Towards the end of the introduction you need to tell your reader exactly what you are going to cover. The way in which you do this will depend on the type of essay you are writing and what you have been asked to do. You may be required to give a point of view and often the stance ( point of view) of the essay is shown in the introduction. You may, for example, provide your argument and then reasons for it in a statement in your introduction. For example: This essay argues that television advertising plays a substantial part in teenage obesity as it targets young people and markets fast food. In some cases, you are not required to provide an opinion. It is still a good idea to explain what you intend to do in the essay.

It is often a good idea to explain briefly at the end of your introduction the stages of your essay. This is known as the outline. An outline doesn't have to say first this will be done and then this... but it can  explain the different aspects you are going to be looking at within your writing. The good thing about an outline is it is like a road map for your reader. It shows how you are going to travel through your essay until you reach your conclusion.

In order to help your reader understand what you are going to be talking about, and get them interested, it is a good idea to give some sort of background to your essay topic. Background information could include some general information about your topic. You should aim to give enough information so that your reader understands what the topic is about. In an introduction you do not go in to much depth, you save your main points and the discussion of them for the main body of your essay.

Once you have provided some background information to get your reader interested, you can say exactly what your essay is going to cover. This is known as the specific aspect or question that you will focus on. You have to show in this part of your essay why the topic you are writing about is important.

Another thing that is commonly found in an essay introduction is your limitations statement. If you are writing about a very large topic it will not be possible for you to discuss everything about that topic in your essay as you have a word count. With this in mind we often state the exact focus of what we are going to be writing about. This could include things like the period of time you are going to be discussing, the geographical area etc. For example if you were writing an essay in which the topic was obesity your limitations might include stating which element of obesity you were going to talk about, which type of people with obesity you would be discussing , the country you would focus on when looking at obese people and so on.. Limitations show that you have thought carefully about  what you can and can't do in your essay and they make it easier for the reader to see what is going to be focused on.

Although the introduction is the first thing your reader will read, this does not mean you have to write it first. Many students find it is easier to put together the main body of their essay first and then their conclusion. When the whole of the main body and conclusion have been done this can make it easier for you to write a clear introduction. When you write the introduction is up to you.

The length of your introduction will depend on your word count.

You should view your introduction like a satellite navigation system for your reader, they should be able to see the direction your essay is going in.

You should make things easier for your reader by explaining things they may not understand and include some general background information to engage them.

Make the purpose of your essay clear.

Don't be too general - provide some general information but also make it clear what aspect of the topic will be discussed in the essay.

Many students think there is a set number of words to write in an introduction but this is not the case. The length of your introduction will depend on the length of your essay. It is common to write around two paragraphs for an introduction. You do not want your introduction to be too long otherwise it will be giving details that you should be including in the main body of your text. Lengthy introductions could also confuse your reader or bore them. You need to make sure you have provided some background, shown why the particular topic you are writing about is important , discussed any limitations , shown what exactly you are going to do in your essay and how you are going to do it and provide a basic outline. Once you have completed this information you can move on to the main body of your essay.