There are specific signals used that indicate support, contradiction, background material, etc. Examples for each different signal are listed below. The authority directly states the proposition, is the source of …

The Bluebook lists four different “families” of introductory signals: (1) signals that indicate support, (2) signals that indicate comparison, (3) signals that indicate contradiction, and (4) signals that indicate …

Signals of the same type (supportive, comparative, contradictory, background) must be strung together within a single citation sentence and separated by semicolons. Signals of different types must be …

In all college essays, this introductory paragraph contains a thesis statement. Some instructors and courses require the student to use a 1-3-1 essay format. The essay consists of an introductory …

Make sure your introduction doesn't just loosely relate to your topic, but strongly relates to and introduces your thesis. • Overused statements: "In today's society..." "Since the beginning of time ..." …

Writing the introductory paragraph is often one of the trickiest parts of writing an essay. One reason for this difficulty is that writers have several jobs to do in the introduction: grab the reader’s attention, …

An introductory paragraph is the first part of your academic paper. Its job is to introduce your topic, explain why it’s important, and give a preview of your argument.