The exams are nearing! I am sure that by now you are fed up of anyone saying this or anything close to this and you would probably feel like hitting me on the face while I start with the same line 😀 . Either ways, today we are going to discuss a bit about answer writing, esp the introduction and conclusion part.
People have often asked us as to what an ideal structure of the answer should be and we have often said that there are multiple ways you can target that. But the most common one would have the following structure – an introduction followed by the body and the conclusion. As we go ahead with writing answers, something we would very strongly observe is that  there is a correlation between these right from the start to the end, it is like telling a story and you are going to tell quite a good one considering the difference it is going to make to your aspirations.
Well I shall cut my introduction short now. What I am going to talk about today is the importance of introduction in an answer. People say a lot of things about an introduction and writing an answer, but the way we see it – it is a simple way of telling what you are trying to tell in your answer. In other words, an introduction will be about what you are going to write about, the line of thought you are going to pursue and the way the answer is going to take shape.The usual mistakes with introductions are as below:
– Sometimes people miss it for conclusion and start off with an opinion and a clear judgement of the issue. I do agree to the argument that it gives an answer to the point. But what they are looking at here is a reasoning that leads you to the argument, a window to the way you think and relate what all you have read to it and segregate as to what makes sense and what doesn’t
– Sometimes in the zeal to impress the reader, we end up providing our best points or strong points in the introduction itself. But that might also not be the best way cos the best of your points does not have a window for explanation and even if you mention it again, it seems like a repetition to the reader and they might not be in a position to appreciate it.
– Making the introduction too short or virtually non existent. Well this is a little annoying for someone to correct. If someone would just give me a set of points, I would naturally not look at it that closely, not with keen interest. If you have a list and a set of some wonderful points, it does make sense to keep them to the body of the answer, not the introduction. However please note that this suggestion is for long answers. As for the short answers, it is really helpful to dive into the points right away.
– Making the introduction too long : This I think is the gravest mistake done by us when we spend a lot of time on introduction. It either means two things – that the person does not know the answer and he is trying to beat around the bush or the person doesn’t know how to place points. Either of these would be detrimental to your approach to the paper.
Having said this, I would remind you that the most important part of the answer is still the way you present your points. The introduction is a part which leads the examiner to this and that should be the only job it does to make your life easier.
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