Introduction
Every essay has to start with an introduction that a) begins with a
guiding question, b) clearly establishes the work(s) you will discuss, and
c) states your argument. You should not attempt to prove your argument
in the introduction—just introduce it. I highlighted the argument in the
following example:
Ovid's story about Narcissus raises the
question whether its protagonist actually loved
himself. A superficial reading of the story
suggests that the young man was an
exceptionally self-absorbed character. What we
are inclined to notice by the end of the story
is that Narcissus was so in love with himself
that he drowned while trying to embrace his
reflection in the water. Interestingly enough,
however, Ovid's version of the myth actually
implies that Narcissus never loved himself. In
fact Ovid suggests that Narcissus often
exhibited signs of hatred toward himself.
Part I
In this part of the essay, you have to explain why someone can disagree
with your argument. Since you mentioned in the introduction that some
readers might think that Narcissus was "an exceptionally self-absorbed
character," you have to explain why you think some readers are likely to
make that assumption.
On the surface, Narcissus indeed seems to be a
self-loving character. Thus . . . [examples and
evidence follow . . .]
Part II
In this part, you have to prove your side of the argument. Since your
introduction states that "Ovid's version of the myth . . . implies that
Narcissus never loved himself," this part allows you to demonstrate that.
This part is usually the longest. Example:
A closer look, however, reveals that Narcissus
never expressed love for himself. [examples
and evidence follow . . .]
