How do I write a successful introductory paragraph?

  1. Reference the texts and authors 2) Immediately begin to compare / analyse3) Overview of the argument 4) Relevant context
    For example:QUESTION: 'Womens writing tends to focus on feelings and sensibility, rather than ideas and politics.' Discuss with reference to 'Mrs Dalloway' and at least one other text.
    ANSWER:In Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway', Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' and Winterson's 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit', the authors explore the emotionality of their characters in order to expose and critique politics and ideas of their contemporary societies. For Woolf, her employment of the modernist stream of consciousness narrative technique allows for the deep exploration of character's inner lives, and for the exploration of social pressures and political ideas during 1920s post-war Britain and the upper-middle class in London. Although Bronte uses a retrospective first person narrative technique - very much in line with contemporary Victorian literature - she still attains the goal of delving into the emotions of the protagonist Jane, thus revealing the political narratives and critiques of Victorian England. Winterson employs a post-modernist fragmented narrative, questioning the typical chronological structure of previous literature, which is seen through the various fairytale narratives created by Jeanette, allowing the reader access to Jeanette's inner life and politic subversions through Winterson's metafictional narrative.

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