Need help writing an introduction paragraph about World War I?

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ILuvMusic1212

New member
I have a habit of jumping straight into answering questions when writing essays, so could someome help me avoid this? I want to write at least one introductory paragraph that talks about World War I without just simply summarizing the answers to the questions. Here are the questions:

What were the causes of the war? Why did the U.S. enter the war? What were the effects of the war?

I DO NOT NEED HELP ANSWERING ANY OF THE THREE QUESTIONS. I only need help writing an introduction paragraph that relates to World War I.
 
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BenjaminBenjaminson

New member
Yeah, I'd agree with Crispy above. An introduction that just gives general overview is just a space-waster. If you've got a word count, or if it's an essay with time restraints, don't bother wasting your time. Whoever marks the essay will already have a general knowledge of the war in itself. You'd be better off basically outlining the question, showing how the factors you're going to discuss fit into the answer you're going to give, and then briefly show how you're going to answer the question, and maybe why you're going to do it that way (dependent on sources you use, or what angle you're taking etc.)
 
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CRISPY

New member
You actually don't need, or even want, a general introduction. Your introductory paragraph should be an introduction to your ANSWER, not to the war in general. Basically, the purpose of your introduction is to prepare the reader to receive the main message you're trying to give them, in this case, (What were the causes of the war? Why did the U.S. enter the war? What were the effects of the war?). So introduce that.

For example: Understanding WWI is not really about reciting battles or knowing which general made which decision. Rather, at its heart, WWI is a lesson and conflict, resolution and consequences. Our understanding of WWI must come from: "Why were we fighting?" and "What happened because of that fighting?" What caused the war? Why did the U.S. enter the war? What were the effects of the war? This, at its most basic form, is WWI and its lesson to the generations who came after.

Then, follow with an in-depth answer to each of those three questions. Keep it focused. Not great, I know, but I wanted to answer quickly. Something along those lines anyway.
 
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