Write As Historian: WRITE AS A HISTORIAN: WRITE THE INTRODUCTION
After you analyze the task, gather and organize evidence, and develop an effective thesis statement, much of the hard work in writing a long essay is behind you. The most challenging task still remaining is to write an introduction that 1) serves as a blueprint for the rest of the essay and 2) casts the topic in a broader historical perspective.
The Introduction as Blueprint In generic terms, a good introduction conveys the framework or limits of the topic as well as a clear debatable and defensible claim. The claim should be expressed in one or more sentences in the same location—ideally the introduction. The introduction also suggests the organizational pattern and reasoning process that will unfold in the rest of the essay. In other words, it conveys (without saying), “Here’s what I’m going to argue. Here’s the reasoning process I am going to use to convince you. Here’s the order I will use to present my ideas.” The reasoning process may be causation, continuity and change, or comparison. Each reasoning process suggests a unique organization. (See Write as a Historian in Topic 7.9.)
Historical Perspective A good introduction also relates the topic of the prompt to broader historical events, developments, or processes that occur before, during, or that continue after the time frame of the question. In other words, it conveys (without saying), “Here’s how this topic relates to what came before it/what came after it/what else was going on in other parts of the world or other aspects of society, and any number of broader historical patterns and trends.” The introduction is a good place to point out the historical perspective, but it will need further development later in the essay. A simple reference to a historical perspective is not sufficient to earn points on the exam.
Application Find both the blueprint and historical perspective in the following introduction. How does the introduction answer these questions:
• What is the author’s argument?
• What reasoning process will the author use?
• What order will the author likely use?
• How does the topic relate to broader historical events, developments, or processes?
The new global capitalist economy that developed between 1750 and
1900 brought many obvious changes as smokestacks and ships laden
with raw materials for industry became commonplace. One of the
most dramatic changes, however, was the effect of industrialization on
patterns of migration, from the countryside to the city and from one
country to another. These changes in turn brought about significantly
different social conditions that laid the foundation for challenges many
countries continue to face today.
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