p>Opening paragraphs
• Avoid meaningless generalizations.
o They’re boring: “Society is a place or a group of people where people come together for some reason.”
o They might be factually wrong or make you sound naïve:
? “Everyone wants to be rich.”
? “In America today, we have more freedom than people in other countries.”
o They can look like filler.
o They’re unnecessary. Few writing tasks seriously call upon you to make a sweeping statement about all phenomena.
• Avoid dictionary definitions.
o These are most often used as a gimmick to get the essay started. They are often applied to words that really don’t need to be defined, and they look sophomoric.
• Options for starting an analytical essay.
o Explain what particular issue you’re analyzing in the essay.
? There’s no need to begin with generalizations if those generalizations are not directly relevant to your analysis.
? You could begin by explaining where your topic occurs in the text and/or its importance to the text as a whole.
• Is your topic important because it dominates the whole text or because it seems insignificant but is actually really important?
o Explain why it needs an essay-length analysis.
? What is confusing, obscure, contradictory, and/or unappreciated about your topic?
? What questions about the text does your analysis attempt to answer?
• Instead of beginning with general statements, you could begin with a direct quote from the text that illustrates the issue you’re analyzing or the question you’re trying to answer.
? Has your understanding of this issue and/or text changed since you first read it?
• In an opening paragraph, you could contrast your first reading of the text with your new and better understanding of the text.
? You might disagree with someone else’s interpretation of the text. Summarizing their interpretation first would be an appropriate start to the essay.
o Why does this topic interest you?
? Some instructors do not approve of personal reflection in an analytical essay or any formal document. Check with your instructor first.
? In this course, you can use personal experience to explain why you have been drawn to your particular topic. This can be an effective way to start your essay in this course. However, personal experience does not prove your argument in the body of the essay and therefore should not be part of your analysis after the first paragraph.
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