How to Write an Introduction to an Analytical Essay

The purpose of an analytical essay is to propose and support an argument. By analyzing the material on which the essay is based, the essay writer should develop a position regarding the accuracy of the original information. The introduction is one of the most important parts of an analytical essay. This is because it is in the introduction that the reader will receive his first impression of the essayist's position.

Understand the source material thoroughly. Every analytical essay is essentially a commentary on someone else's work. This means that an effective analytical essay writer is someone who is able to read and understand the source material exceptionally well.

Grab the reader's attention. By including a quotation or controversial statement in the first few lines of the introduction you generate interest in your essay. This increases the likelihood that your essay will leave an impression and actually influence the reader's opinion.

Summarize the source material. This summarization is sometimes referred to as an abstract and should be included in the introduction. The summary should inform the reader of the title and author of the source document as well as provide a brief synopsis of the source document's main points. By including this abstract in the introduction, the reader will have a better idea of the context in which your argument arose.

Finish with a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a concise sentence that outlines precisely what the main argument of your essay is. The thesis statement is going to be the main idea or position that the remainder of your essay is going to support. It is important that this position be an opinion rather than a fact, since it must be something that can be argued both for and against.