My old high school English teacher said that a good start to a essay is
1. to write a simile that relates to the theme, then the theme.
Ex: The past is like a conveyor belt; even though something or an event passes, it comes back and repeats itself unless something is done to prevent it from looping back. People need to learn from past history so that we don't make the same mistakes. (Then boom, intro paragraph done.) the next paragraph you could go off of it and use examples like: Schools didnt have much security in the past, but after a school shooting, guards where put in place to try and prevent it from happening again (that was a really bad one but you get the idea lol)
2. Definition, followed with a theme that is related to that definition.
Ex: History ReOccurrence is when history or the past repeats itself, in a good or bad way. People need to learn from the mistakes from the past so that we dont make the same mistakes. (and then you could go on the next 2 paragraphs with examples, how they relate to the theme, and what the examples mean.
3. A strong statement. (i never liked this one because it's really hit or miss)
Ex: Society and world leaders need to pay attention to the mistakes from history passed so horrible things dont happen in the future. People need to learn from mistakes from the past so we can prevent mistakes/tragedies in the future.
4. A quote followed by a theme that relates to the quote.
Ex: "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it" -Writer and philosopher George Santayana. People need to learn from the past so that we dont make the same mistakes.
DONT USE:
-a rhetorical question or question at all
-just the thesis statement
-"dear reader, a..."
-In the {name of topic], people [died or something else vague].
make sure that any following body paragraph relates to the main idea somehow, uses examples that are reliable, and if needed text evidence. Always explain how you example/evidence relates.
In your conclusion restate the thesis statement but with different wording, and then summarize in one or two sentences the body paragraphs.
when giving examples with pronouns, use words like "you, your sister, past/your experiences" rather then "me. my sister, in my experiences."
use good grammar. look up synonyms for basic words, and terms like "historical recurrences" rather then "history repeats itself."
:-) hope this helps. The intros always the hardest in my opinion, but once you get some good examples and a strong topic, itll just flow outtt. You and anyone who needs it is free to use my examples, theme or quote. just dont plagerizeeee
