When starting an essay or any piece of reader centered prose, it is important to grab your audiences attention. One way to catch the interest of your reader is to use a lead.

• Some types of leads:
  
  
  • Direct Statement:  A good starting point is to say what the piece of writing is about, or what it says, in as few words as possible.
    
    
  • Anecdote: An effective way of starting a piece of writing is to use an anecdote—a brief-story—that reveals the essence of the piece of writing in a paragraph or so….These little stories are extremely effective in involving the reader in the story, but the anecdote must be accurate.
    
    
  • Quotation: An effective lead is often a quotation from a person within the story.  It has the ring of authority, and a good quotation has its own voice.
    
    
  • News: The writer tells the reader immediately what is new about the subject.  The news lead, in a sense, tells the reader why he or she should read on.  It usually includes the five W’s: who, what, when, where, why.
    
    
  • Informing detail: The writer gives the reader a specific bit of information that will interest and intrigue the reader, who will want to read on to find out more.  That bit of information may be a statistic, a fact, a revealing detail, an action, a behavior.
    
    
  • Surprise: The writer may deliver the unexpected to the reader.  This may come from the information in the piece of writing or from the way it is written, but it must be an honest surprise.  The writer should not tease or trick the reader.
    
    
  • Description: A specific, detailed description is often a good way to attract the reader.  The reader likes to see a place, a process, something that is central to the subject.  That description should be packed with visual details, and will be richer if it includes details that attract the senses of hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling, as well as seeing.
    
    
  • Mood: Often a reader will be lead into a piece by a lead that establishes the atmosphere or climate or a situation.  The lead may present the reader with the feeling of a locker room, on the accident ward, in the student government office.
    
    
  • Face: One of the most effective leads is to reveal an individual who is central to the piece of writing.  Readers like to meet new and interesting people. It is important for the writer, however, to give that person a strong physical presence.  It’s usually good for them to be seen in action, doing something significant in the article.
    
    
  • Scene: A lead that combines a place, a person or persons, and an action, of course, develops into a scene.  It can be very effective in establishing the texture of the piece to be written.
    
    
  • Tension: A good way to start many stories is to reveal the forces within the piece of writing as they collide.