How can I write a good intro for a comparison essay about Romiette and Julio and Romeo and Juliet?

You can use the following format to write an introduction for your Romeo and Juliet/Romiette and Julio comparison, and any paper you may write in the future, too.

A good introduction to any essay consists of three parts:

1. A hook


2. Background information


3. A thesis statement

Let's look at these parts in detail:

The hookis used to kick off your writing in a captivating way. Much like a fish hook catches in a fish's mouth...

You can use the following format to write an introduction for your Romeo and Juliet/Romiette and Julio comparison, and any paper you may write in the future, too.

A good introduction to any essay consists of three parts:

1. A hook


2. Background information


3. A thesis statement

Let's look at these parts in detail:

The hook is used to kick off your writing in a captivating way. Much like a fish hook catches in a fish's mouth so the fisherman can reel it in, your written hook catches the readers attention so he/she will want to continue reading your work. The hook should be related to your topic. An effective hook might take the form of a rhetorical question (If Romeo and Juliet had their lives to live over, would they make the same choices?), very short anecdote (When I began reading Romiette and Julio, I expected it to be a simplified version of Romeo and Juliet, but I was surprised to find that it is a stand-alone story.), controversial claim (Nobody will ever be able to tell a teen romance story as beautifully as Shakespeare.), bold statement (If any author can come close to expressing Romeo and Juliet's story in modern times, it is Sharon Draper.), or quote (“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”) Since you are writing a literary essay, a quote from Romeo and Juliet that ties into your topic might be the way to go. You might want to look at  if you choose to use a quote for your hook, and it should relate to the topic of your essay.

Background information for a literary essay should state the complete name of the work(s) you are writing about, the author(s), and the date(s) published. You should also give a very brief one or two sentence summary of the work or works. Since this is a comparative essay, you should include one sentence to show how the two works are linked. For example, you might want to include a sentence such as "Romiette and Julio is a novel by Sharon Draper published in 2001. The story is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but the differences between the two families in Sharon's story are racial."

A thesis statement consists of one or two sentences that state the claim you intend to prove with your essay, and often also state the main points you will make in your essay. For example, in an essay comparing pizza to hot dogs, your thesis statement might be, "Hot dogs will never be as satisfying as pizza, because pizza has more ingredients, is covered in cheese, and can be adapted to suit anyone's tastes."

After you have written an outline for your essay, you will find it easy to write your thesis statement, because you will have your main claim (thesis) and the points you will use to prove it. That's why, even if your assignment is to write an introduction and not the entire essay, you would certainly benefit from planning out an entire essay and organizing your ideas into an outline.