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Are you in the process of applying to college and need to get started on writing your college essays? Crafting a strong introduction is important as it catches the reader's attention and sets the scene for the rest of your essay. If you are a student who needs some help on how to get started on writing the introduction to your college essays, this post is designed to provide you with some tips on things to keep in mind when formatting your introduction.
College Essay Introduction Format and Structure
Every introduction needs to have these crucial components - a hook and a thesis statement. A hook is a sentence or phrase that captures the reader's attention right from the beginning of an essay, while a thesis statement is usually found at the end of an introduction and is a sentence or phrase that highlights the main theme, argument, or idea that the author wishes to discuss in the essay. A brief description should be included in between the hook and thesis statement which will set the scene for the rest of the essay. In summary, you should be mindful of the following when crafting the introduction of your essay:
Hook: This grabs the reader's attention right from the beginning of the essay. For a detailed overview of the different types of hooks that you can use in an introduction, see this post here.
Brief description: Write a few sentences that show how you relate to the topic. The admissions officer should understand why this topic is so important to you that you have chosen to include it in your college essays.
Thesis statement: Write a thesis statement that connects the ideas presented in the hook and brief description to the rest of the essay. The thesis statement should reinforce the main idea of the essay.
Word count: A good introduction should be short but also effective. Introductions should typically be around 150-200 words for longer essays such as the Common App essay which has a word limit of 250-600 words. However, many supplemental essays have much shorter word counts. In this case, you should tailor your introduction length to adhere to the word count stated by the particular college you are applying to.
Now that you know the crucial components of a college essay introduction, let's look at some examples taken from the Clastify website, in which you can see how the above points are incorporated. Only the introductions have been included in this post, but click the links in blue to access the full exemplar. The hook will be in blue, the brief description in black, and the thesis statement in orange.
Example 1
I watched the man who held my future in his hand warily. As our substitute teacher moved down the register in sophomore P.E, I crossed my fingers, desperately hoping that l'd hear the right syllables. Pearl, James, Richard... and I knew by the ensuing silence he was finally reading my name. My heartbeat grew so loud you'd have thought there was someone sprinting inside my chest. Finally, he asked "Is Addy here? Addy Marina Lam?" much to the snickers and laughter of my classmates. A familiar wave of embarrassment swept over me as I feebly raised my hand. Read the whole essay here.
The hook sentence grabs the reader's attention as it makes the reader anxious to know why "the man" holds the student's future in his hand. The brief description sets the scene of the student being in a classroom and dreading their name being mispronounced. The thesis statement enforces the main idea of the student being embarrassed by their ethnic name, which sets up the rest of the essay where they explain how they embraced their identity.
Example 2
I have to go...
I REALLY have to go.
I was two minutes from catastrophe. All I could think about was the bathroom. But I couldn't raise my hand. I was too scared to speak in front of a class of judgmental eight-year-olds. Despite my bladder's protests, I continued to sit silently. Read the whole essay here.
The hook sentence grabs the reader's attention as it creates a sense of urgency - where does the student have to go? The brief description answers this question as it reveals the student needs to go to the bathroom but is too scared to ask. The thesis statement reveals the main theme of the essay which is the shy nature of the student, which eventually sets up the rest of the essay for when the student slowly becomes confident and then learns to balance their personality between confidence and arrogance.
Example 3
X was an ugly letter. It was a cross-out, an error, a rebel. Nothing started with X except for xylophone and X-men. And my name.
It was in first grade, in my third year living in the United States, that I realized how ghastly "Xinxin Zhang" sounded on American lips. The teacher pronounced it "Zin-zin Zang," and my classmates followed suit. My name was supposed to mean "warm-hearted," and was to be spoken in a soft tone: "Shin-shin Jahn." But the letters hardened on the English tongue, and along with them, my heart. I alienated the name that had alienated me, attempting to anglicize myself with the name "Grace." I left Xinxin behind; she belonged to China, not my new life in America. Read the whole essay here.
The hook grabs the reader's attention as the student has portrayed the letter X in a negative light, therefore showing how she was uncomfortable with her name which also started with the letter X. The brief description shows why she feels this way due to her name being mispronounced in America and her desire to fit in by becoming more anglicized. The thesis statement sets the scene for the essay as it outlines the student leaving her cultural name in favour of a more American name, which then allows the student to use the body paragraphs to describe the journey she faced in embracing her name and connecting with her roots more deeply.
We hope that this guide has provided you with some helpful tips and examples on how to structure your college essay introductions. Good luck with your college applications!
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