Purpose of the Introductory Paragraph

There are many different types of paragraphs. Each has a unique purpose and role to play and when they are combined in the right way, they can form an essay. The type of paragraph that usually comes first within an essay is called the introductory paragraph.

There are two purposes of the introductory paragraph:

To make readers want to read your paper
To create a focused controlling idea for the rest of your essay

Both of these purposes are accomplished through something called the hook and the thesis statement.

This is an image of a paragraph. The final sentence of the paragraph is the thesis statement. The thesis statement indicates the controlling ideas of the essay, and outlines the controlling idea of each body paragraph. The beginning of the paragraph to the last sentence is the hook. The hook draws the reader in and provides adequate context.

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