Читать книгу How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays - Paul Dickerson - Страница 104

Without getting too concerned about content (it really doesn’t matter how familiar you are with the right lateral occipitotemporal cortex), think about how reading these two sample essays made you feel. They were both on-topic, and in that sense answering the question, but something didn’t feel quite right. You might find that it is a bit like missing the start of a film. Perhaps you feel that you want to rewind – that you have been cheated out of something. Possibly you feel like saying to the writer ‘hold on a minute’. Both of these examples launch straight in on the topic but do not really do what is necessary to clearly show how they are addressing the essay title. Not doing this is like the train, ship or plane leaving before the passengers are ready – the reader is left stranded and might never really feel that they are on board with the essay.

You might have noticed something that is emphasised here, which is how writing – in this case, the writing of introductions – makes the reader feel. That could strike you as odd in an academic essay. Surely an academic essay is supposed to be about ideas and evidence, and not feelings. However, the concept of our reader’s experience of our writing is really key for effective academic writing. Not including an introduction in your essay will produce a reaction in your reader – they will feel that something expected is missing, and that is not the frame of mind you want them to have from the very beginning of reading your essay.