I REALLY need help with this.. I'm writing an essay on how Edgar Allen Poe's story "Masque of the Red Death" is an allegory. I just need help creating an intro paragraph, then I can go from there. I'm just so stuck!

Question

anonymous · Answer

It really depends on what you're going to write about. But a good intro should be like an upside down triangle. Starting out broad, poem name, author, general idea what it's about, and narrowing down to more specifically what you're going to talk about in your paper, ending with your thesis, a very narrow sentence that is the foundation for the rest of your paper. The rest of your paper then sets out to describe, expand up, or explain your thesis. 
Without knowing your paper there's no way anyone could help you. You have to decide what you're writing about first. 
My suggestion would be to actually not start with your intro paragraph. It's unconventional, but start coming up with what you want to write about, write a bit of the body of your essay, and then come back and write your intro when you have a better idea of where your paper is going.