Essay writing: the introduction

Welcome to the LSE LIFE podcast series! I'm Helen Green, and I’ll be sharing some ideas on one aspect of studying at LSE.

The introduction is a crucial part of any piece of academic writing. It can grab your reader’s attention and makes the first impression of your work. In the introduction, you clarify your thesis, or the main point of your essay. The reader should not have to do the work of figuring out the point the writer is trying to make – this is the writer’s job.  Much of this work gets done in the introduction! 

In this podcast, we’ll talk about what should be in the introduction and how to keep your reader in mind as you write your introduction.

Podcast transcript

Summary

Worksheet