Your first paragraph should attract the reader’s attention: it should be bold, thought-provoking, and clearly focused. Here is an example of an introductory paragraph from an essay on Ernest Hemingway’s story "Hills Like White Elephants":
Ernest Hemingway’s opening paragraph in "Hills Like White Elephants" immediately projects his readers into a landscape that is barren and uncomfortable. It is a scene so simple, yet so vivid, that the reader physically senses the burning of the sun and the stillness of the day, interrupted only by the pesky flies and the woman from the bar. It is a scene symbolic of the lives, the future, and the relentless indecision that confronts the American and the girl, Jig.
It is advisable somewhere in the introductory paragraph to state the theme of the story and the thesis of your essay. A story’s theme is the message which you feel the author is conveying (there may be more than one theme per story). The theme is expressed as a general statement about life or human nature. You may express it in one or more sentences. Do not confuse it with a plot summary. In the following example the writer opens up an essay on the motif/symbol of darkness in "The Odour of Chrysanthemums" by stating the theme of the story:
It is sometimes difficult for two people who live together to get along well. They can take each other for granted. Or worse, they can be alienated to the point where they don’t understand each other clearly and objectively. The heated emotions that occur in a close relationship – anger, jealousy, possessiveness – prevent an objective understanding.
After stating the theme, you should relate it to your thesis. The thesis is the claim or central idea around which you build your essay. Everything in your essay should relate to your thesis. Continuing on in the same introductory paragraph, the writer works his way towards the thesis:
It is only with divorce or with the death of one of them that an individual no longer reacts against his mate and can cut through the darkness of misunderstanding to understand his mate clearly. In D.H. Lawrence’s story "The Odour of Chrysanthemums" the inability to understand, to clearly see another’s point-of-view, is represented by the motif of darkness.
The last sentence is called the thesis or thesis statement and it usually comes at the very end of the introductory paragraph. It is the punch-line that paves the way for the rest of the essay. The introductory paragraph is therefore sometimes funnel-shaped., beginning generally and narrowing to a single intention.
Here is another example of an introductory paragraph:
Guy de Maupassant’s "Love" scarcely seems a story at all, at least in the conventional sense: two cousins on a hunting trip; minimal description of the characters; a bit of dialogue; and two dead ducks, matter-of-factly bagged by the narrator and taken back to Paris. But great meaning rides on the broad backs of descriptive passages, of settings so detailed, so intricate and passionately mobile, that the reader fairly races over the action-packed terrain of the human heart. The French countryside, the hunter’s lodge, and the frozen marsh reveal the cursed conflict between primitive and civilised man, between warmly palpitating and frozen hearts.
Don’t be afraid of crawling out on a limb and taking chances with a provocative thesis. A stimulating interpretation always interests the reader. Just make sure you can back it up with enough evidence from the story.
Avoid the kind of introductory paragraph that beats around the bush because you don’t have much to say:
James Joyce is a famous writer of the early 20th century. His stories are full of symbolism. His symbols are full of meaning, and his images are very vivid. Whenever he writes about men and woman, he writes about them in a poetic style. That is why his stories are interesting to read.
Beating around the bush wastes the reader’s time. After reading the introductory paragraph, the reader should know definitely where the paper is going and be interested in reading the rest of the essay.