By Ruth Oji

Continued from last week

This week we will illustrate how using the three-part strategy of hooking your readers, narrowing down the information you share with them, and stating your thesis statement works in writing an effective introduction for your essay. 

We will begin with choosing a title for our essay, say, ‘The High Cost of Living in Nigeria’. The beginning part of our introduction can be in the form of an anecdote, a quote, a shocking fact, statistics, an imagined scenario, etc.

An anecdote: Growing up in the early ’80s, I remember how great life was and how my father would give my mother just five Naira to buy what she needed to make soup and buy garri for the swallow. My mother would not only make a big pot of soup but also have some coins as balance from the five Naira.  Fast-forward to 30 years later, living in Nigeria is a totally different experience filled with hardships and a devaluing of the Naira….

A shocking fact: The Naira has further depreciated in value when compared against the dollar. It is now a whopping N750 to one dollar! Businesses are on the rampage with increments on their products, given the presumed inability to restock as a result of the further drop in Naira value…

Statistics: Recent studies have revealed that whereas 23% of Nigerians live above the average income level, the remaining 77% struggle to put food on their table on a daily basis, and this gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen at an alarming rate….

An Imagined Scenario: Picture yourself in a Nigeria where basic amenities are in full supply; food and drinks are available in abundant supply and are easily affordable; electric power supply is ever present; corruption among the leaders is practically non-existent; schooling is free for all students, and teachers are paid their salaries in full; and roads are well built, warranting no traffic hold-ups….

The above illustrations highlight how you can use any of the strategies to create an interest-arousing introduction. After arousing the interest of your reader, be sure to quickly create the background required by showing why the write-up is relevant for their use and then go on to precisely state your take/argument on the issue – in one sentence (your thesis statement). To further illustrate this, consider the middle and end part of the introductory paragraph that follows from the anecdote: 

Middle (background information): People are groaning over the hardships occasioned by the upward rise in the cost of living in Nigeria. As a result of this, a large number of people consider leaving the country for greener pastures as the only way out. 

End (thesis statement): This essay buttresses the point that several factors combine to make Nigeria a difficult place to live in, but it also shows what Nigerians can do to improve their lot in life despite the difficulties.

The complete introduction thus:

Growing up in the early ’80s, I remember how great life was and how my father would give my mother just five Naira to buy what she needed to make soup and buy garri for the swallow. My mother would not only make a big pot of soup but also have some coins as balance from the five Naira.  Fast-forward to 30 years later, living in Nigeria is a totally different experience filled with hardships and a devaluing of the Naira. People are groaning over the hardships occasioned by the upward rise in the cost of living in Nigeria. As a result of this, a large number of people consider leaving the country for greener pastures as the only way out. This essay buttresses the point that several factors combine to make Nigeria a difficult place to live in, but it also shows what Nigerians can do to improve their lot in life despite the difficulties.

Yay! What do you think of our introduction so beautifully written out, using all of the strategies we have highlighted in this article? Does the introduction have the potential to get a reader hooked and get them reading to the end? Your guess is as good as mine!

So begin to practice with varied introduction styles and see your writing achieve its goals for you.

Feel free to share your thoughts and ask your questions. 

*Dr. Oji is a Senior Lecturer of English at the Institute of Humanities, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos