Introduce the topic to your readers. Give your readers an overall picture of the subject you are preparing to argue.
Explain to your readers why the topic is important. For the most persuasive argument, you should include reasons why the topic is important not just to yourself as the essay's author and to your readers but to the public and the world as a whole.
Acknowledge the different points of view on the topic. This will allow you to expound further on why you believe your view to be correct later on in the paper with the information garnered from your research.
Add into the first paragraph, somewhere near the end, your thesis statement. This statement needs to be clear and to the point so the reader has no doubt, where you stand on the topic and what argument you are going to present.
Conclude the introductory paragraph with a transition sentence. This sentence should wrap up the introductory paragraph as well as segue into the next paragraph, which will begin your arguments.