For example, you may pick a bold quote from a play by Shakespeare you are discussing to open the essay so your reader is drawn in. You may write, “Early in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the troubled prince notes: ‘This above all: to thine own self be true. ’ Themes of identity and self-hood appear many times throughout the play. ” Always cite any quotes you use in your introduction using the proper citation style, according to your instructor’s requirements for your paper or essay.
For example, you may write, “In Shakespeare’s Othello, love is not blind, it is all seeing. As Othello notes, ‘For she had eyes and she chose me. ’”
For example, you may write, “Every year, 25,000 people die due to drunk driving in the United States” or “One in five women will be raped in the United States. ”
For example, you may write, “When the city gentrifies an area, it renovates and improves a neighborhood so it conforms to middle-class tastes. ” Or you may write, “When an area is gentrified, it becomes more refined and polite for some, but not all. ”
For example, you may use a question like, “What if we lived in a world where women were not constantly under threat of violence?” or “Why shouldn’t everyone have access to free healthcare in America?”
For example, rather than start with a question like, “Have you ever thought about the consequences of your actions?” you may rephrase it as, “Why is it important to consider the consequences of our actions?”
For example, you may write, “Shakespeare’s Othello is a play about the doomed nature of love and the power of desire. ” Or you may write, “Drunk driving is an epidemic in America that seems to only get worse every year. ”
For example, you may write, “I believe our country needs to acknowledge fundamental issues in its democracy” or “From my perspective, there is no need to have multiple political parties in a democracy. ”
For example, you may write, “Right-wing conservatives believe immigrants are to blame for many of the issues facing America today. I am going to explore how and why this position is flawed. ”
For example, you may write, “I am been fascinated with death since I was 16” or “There is no greater joy to me than an empty bed where I can be alone, away from the world. ”
For example, you may write, “The other day in the supermarket, I heard a child talking to his mother. ‘Why aren’t we getting the ones with marshmallows in them?’ he demanded, pointing at the boxes of cereal. He threw a tantrum in the aisle until his mother relented, throwing the sugary cereal into their cart. Standing in the aisle, watching the child, I couldn’t help but think about how children’s diets are becoming more and more unhealthy. ”
For example, you may take a fact about drunk driving and write a short story like, “The young driver cranks up the stereo and grins as he thinks about the fun he had at the house party, plenty of cold beer and shots of whiskey. Suddenly, a tree appears ahead. He’s swerved off the road and it’s too late. The police later find him dead in the car due to driving while under the influence. ”
For example, if you are writing about eating disorders in fashion, you may describe your own experiences with body image. You may write, “Flipping through my mother’s fashion magazines, I learned at a young age that being skinny was glamorous and desirable. This “fact” would haunt me into my teenage years, as I struggled with my weight and body image. ”
