<p>Does anyone mind sharing some advice on how to start your essay?
Should you create some sort of introduction? Should you dive right into your anecdotal-type piece?<br>
I have the rest of my essay rolling, but I'm stumped on this section.</p>
<p>Help is appreciated!</p>
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<p>Depends on what ur essay is about really</p>
<p>I think the best way to start is with a good hook to attract the reader. This can be a quote, a powerful statement, just something that screams “READ THIS OR YOU’LL REGRET IT”</p>
<p>I agree with drcharisma: you definitely need a good hook for a good essay. Try to avoid long, wordy sentences as your first sentence; making the reader bored and/or lost not even one sentence into the essay is a no-go. </p>
<p>Dialogue is one of my favorite openers, but make sure you understand all the rules of dialogue punctuation if you’re going this route. You could also start with a rhetorical question, a statistic, or a quote (I personally dislike starting with quotes because it’s like saying, “I don’t quite know what to say here, so have someone else’s words instead.”).</p>
<p>Your first sentence is your first impression. Make it strong. Get the reader interested in what you have to say. Try to make it stand out in a pile of hundreds of other essays. No pressure. ;)</p>
<p>I like starting essays with dialogue as well. Check out this article: [Just</a> Start Applications | Blog Entry: How to Use Dialogue in Your College Essay](<a href=“http://www.juststartapplications.com/blog/entry/how_to_use_dialogue_in_your_college_essay]Just”>http://www.juststartapplications.com/blog/entry/how_to_use_dialogue_in_your_college_essay)</p>
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<p>can i use a question as a hook?</p>
<p>You can use a question as a hook, but I find the strongest openings stay away from rhetorical questions and quotes. Some people may think otherwise. It really depends on how well it fits with your writing.</p>
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<p>Problems happen when people apply this advice…immaturely. The opening should relate to the rest of the essay. Don’t try to be weird for the sake of being weird. I started my CA essay with a simple sentence, the way I’d start telling a story if I were speaking.</p>
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<p>The rest of the example paragraph sucks, and I definitely agree that dialogue is nice, but I don’t see what’s wrong with this sentence in particular as an opening. It’s honest, conversational, and unpretentious.</p>
<p>I think first problem is grammar:</p>
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<p>I like to read essays that dive right in, that can also help you with your word count in the end. But for purposes of your first draft, it may help you as a writer to start with the introduction to gather your thoughts and get the juices going. This can be edited later, and sometimes entirely eliminated. I’m not a fan of quotes or dialogue. Not sure on the rhetorical question. For dialogue you have to be an exceptional writer. I found that the essays I’ve read, too much dialogue drags down the narrative, and leaves less word count for you to speak directly to the points you are trying to make.</p>
<p>^^ interesting. For me, dialogue can be a wonderful start to an essay – it sets the stage for the story to begin without all sorts of exposition. For example, here’s part of a successful essay from a student who applied to college several years ago:</p>
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<p>I don’t mean to say that it is wrong to do, or that it can’t make for a successful essay. Or especially, that it won’t get you accepted. This particular start is very boring to me. I’ll take it that it finishes strong and has a point.</p>
<p>^^ I purposely didn’t post the rest of the essay, which does finish strong and have a point. FWIW: Essay resulted in acceptances at Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton and Harvard, among others.</p>
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<p>What’s ungrammatical about it?</p>
<p>@halcyonheather ^</p>
<h2>I personally don’t see anything wrong with it.</h2>
<p>Thanks for the response guys. I definitely have some ideas to work with.</p>
<p>And, if you do use dialogue, how does it tie into your essay? Is it like dialogue to anecdote? I’m assuming that you wouldn’t make your entire essay a dialogue (correct me if I’m wrong, and that it would be equally effective).</p>
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<p>Generally not, though I’m sure it’s possible.
Dialogue is tricky, though. People often go off on tangents in their speech, but that sort of thing shouldn’t be included in your essay.</p>
<p>Yeah, dialogue can be a tricky thing. There’s little I find as cringe-worthy as stilted and unrealistic dialogue. Overemphasized accents and numerous unnecessary colloquialisms can be equally bad. Ideal dialogue reads quickly, sounds like actual speech, and reveals something about the character speaking.</p>
<p>As for tying dialogue into your essay, I’ll say this: don’t use dialogue just for the sake of having dialogue. When you’re writing an essay with a word limit, you really have to make sure you get the most out of each word. Your dialogue should be related to your essay (this will be easier if you’re sharing one specific anecdote), and it should hopefully do something like one of the following: emphasize your point, indirectly describe a person/idea, intrigue the reader (without being too confusing), etc.</p>
<p>I realize this might sound like a lot to keep in mind, but I believe truly good writing stems from careful thought and consideration, regardless of whether you choose to include dialogue. Good luck! :)</p>