Skip the arrogant, dull beginnings. Don’t begin your essay with something like, People from all cultures have engaged in numerous, protracted disputes over a variety of political and diplomatic matters throughout recorded human history, which has piqued historians’ curiosity and led to the development of several historical theories. Suppose you’re writing a paper about, say, how the British handled the 1857 insurrection in India. This is total dreck, it bores the reader, and it shows that you have nothing worthwhile to say. Bring it home quickly.
