WRITING A GOOD OPENING SENTENCE

The opening sentence

It is difficult to give advice on the opening sentence of an essay, but here is a point to consider.

THE OPENING SENTENCE MUST ATTRACT AND HOLD THE READERS ATTENTION. This
can be done by the content of the sentence (its unexpectedness, perhaps) and by the way it is
phrased (the neatness of expression).

Here are some examples of opening sentences, actual and invented, for you to consider.

How effective are they in arresting your attention? Do they make their effect by the idea
or the expression of the idea or both?

1. ‘How did the alligator get in the bath?’ demanded my father one morning at
breakfast. (The opening of a short story called ‘My Pet’.)

2. All criminals should be hanged. (The opening sentence of an essay on ‘Crime

and Punishment’.)

3. ‘In married life three is company and two is none,’ said Oscar Wilde. (The
opening of an essay on ‘What makes a happy marriage?’)

4. The night before young Larsen left to take up his new appointment in Egypt he
went to the clairvoyant. (The opening of a short story by Algernon Blackpool
called ‘By Water’.)

5. The house shook, the windows rattled, a framed photograph slipped off the
mantel-shelf and fell into the hearth. (The opening of John Wyndham’s short story
‘Meteor’.)

Some guidelines emerge from these Remember these key words

examples
Try the surprise attack or shock tactics. Surprise/shock

Use a quotation to introduce your argument. Quotation

Try to use words to create an atmosphere. Poetic

Begin with a wittily- phrased summing up of an Funny

idea.
Begin with a question. Question
Begin with a ‘cliff-hanger’ so that the reader Suspense
asks why? or what happens next? Or what’s it
all about?

Study the examples of opening sentences again and see which keyword connects with
each. Write the keywords here

Answers
1. ____Surprise/funny_________
2. _________________________ 4. _______________________
3. _________________________ 5. _______________________

www.learnhigher.ac.uk Learning Development Unit

This exercise was adapted from A New English Course by Rhodri Jones (© National Extension College 1983)