What should go into my introduction and how should I structure it?

Of course, the introduction to each of your essays will be different, and there is no universal rule for what to include and how to structure it. However, there are a few principles that can be followed that will help ensure you write a robust and clear opening paragraph that should in turn make writing the rest of the essay easier.

The first thing to do is always to consider the question thoroughly before writing anything. Look at the way the question is being asked and think about what this means for your response. For example, is the question asking ‘to what extent’, is it looking for you to discuss a given statement or is it looking for comparison? Also think about the historical concepts and terminology in the question e.g. if it asks ‘to what extent was Napoleon a dictator’ you need to think about what you think a dictator actually is. Your argument should take shape in response to the type of question being asked, and the specific historical concepts it mentions.

It is this clearly stated line of argument, that responds to the terms of the question specifically, that is the most important feature of a good introduction. This should usually come at the end of the paragraph, to set the message clearly for the rest of the essay. To begin with, you might want to use one or two sentences just to give a bit of context and fill in the general historical backdrop briefly. A section of more specific discussion should follow this. Here you want to outline the debate on the topic and highlight that you’re aware of the variety of differing potential responses. At this point, it can be helpful to mention a few key historians’ names and their positions. The closing sentences are the most crucial: where you state where you stand in response to the debate. It is this position that you are trying show makes sense in the rest of the essay, and so will be referring back to it in your evaluation at the end of the subsequent paragraphs. Therefore, it is key that it be clear, but that you have also thought about how to give evidence to support it.

As already mentioned, this isn’t a watertight rubric – just some guidelines that will hopefully be helpful!