Читать книгу How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays - Paul Dickerson - Страница 105

To connect to our reader, and to help them to be in the frame of mind that is most able to appreciate our essay, our introduction should really do two things: first, it should orientate to the topic of the essay title, and second, it should outline how the essay will address the essay title. We can think of these two parts of the introduction as the orientating sentence (although it could be longer than a sentence) and the statement of intent.

Our orientating sentence provides the reader with a sense of how we understand the context of the essay title, for example, conveying a sense of why it is relevant, important or worth considering. Without an orientating sentence, the reader experiences a sudden jolt as they move from the essay title to the essay. We can avoid that by setting the scene for the essay title. Our statement of intent communicates, with some level of specification, a sense of how our essay will address the essay title, signposting the ideas, evidence and debates that will be covered. Without the statement of intent, the reader is left in a strange place without a map or GPS. But it doesn’t need to be like that. We can give the reader a sense of where the essay will take them and a sense of the logic to this journey.