The introductory paragraph of any written piece of work is your opportunity to draw the reader into the main text. That you already have his (her) attention means you have already won the first battle but this war consists of more than just one skirmish!
The Short Intro
When it comes to writing an introduction, what comes to mind is writing a small introductory passage. However, this is not all there is to it. What you need to do to engage the reader’s interest is to bring out your story in the right way. In order to do this, you need to encapsulate the spirit of the entire story and bring it out through an example. When you do this you have to be careful because capturing the story essence alone is not enough, you need to grasp the main point of the story, else the purpose of the story is lost.
If you’re going to start writing, make sure it’s a short introduction. Also, when readers see a headline they expect the text below it to contain content which relates to that headline. There is only so much time a reader will spend on an opener about sports when the headline suggested the article was about vacations.
Even if the introductory paragraph, at its end, would have captured the essence of what the author was trying to say, ask yourself, “is it short enough that a reader won’t lose patience before the writing returns to the topic at hand?”
If you look at the piece above, you will find that it is really short. This is the kind of opener that works best with the reader. Why? The reader is made aware of the subject matter that they are reading. They are also aware of the information they will be getting from the intro in a general sense so they know what they will get when they read the story.
Thus, if you write a very long introduction which does not relate to the headline, you will be putting down reader interest in an otherwise engaging story.
Your Story In Brief
Another point is when you use anecdotes. You should let your reader know beforehand how your anecdote relates to your topic before you tell it to them, else the reader will leave out your topic, even before you begin to elaborate your point. In short, what is necessary is using less words in bring out a perfect story essence. The aim of an introduction is to put forth your subject in a broader and more general sense.
Think about your intro as a whole and consider which details help do this and which do not. Extra details like dates, names, descriptions and diversions, if not necessary to the essence of the anecdote, serve only to distract the reader.
Writing an introductory passage with utmost concern is highly important to get a good introductory passage. This is important because this is the lead to the story at hand. So, it’s important to consider your story in a broader sense and only bring in those details which bring this out and leave out those that don’t.