Open a new word processing document on your computer. Examine your literary insight essay outline. Type the main points you plan on making in each body paragraph into the word processing document and save.
Start your essay with a single exciting sentence. Use a question, such as "Did Hamlet actually hate his father?" or an odd fact such as "Although Harper Lee's first attempt at novel writing, 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' netted her the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, she never wrote another novel." Comb through the biography of the author of the work you're writing about to find interesting facts that relate to your thesis, or experiment with rephrasing your thesis as controversially as possible.
Using the inverted pyramid model of writing essays, which moves from conveying broad pieces of information to increasingly specific details, write a very general introductory sentence about the work you're writing about, the critical approach you've taken to it and the substance of your thesis. An example might be: "Though many feminist critics focus on Shakespeare's depiction of Ophelia in "Hamlet," I believe that Gertrude's characterization provides more potent ground for analysis of the construction of female identity in Western literature."
Continue to hone in on the major points that you plan on arguing in support of your thesis. Use the list of main points that you previously typed into your document to formulate sentences that explain what you will write about in greater detail later in your essay. Show the reader that you have concrete examples that prove the validity of your reading of the text, such as: "Hamlet's reluctant respect for his mother can clearly be seen in the argument between them in Act 3, Scene 4." Avoid going into excessive detail when summarizing your ideas.
Wrap up your introductory paragraph by once again summarizing your thesis, this time as succinctly as possible, so that your readers will remember the thrust of your thesis as they go on to exploring the rest of your essay. Edit your introduction to conform to the style and formatting standard that has been requested by your instructor.