Georgiana Steffey

If paragraphs are the building blocks of an essay, than sentences are the building blocks of a paragraph. Each paragraph has a particular function, and sentences work towards this function in important and distinct ways. The sentences of an introduction have a different purpose than the sentences of a body paragraph or conclusion.

The thesis statement is the most important sentence in your essay, but it is not the first. The first sentence of your introductory paragraph should be the hook. This is where the writer has a chance to grab and do it quickly. For a descriptive essay about a person, this might be an interesting fact. It could be a statistic or an event that really says something the subject of the essay. Language is the writer’s friend, here. Chose your words and punctuation deliberately to maximize the effect of your hook. You may require more than one sentence to effectively hook your audience, but you should be brief.