We forget that first impressions count, both in life and in the world of words! No objective rules exists. I especially like the tip to start with a question? What a coincidence! For the loyal repeat reader, would the constant use of a startling or a questioning first line become tiresome? For example, Adam is guy who killed. Sometimes we opening sentences for essays ahead of ourselves.
What makes an opening sentence good?
But knowing which ones to add—and when —is not always obvious. Give essays extra polish Grammarly helps strengthen your academic writing Write with Grammarly. Sentence starters are the words or phrases that introduce the rest of the sentence, typically set apart by commas. The words that start a sentence are some of the most important in writing: They introduce what the sentence is about so the reader knows what to expect. In longer academic writing texts, sentence starters are essential for unifying the entire work. Because each sentence essentially has its own individual topic, these writings frequently jump from point to point, sometimes abruptly. Sentence starters help ease the process for the reader by smoothing over jarring transitions and preparing the reader for the next topic.
That principle also applies to paragraphs, which jump from topic to topic. Paragraph opening sentences for essays fulfill that same role, typically providing an organizational signpost via introduction sentence starters to bridge the gap between the previous and current topics. While fiction unifies the writing through the narrative, nonfiction often incorporates a variety of facts, which sentence starters coalesce for the reader. In other words, if you think nonfiction is dry, imagine if it were merely a list of facts! Sentence starters are not necessary for every sentence. In fact, using them too much can distract your reader.
Here are some situations where a sentence starter works best:. If something seems off, jarring, or missing, try adding one to see if it helps. Topic sentences are like the sentence starters of an entire essay—they introduce what the paragraph or entire text is about so the readers know what to expect. Sentence starters are quite useful for lists of instructions or explaining a series of events, opening sentences for essays. Use sentence starters to show that two things are related or alike. Although the topics may be similar to yours, your reader may not yet understand the connection.
Especially for essays, opening sentences for essays, you want to use evidence to support your claims. Sentence starters ease the transition from explaining the big picture to showing those same ideas at work in the real world. Sentence starters work best at times when you must change topics abruptly. Without them, the text becomes opening sentences for essays and scattered, so use them to keep your reader on the right path, especially when contrasting topics. Sentence starters can make this relationship clear and show which sentence is the cause and which is the effect.
Save these for the opening sentences for essays you really want your readers to remember above all else. Use these sentence starters before a quote or concept from another work. This could be a popular, mainstream idea that the reader is unaware of, or some historical background that is not common knowledge. In these instances, sentence starters can provide that context without becoming a tangent. In addition to using strong sentence starters, you want your entire essay to read smoothly and coherently. Grammarly can help. Our writing suggestions flag confusing sentences and provide feedback on how to make your writing clearer, helping you put your best ideas forward.
Real-time suggestions, wherever you write. Use These Sentence Starter Tips to Strengthen Opening sentences for essays Writing Matt Ellis. Give essays extra polish. Students 6 Successful Persuasive Writing Strategies Students How to Paraphrase Without Plagiarizing a Thing Students Your College Application Essay Survival Guide Students How to Write an Essay Outline in 4 Steps Students Expository Essays: A Complete Guide Students How to Write a Research Proposal. Writing, opening sentences for essays, grammar, and communication tips for your inbox.
footnotes in essay
But blogging is quite different from academic writing or newspaper reporting. I loved reading this article, and have shared it with my writers! We forget that first impressions count, both in life and in the world of words! This one included. In signature Henneke style you deal with this worthwhile topic with perfection! That was going to be my opening line. It has worked and you know it works, so you keep doing it. I think it happens to all of us from time to time. I used to try to write clever opening lines and titles in my blog posts, but changed all that for better SEO.
I also use the Yoast app for SEO. This allows me to write two blog title versions — a slightly more interesting version that you see at the top of the blog post How to Captivate Hurried Readers with a Magic Opening Line , and a keyword-focused version specifically for SEO. In the case of this blog post, the SEO version is: How to Write a Good Opening Sentence With Examples. And I use other tools than Yoast for YouTube SEO. Maybe writing in a non-boring way while keeping SEO happy, is a good topic for a future blog post. I can imagine YouTube is different and I have no experience there. But I can write about the balance between readers vs SEO for blog writing. Thank you for the idea ��. Yes, the dreaded opening stumps me too. I love your examples, Henneke.
Even Stephen King gets stumped. I feel better. Would be fun to give it a try this year. What do you think? It was definitely authentic. Another great post from you! It is indeed difficult to strum up an opening line — be it an email or a blog post. I never paid attention to the opening lines until three years ago when a content manager at a company told me to entice readers a little with the opening line of the blog post. I totally agree with you on experimentation. I try not to get stuck with one type of opening lines as it feels like it becomes too predictable.
Follow proven templates for specific writing tasks, practice your skills, and get professional feedback so you become a confident business writer. Take on any writing project with gusto. Learn more about books and courses. I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Learn how I can help you. Tips for beginning writers. Improve your writing skills. Popular blog posts. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to footer Tweet. This article discusses how to write an opening sentence: What makes an opening sentence good?
Recommended reading on writing good sentences: How to write cliffhanger sentences How to write a sparkling sentence 11 fab sentence examples: Why are these so good? There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. Email Address. Comments This is a post I keep coming back to Henneke. Thanks so much for sharing that, Lia. I appreciate it! This is a terrific example. I would never have thought of it. Thank you! Congrats on your first novel! Thank you for this. Loved this post! Get their attention, first impressions are key. Thank you for stopping by! Thanks for sharing your tips. Have you noticed I used one! exclamation mark in this post? Especially for you �� Thank you for stopping by, David and for tweeting! It makes me happy that you feel inspired.
Thank you, Rosie! Thank you for stopping by, Sarah. I appreciate it. Thank you for stopping by. When I write the fiction — I often write something off. And it intrigues the reader. For example, Adam is guy who killed. And she kills it. It is a fun game for me. And an interesting opening line for readers. Thanks Henneke, keep writing more…. You got it! What a coincidence! I try mixing it up. Sometimes using questions, sometimes inviting statements. Henneke — Thanks. I enjoyed the Stephen King article. That is a fantastic fail. Yes, that makes sense. Those were editors with traditional print magazine backgrounds. Copyblogger is one of my reference points too. Thank you so much for sharing, Shane. And yes, first impressions count ��.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Lee. Thank you, Stephen. Was there something specific that appealed to you? The hat was imagined, constructed, and then forthrightly worn by the ornithologist as he patrolled this loitering ground, singing, Chee-up! and bowing like an overpolite Japanese Buddhist trying to tell somebody goodbye The distinction is, as always, moral. Neat people are lazier and meaner than sloppy people. Sloppy People. Morning Owl Press, A sickly light, like yellow tinfoil, was slanting over the high walls into the jail yard. We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot of drinking water. In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them.
These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two. She had just poured me a cup of Earl Grey from her Japanese iron teapot, shaped like a little pumpkin; outside, two cardinals splashed in the birdbath in the weak Connecticut sunlight. Her white hair was gathered at the nape of her neck, and her voice was low. I nodded, and my heart knocked. The narrative strategy of delay allows you to put off identifying your subject just long enough to pique your readers' interest without frustrating them. Though I have photographed them before, I have never heard them speak, for they are mostly silent birds.
Lacking a syrinx, the avian equivalent of the human larynx, they are incapable of song. According to field guides the only sounds they make are grunts and hisses, though the Hawk Conservancy in the United Kingdom reports that adults may utter a croaking coo and that young black vultures, when annoyed, emit a kind of immature snarl An effective method of beginning an essay is to use historical present tense to relate an incident from the past as if it were happening now. We face glowing white headlights of cars following us, our sneakers pressed against the back hatch door. This is our joy—his and mine—to sit turned away from our moms and dads in this place that feels like a secret, as though they are not even in the car with us.
They have just taken us out to dinner, and now we are driving home. What I know for certain right now is that I love him, and I need to tell him this fact before we return to our separate houses, next door to each other. We are both five. Ought not a doctor to observe his patients by any means and from any stance, that he might the more fully assemble evidence? So I stand in doorways of hospital rooms and gaze. Oh, it is not all that furtive an act. Those in bed need only look up to discover me. Sentence starters are not necessary for every sentence. In fact, using them too much can distract your reader. Here are some situations where a sentence starter works best:. If something seems off, jarring, or missing, try adding one to see if it helps.
Topic sentences are like the sentence starters of an entire essay—they introduce what the paragraph or entire text is about so the readers know what to expect. Sentence starters are quite useful for lists of instructions or explaining a series of events. Use sentence starters to show that two things are related or alike. Although the topics may be similar to yours, your reader may not yet understand the connection. Especially for essays, you want to use evidence to support your claims. Sentence starters ease the transition from explaining the big picture to showing those same ideas at work in the real world.
Sentence starters work best at times when you must change topics abruptly. Without them, the text becomes jarring and scattered, so use them to keep your reader on the right path, especially when contrasting topics.
No comments:
Post a Comment