words or phrase every time I start writing the topic.
Can u give me some advice to improve constructing an introduction. TAnx

Hi adz,

If you get stuck on how to write a good introduction, start by rewriting the question. Make sure you are careful to rephrase it by using different words because you don’t want to simply repeat the question but it is a good way to get started and to focus on the topic.

For example, imagine the following question:

Governments must take stronger action to combat the growing problem of obesity and other related illnesses among young people today which is due to poor diet and lack of physical exercise.

It’s a good idea to highlight the key words and think of synonyms for them to avoid repetition. For example;

Governments - Politicians / Government Ministers
Obesity - weight problems/issues / overeating
Young people - youngsters / youth / children and teenagers
Poor diet - malnutrition / bad nutrition
Physical exercise - sporting activities

Use the synonyms to rephrase the question in your general statement which will be the first sentence of your introduction. You can begin your general statement in a number of ways:

It is true that ...
Nowadays, it is generally considered that ...
In recent years, people have ...
It is widely felt/known/believed that ...
In my country/experience ...

So, for this question your introduction might be something like this:

In my country, health problems in children and teenagers caused by overeating and not doing enough physical activity have only started to rise in the last few years. It is generally believed that a recent increase in the number of youngsters aged between 12 and 18 contracting diabetes is a significant indicator of bad nutrition in our modern dietary habits. Certainly, governments can take measures to tackle this problem but it is not their sole responsibility. Parents and educators must ensure that children are better informed about health and nutrition and have ample opportunity to take regular exercise.

It is important that the last sentence of your introduction tells the reader what the main body of the essay is going to include. It is clear in this example that the introduction will be followed by some examples of possible government measures but also some examples of how parents and teachers can help this problem too.

I hope this helps to answer your question. For more advice about writing introductions and conclusions have a look at the writing module: CHILD OBESITY in the Writing Practice section.

Best wishes,

Jenny
The iPass Team