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Introductions often attract feedback from markers. Let’s look at some of the more common forms of feedback that directly and indirectly indicate that changes to the introduction would be a good idea. Some of the feedback will indicate quite precisely the aspect of your introduction that should be improved.

The following feedback is often used in commenting on introductions:

 Include a statement of intent

 Signpost your essay

 Indicate how your essay will address the question

These comments all indicate that your essay should overtly indicate how your essay will address the question. Your introduction needs to identify what will be covered in your essay. This statement of intent should convey a sense that you thought intelligently about what you included and the order in which you included it, rather than it appearing to be the result of unthinking passivity, such as simply following the content and order of a textbook, lecture notes or, much worse, your favourite psychology website.

 Outline how your essay will approach/address/answer the essay question

This is getting at the same idea as the previous comments, but it does usefully highlight that you need to convey a sense of the relevance of what you plan to include for the essay title. A strong statement of intent conveys a sense of not only what will be included and when it will be included, but also why it is relevant for this particular essay.

 Set the context for the essay

 Don’t start abruptly

 Don’t start so generally

These comments about the first paragraph in your essay indicate that as well as considering your statement of intent, your orientating sentence should be looked at. The first – or orientating – sentence in your essay is a challenge and is often easier to write after you have completed most, or perhaps all, of your essay. Use your orientating sentence to convey an awareness of the relevance of thinking about the domain that is indicated by the essay title. A well-written orientating sentence cues the reader into thinking about the specific aspects of psychology from which the essay topic is drawn. This can vary but might be thought of as the sort of subsection in a textbook in which you could imagine finding this essay title. For example, ‘Cognitive development in children has been a key concern within developmental psychology and a focus of substantial debate’ could set up a debate between different approaches to children’s cognitive development, while ‘Piaget’s stage theory of children’s cognitive development has been a major influence within developmental psychology while simultaneously being questioned in terms of its theoretical scope and its empirical basis’ sets up a more specific evaluation of Piaget’s contribution. Sometimes an additional sentence may be used to further specify the relevant focus of the essay. In the previous example, adding a sentence such as, ‘One aspect of Piaget’s work that has attracted considerable debate concerns his series of Conservation experiments’, identifies that a more specific focus on evaluating Piaget’s Conservation experiments will be pursued. Feedback comments such as these, when made in response to your introduction or first paragraph, can be a challenge to address, but looking at both your orientating sentence and statement of intent (unless another part of your essay is indicated by the comment) is wise. Do bear in mind that your orientating sentence and statement of intent can often be substantially improved if you edit them after you have finished you essay.