One way to engage readers from the beginning of your essay is to use a relevant quotation from a famous person or a leader in the field of study related to your essay. Keep the quotation brief, usually not more than a sentence or two. A dictionary of quotations can help you find appropriate quotations based on your topic.
A story about an experience that relates to the topic of your essay can provide another introduction to your essay. Anecdotes introduce your topic in concrete terms that allow readers to engage with a story they can relate to before having to deal with the more-focused or theoretical material of your paper. Keep anecdotes fairly short to avoid digressions.
Like a physical funnel, a paragraph written according to the funnel method starts out broad and grows progressively narrower until it ends in a tightly focused point. Start with a broad statement about your general field, then tighten the focus with each sentence until you end the paragraph with your thesis statement. This method can smoothly ease readers into your topic.
If your topic deals with a term, object, idea or place your audience may not be familiar with, it may be appropriate to open the introductory paragraph with a definition or description of it. Opening with a dictionary definition has become cliche and is usually taken as a sign of shallow thought, so use your own words and only open this way if it will add useful information.
As an alternative to the methods that ease into your main point, you can state your thesis at the beginning of the paragraph, without preliminaries or lead-up. While this may seem abrupt, in actuality it can be a strong way to introduce an essay. It is succinct, direct and sets the reader's expectations without undue delay. This method is particularly appropriate when your audience will easily understand your thesis and will prefer to spend time learning your support for it.