The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the entire essay, and it often consists of two parts: the general statements and the thesis statement.Without an introductory paragraph, your essay seems too abrupt (突兀的) to native speakers of English.However, many writers complain that the most difficult part of writing an essay is getting started.How many times have you wasted valuable minutes when you are trying hard to think of the first sentence? In fact, getting started, or writing a fairly good introductory paragraph is not a tough job if you have an insight into the following:
1.The General Statements.
2.Brainstorming and Effective Division of Ideas.
3.The Thesis Statement and its Characteristics.
Although the introductory paragraph should be written from the general statements to the thesis statement, you will find it easier to learn to write this paragraph in a reverse order.
1.The Thesis Statement and its Characteristics
The thesis statement is a sentence (or sentences) in which the main idea of an essay is stated.In other words, after reading your thesis statement, a reader will be able to get a clear picture of what you are trying to accomplish.A good thesis statement has the following characteristics:
1) It is a straightforward statement；therefore, there is no room for suspen-se or surprises.
2) It has two parts: the topic and the controlling idea.The topic refers to what the essay is about；the controlling idea is the writer's opinion or attitude from which the reader can ask questions about: How? Why? In what ways? What are they? etc..
3) It is the most specific sentence in the introductory paragraph.
4) It is usually the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.
5) There are basically two types of thesis statements: implied and stated.An implied thesis statement means that the main points are not stated；a stated thesis statement indicates that the main points are clearly stated.For example: