SLcomponent_skillCriterion CP1
The Paper 1 Introduction Formula
A four-part formula—context setter, link to prompt, thesis statement, point map—for writing a tight, purposeful comparative introduction in Paper 1 that signals organisation to the examiner from the first paragraph.
Your Paper 1 introduction has one job: prove to the examiner, in four or five sentences, that you know what both texts are doing and that you have a clear plan for comparing them. Criterion C ('organisation') rewards essays that are structured with a clear line of argument — and that line of argument is set up in the introduction. Markers should be able to predict your body paragraphs just from reading your opening. If they can't, your essay will feel like a list of observations rather than an argument.
Key concept