All schoolchildren have to write an essay, regardless of their addictions to the sciences. This kind of presentation of one's thoughts is one of the necessary skills of a competent modern person. Therefore, each student knows how to write an essay.
The essay usually consists of:
- entry,
- the main part (disclosure of the topic),
- conclusions.
In order to set the right tone for the whole composition, one must know how to begin the composition.
Depending on the given volume of the entire work, the introduction should occupy 10-15% of the essay. In it, you need to bring the reader to the main idea and to the need to talk about it, to reason. It is the essay-reasoning that graduates are offered to write for the exam. Consider how to start writing the exam.
This must be done quickly, because the writing time in this case is limited. We overcome the fear of work, focus and choose one of the ways to start writing.
Ways to start writing
- Brief information about the author of the work is the universal beginning of any work. Tell us where the author was born, give a brief description of his work.
- You can start the introduction by listing the synonyms of the main concept that characterizes the topic of the work. For example: "The inner world of a person, honesty and sincerity - these are the main concepts that Exupery invested in all his stories, but in The Little Prince they found their most vivid embodiment." Thus, you have already approached the topic of the essay.
- One powerful way to start an essay is to ask one or more rhetorical questions in it. So you can start talking about anything, on any topic. “What prevents a person from being honest with himself? When does he begin to lie, breaking away from childhood dreams? Such an introduction will suit a lot of works.
- Another option, how to start an essay-reasoning, is to express exactly your thoughts on a given topic. Remember the phrase: "I often thought that ..." So start writing. Let's go back to The Little Prince. The beginning will be like this: “I often thought about when the child leaves childhood and begins to live in the concepts of adults? At what age? Why does he completely forget about how he talked about adult concepts? Exupery wrote a story on this subject, where he answered all these questions, and my thoughts coincided with his thoughts. And then it’s very easy to move on to the work. This is a very nice way to start writing. It meets several requirements of the USE essay-reflection at once. This is an expression of the student's own opinion, the student's argumentation, the student's comments.
Opening Phrase Templates
If it is very difficult for you to approach the issue of entering the topic of the essay creatively, then you can learn a few template phrases. For example: "In the story, Lermontov suggests thinking about the fact that there are a lot of superfluous people in society." Change the author's name and subject to any other, but the start has already been made! “In this short story, the author raised a very big problem ...” - also substitute the author's name and topic. “There is an opinion that love passes quickly, but in the works of Bunin we see that this feeling is eternal” - then you can talk about both the stories and the author.
With these tips, you will no longer worry too much and think about how to start writing an essay.
Useful clichés for task C1 in Russian.
The essay is written according to a specific plan:
1. Introduction
2. Statement of the problem
3. Comment to the problem
4. Position of the author
5. Your position
6. Literary argument
7. Any other argument
8. Conclusion
1) Everyone knows that ... Thousands of books have been written about this and hundreds of films have been shot, both inexperienced teenagers and experienced people talk about this ... Probably, this topic interests each of us, so the text ... is also dedicated to ...
2) About the need ... everyone knows. Teachers at school talk about it, writers in their books. Problems ... - these are the problems that confront a person constantly. It would seem that everything should have been decided long ago. But how often everything remains only at the level of formal knowledge.
3) (Rhetorical questions). These questions have always troubled mankind. Oh… reflects in his article….
4) (Rhetorical questions). These questions seem simple at first glance. For some people, they are, as it were, not questions, they do not stand before them. The answers to them seem to them for granted.
Some people think that…. Others emphasize ... . But the meaning of this article is somewhat broader than it seems at first glance. The problem that the author poses concerns not only the chosen people, it concerns any of us. …. Why does it happen? The answer to this question can be found in the article ...
5) Start with a quote that contains the main idea of the text. (Reception "Thread") "(Statement)," - this is how the article begins .... Already in the first sentence, the main theme of the text is clearly expressed. Oh… a lot of talking and writing. The importance of this topic can hardly be overestimated: not all people understand ... (Define the problem in the form of a question).
6) One of the most exciting mysteries that have always disturbed human thought was the question related to ... . (Rhetorical questions).
7) (Rhetorical question). This question arises before each new generation, because a person does not want to be content with the old answers and seeks to find his own truth.
8) Reception "Keyword". a) Determine the topic of the text. b) Highlight the key concept. c) Explain the meaning of this concept.
9) Reception "Allegory". It is necessary to illustrate the importance of the problem posed by some specific example.
10) Reception "Quote". "...," - wrote the famous .... These words sound... Really, …
11) (Questions). These questions are in the article .... The author raises a problem, the relevance of which no one doubts.
12) People often think that ... . (The fact that ..., people thought both in ancient times and in times of modern history).
13) What do we know about …? (every one of us sometime...). Most often, our knowledge about ... is limited to the most general ideas: ...
14) (Questions). These questions are very important because they make us think about the essence of … . Some people think that…. Somebody … .
15) "...," - in these words, it seems to me, the main idea of the text is expressed ....
Let's think about the meaning of this supposedly "textbook" and understandable phrase? (Questions. Then you need to reveal the complexity of the questions posed). If you ask any of us ..., then probably we will answer this question in the affirmative. We know that…
1) In the text proposed for analysis (indicate the author) raises (affects) the problem ...
3) This text is devoted to the topic (problem) ...
4) The text presents a point of view (indicate the author) on the problem ...
5) In the text proposed for analysis (we indicate the author) it concerns the following issues ... (stops on the following problems ...)
9) The problem that worries all of us ... raises (we indicate the author).
10) The problem raised (posed) (indicate the author) is ...
11) The problem ... cannot but excite modern man. I thought about it and (indicate the author).
12) What is...? (What is ...? What role does ... play in a person's life?) Raises this important problem (indicate the author).
1) The question of ... (we denote the problem in other words than it was in the first paragraph) cannot leave anyone indifferent, it concerns each of us to a greater or lesser extent. (We explain why)
2) The problem put forward (raised, identified, etc.) (indicate the author) is especially relevant (topical, important, essential) today, because ...
3) The narrator does not discuss the issue raised by him in a detached way, his interest in what he writes about is felt. (Referring to the text, we explain how this manifests itself).
4) Arguing over the problem ..., (indicate the author) addresses ... (indicate on what material the author considers the problem: maybe these are memories, dialogues, artistic narration, an excited monologue, citing the thoughts of great people, reasoning, description of paintings nature, etc.). (We transmit the content of the text, not the retelling).
8) The text proves the idea that ...
9) The main idea of the text is that ...
1) I share (do not share) the author's point of view on the problem ...
2) I hold (do not hold) the same opinion on the problem ... as the author.
- using life experience:
1) How often do you have to deal with ...
2) Have not such phenomena as ... become common (the norm of life)?
3) Which of us did not observe (did not encounter; did not notice (behind himself); did not witness) how ...
4) Unfortunately, often nowadays (among us; around us) ...
- from reading experience
1) This problem worried many great Russian writers, in particular...
2) This problem is especially acute in the works of...
- from the audience experience
1) The topic is often discussed (discussed) on the Internet (on the pages of newspapers and magazines; in various TV programs) ...
2) It is also noteworthy that (it is no coincidence) that numerous articles and TV shows are devoted to this topic ...
1) Reception "Response". The signal of this technique is the adverbial construction “Having read this text…”:
After reading this text, it becomes clear (you understand) that ... .
2) Using a quote that expresses the main idea of the text:
"...!" - this statement reflects the main idea of the text. (Uncover the meaning expressed in this statement).
4) (Using a quote) "...," - wrote .... These words express the idea of ... . The author of the text also believes that ... .
6) After reading this text, you understand how ... . It is no coincidence that the author writes in the final part of his article that "...".
How to identify the problem in the proposed text?
Let's start with the definition of this concept: in short, a problem is a question that the author asks.
The surest way to identify the problem in the text is to find the position of the author. If there is an author's position, there must certainly be a problem on which this position is expressed. It is best to take the main problem of the text, but indirect checkers, as a rule, are loyal.
Right now I'm sitting and thinking - how to make a good introduction to this particular article?
I often experience problems with this very intro. Sometimes you have to rewrite several times. It's one thing if it's an informational article or a small sketch on a blog. If the text is selling, each word from the first sentences should simply kill on the spot.
Today I will share with you the tips that I have collected just for those who do not always succeed in starting the text well.
What should be the introduction?
A logical continuation of the title. The title briefly tells what the article will be about. The introduction should expand on the topic a little more, explain why it is important, and for whom.
Fascinating. It’s as if we are holding out a “straw” to the reader in the form of a headline. He has to grab on to her. Now it's time to pull it further, to carry it deeper into the text.
Without water. From any blah blah blah and obvious things, the user will start to yawn without even starting to read the text.
Arguing. Tell him why he should read your text.
informing. Hint or say directly what the article will be about, thus expanding the title a little.
shocking. Only within reasonable limits. Say something at the very beginning that no one expected. For example, some interesting and unusual fact related to the topic.
Normal in length. In general, if you are interested, it does not matter if the introduction is long or short. The main thing is to be engaging. But the standard length of the introduction is 4-5 sentences.
I don't think I've told you anything really new right now. All this you already know. But how to make the introduction the way it should be, in practice?
Secret tricks
Some of these techniques I use myself, others shared by friends and acquaintances. Take it to the piggy bank so that it is at hand.
Describe what will be in the article. It's that simple. Like: "In this article, I've put together ten reasons why you should get a hamster." Further, the topic can be developed into another sentence: why a hamster, and not a rabbit.
Describe the phenomenon to be discussed.. This technique has its roots in SEO copywriting, when the first sentence had to be started with a key. “Clinker brick is….” and further in the text. If it suits your text - the simplest and most concrete start.
Start with a fact. “According to the Organization that collects statistics on pets, hamsters are loved more than rabbits, by 54%. This article explains why." An interesting fact will attract attention, and looks convincing. Subconsciously, the reader begins to think that the article will be all the same - convincing.
To swing start with the phrase "Listen here", "So"… Imagine that you are sitting on a bench with friends and they asked you to talk about what you are going to write about now.
There is also an obscene version: you write “So, b#;?%%;”, and then you state your thoughts in the text. Just don't forget to remove the first sentence before submitting the text :)
By the way, it helps to overcome the fear of a blank slate and just start writing. freewriting. Just start, write, express your thoughts. And then delete the first sentence. Usually it is in it that water and all sorts of evidence.
Try write the introduction after writing the whole text. Start writing the very essence, reveal the topic. Leave the introduction for a snack. It will be easier for you to describe what the article is about and why it is important.
Describe your condition. “When I wrote this article, I was sitting at Starbucks and inhaling the aroma of fresh coffee, thinking about how difficult it is to write introductions.”
I'm exaggerating. But you get the main idea. By the way, our Western colleagues often write that way.
Voice the customer's problem or ask a question about the problem. If you know your target audience and its pains, it works flawlessly.
Hook emotions with a controversial expression. "Freelancing is not always the freedom of choice of the client." If what you wrote about coincides with the opinion of the reader, he will go to read to once again make sure that he is right. If not, he will go to read, because this is a kind of challenge.
Voice your personal experience. “When I was little, I loved to read a lot, and I started writing my first stories. Then a copywriter grew up with me. People love to read personal stories - do not deprive them of this pleasure.
If there are no thoughts at all, google it and read how other authors started their articles on your topic. Perhaps someone's solution will inspire you, or tell you how to start the text yourself.
How do you start your introductions to the text? Share your secrets in the comments!
From the school bench, we remember very well those who were given compositions with such ease, as if telling a joke in the company of friends. And if you want your work to be cited at least occasionally as an example, here are some practical recommendations on how to write a beautiful essay (essay) on Russian (or other) literature based on a work.
How to write an essay / essay in literature: making a plan
Before you write the final essay, you need to clearly consider what plan you will do it.
The plan is drawn up so that the flow of thoughts (even if you have one) lined up in harmonious, logically consistent sentences.
Immediately after receiving the topic of the essay, ideas and images will begin to appear in your head (of course, if you have read the work). On a draft sheet, write down phrases or words that first come to mind. Then they can be developed to a whole composition.
So, carefully consider what you want to say on the topic. Then write down the thesis on paper in a column of thoughts. And only then decide in what order you want to display these thoughts on paper. This is necessary for a clear and clear structure of the work.
How to write an introduction to an essay on literature
In the introductory part, the information must be written as if it would be read by a person completely unfamiliar with the problem. Here you should reveal the topic, problems and relevance of your essay.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you with this:
- What kind of work do you write an essay / essay on?
- What do you know about the author of the work?
- What is the genre of the work (comedy, drama, romance, etc.)? What aspects would you like to explore in your work?
How to write an essay-reasoning: proceed to the main part
Getting started is half the battle! Great, if you are done with the introductory part, let's deal with the main part of the work.
Here it is necessary to highlight all your thoughts that the work caused in you, the emotions that you experience for the chosen character or the circumstances in which he found himself.
Each thought will have to be supported by examples from the original text of the work. If you say that the problem of war excites the hero, then you need to give examples in which this excitement is conveyed to the reader.
Feel free to give your own assessment of the character or the circumstances in which he found himself. This makes any essay brighter, stronger, and gives its author authority and expertise.
The main part is mostly your own reasoning about what excites you in the whole story. Show here the evolution of your thought, from what point in the work an important thought was born, how it evolved, and what conclusion you eventually came to.
How to write a conclusion in an essay on literature
By the way! For our readers there is now a 10% discount on
Patterns and examples of proper structure as one say that the conclusion should be followed by a debriefing.
Many people begin their essay not with an introductory or main part, but with a conclusion. It is said that after writing short theses, it is much easier to consistently describe your reasoning.
So, in the final part, you need to answer yourself the question that you posed in the introductory part. This is a kind of short theorem, deduced from the entire lengthy proof given in the previous parts of the work.
And here are some examples of how to write a good essay / essay:
Sample essay/essay 1
Composition on the topic "Me and my career"
Sample essay/essay 2
Composition on the topic "Man and Society"
After you are done with this part, be sure to review the entire work against the original plan. If the essay is built in a pre-thought-out sequence, you succeeded! Congratulations! If not, don't worry - our authors help by checking and correcting the work, and if necessary, they will help by writing an essay / essay from scratch!
Writing an essay on literature is not an easy process. Completing such a task requires preliminary preparation and considerable patience. However, everyone knows this. After all, all students write essays. And not only in literature, but also in other subjects. But not everyone knows that the introduction here is the most important part. Sometimes the impression of the whole work depends on it. How to write an introduction to a literary essay?
Why are they written?
Written assignments at school are given to children and adolescents in order to introduce them to creativity, to teach them to formulate their own opinion on a particular issue. Writing an essay on the theme of a work of art develops a literary view and forms social and moral guidelines.
Getting Started Is Always Difficult
It often happens that a student, having his own opinion and knowing exactly what he wants to say in the upcoming work, cannot formulate the initial phrase. The difficulty in writing the first paragraph torments many. Not only fifteen-year-old schoolchildren, but even highly experienced writers. How to write an introduction to an essay on literature so that the reader has a favorable impression from the first lines? What should be the volume of the first paragraph, and what questions can be answered in it, and what should only be hinted at? The answers to these questions are in the article.
Why is it important to write a good introduction?
The psychology of the reader is arranged in such a way that he first of all pays attention to the first lines of the text. An effective and clear introduction not only makes the entire essay on literature more attractive, but can even hide some of the shortcomings of the main body. You can complete a writing assignment in as little as an hour, but spend the same amount of time creating your first sentence.
What should be the first paragraph?
When and how to write an introduction to an essay on literature? It can be compiled already when the main part of the task is ready. The introduction and conclusion create a kind of emphasis in the creative task, and therefore they must be carefully thought out. But sometimes writing the first lines forces the author to think, and it is the first paragraph that becomes decisive in revealing the main topic. Therefore, perhaps, an essay on literature should still begin with writing an introduction. Both in the first and in the second case, it must have the following qualities:
- conciseness;
- clarity;
- lack of meaning and
Ready phrases for entry
Literary essays must be well written. Undoubtedly, there should be no mistakes not only at the beginning, but in the main part. However, as already mentioned, readers first of all pay attention to the introductions.
There are several clichés for essays on literature. With the help of them, you can create the first effective phrases. We will give examples of some of them, and at the same time we will partly answer the difficult question of where to start an essay on literature.
- It's not a secret for anyone that ... Great authors devoted their works to this topic, because it was, is and will remain relevant.
- About how important ... everyone knows. School teachers talk about it. And writers devote their multi-volume works to this topic. But, in spite of everything, the problem has not been resolved, and the answers to pressing questions remain at the level of theoretical knowledge.
- (There is a rhetorical question.) This question worries mankind for many centuries.
These ready-made phrases partially answer the question of how to write an introduction to an essay on literature. You can also borrow the first lines in the writings of more experienced authors. However, you should always remember that plagiarism is an ignoble business. And therefore, it is better to write not only the main part, but even the introduction to an essay on literature on your own.
Quotes
You can start your essay with a well-known phrase of a writer or a historical figure. If the creative task is planned to be written on the basis of one or another literary work, then the introduction can be supplemented with a quote from the author. But in essays on other topics, you can resort to the help of the great masters of the artistic word, no doubt, not forgetting the quotation marks. Otherwise, quotes will turn into plagiarism. But references to the statements of great authors should harmoniously complement the written work. And if we are talking about an introduction or an epigraph, then the quote in it is designed to convey the general meaning of the main part of the essay.
A remarkable source for epigraphs are the works of Leo Tolstoy. The great Russian writer had a clear, albeit somewhat lengthy, answer to any question.
What should be the proposals?
It is worth remembering that only such a genius as Dostoevsky has the right to write difficult and incomprehensible. And the lot of mere mortals is simplicity and conciseness. The form must match the content. Complex sentences with many adjectives only cause irritation. This should be remembered at all stages of writing an essay, but since we are considering the question of how to write an introduction to an essay on literature, it is worth saying that a long sentence with a bunch of subordinate clauses in the first paragraph sometimes discourages reading the entire creation. Undoubtedly, one should not write only in short sentences. But long ones, if any, are better to alternate with simple sentences.
What to write about in the first paragraph?
So, how to write an introduction to an essay on literature is more or less clear. It should not be burdened with unnecessary phrases. But what exactly should be said in it? The introduction to an essay on literature is a kind of announcement. It performs an important function, because it notifies you of an event that will happen soon.
Introductions for essays on literature can be compared to the advertisements we hear or see on TV because they have one common goal, namely to attract attention.
annotation
When writing the first paragraph of any creative assignment, no matter what topic it is devoted to, remember that it should not only be concise, but also contain information. At the same time, the topic is not disclosed in the introduction, it contains only a small hint of the content of the main part.
The beginning of an essay should be somewhat reminiscent of an annotation to a book. On the cover of the publication, the reader sees several phrases that interest and encourage reading the entire work. Of course, with a school essay, things are somewhat different. The teacher, whether he likes it or not, will read the work of the young author. However, a well-written introductory part can affect his attitude to work, and therefore - on the assessment.
Essay on a work of art
In literature lessons, they often ask for a particular work. In this case, you should re-read the original source especially carefully. Somewhere the author will certainly express a phrase that can serve as an introductory part. For example, in an essay about the hero Mikhail Bulgakov, one can quote a phrase spoken by Yeshua. Before his death, he conveyed to the prosecutor the words: "Cowardice is the most terrible vice." In the introduction, one can ask the question of why, among all human sins, he considered this one to be the most terrible? And then, in the main part, to reveal to the maximum the meaning of the last words of Yeshua and their connection with the future fate of Pilate.
How to write an introduction to an essay on literature about war? If it is based on any work, then this should be done according to the same principle as described above. But it is better to indicate statistical data (the number of dead and injured, the number of destroyed cities) in the first paragraph of a creative work devoted to the war. At the same time, information should not be presented in a dry, impartial form. The introduction should be given an emotional coloring. Especially when it comes to the Great Patriotic War. The tragedy that is present in the words dedicated to the most terrible years in the history of our country can hardly be superfluous or inappropriate.
