Strategies to Avoid in Introductory Paragraphs*

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Avoid Obvious generalizations
An opening filled with a series of obvious statements doesn’t suggest that the essay will offer fresh or worthwhile insights.

Avoid Apologizing
If you seem unsure about the value of your ideas, information, or conclusions, why should readers pay attention to them?

Avoid Shopworn Phrases
Readers certainly won’t expect anything new or interesting from an essay that begins with worn-out phrases like An important subject facing us today, From the beginning of time, or In today’s society.

Avoid referring to your own title
Readers already know what the title says. Referring to it or repeating it doesn’t add anything useful to the discussion.

*From Simon and Schuster Quick Access Reference for Writers, Second Edition. Ed. Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1995.