How do I write a strong introduction, and what should it contain?

A strong introduction provides your examiner with a strong first impression. It introduces your writing style, and should establish the direction that your essay will take.

Begin by highlighting key words within the question, to ensure that you fully understand what it is asking you to do. Most questions are inviting you to construct a debate within the body of your essay. As a general rule, a reliable structure is for the first half of your essay to argue in favour of the proposition put forward in the question, and then for the second half to form a counterargument against it. So, these arguments are what your introduction should actually introduce. Plan your arguments first in rough, and note the key points that you will make in support of them. Then, all that an effective intro requires is for you to briefly outline these arguments so that you can seamlessly begin exploring them in the body of your essay. This in turn will assure the examiner that you understand the question and how you must respond to it.

A good formula to follow:

1.Begin with a general opening sentence that addresses the question in some explicit way.

2. Introduce your first argument and some of the ideas/moments/characters etc. it will explore: e.g. "On the one hand, it can be argued that..."

3. Then introduce your counterargument and briefly what it will consist of in the same manner: e.g. "However, an equally supportable, contrasting interpretation is that..."

4. Wrap the paragraph and ideas up with a short sentence: e.g. "As such, it can be validly argued that this character should be either feared or admired."From there, you can launch straight into fully developing these ideas within the body of your essay!

Finally, a common mistake to avoid. Don't waste precious time - or precious words in a piece of coursework - on writing information about the text at hand that is irrelevant to what the question is asking for. Context is vital of course, but you should choose relevant contextual information to frame your arguments and individual points throughout the entire essay. Don't fall into the trap of regurgitating a selection of random, general facts that you've memorised about the text and its author for your intro. Get straight to introducing your core arguments, and you'll get straight to earning a high mark.