1. Introduction – Purpose?
Provide a ‘road map’ for your paper (there should be no surprises in your paper)
Engage your reader – make him/her want to read the rest

2. Elements of an Intro Hook Provide background on the topic
1-2 sentences (DO NOT USE A QUESTION!)
Provide background on the topic
1-2 sentences
Thesis: Clearly states the writer's argument/position/opinion
One sentence
BE sure to include the author and title of the play somewhere in your introduction paragraph!

3. Real men don’t cry … or watch soap operas … or wear pink
Real men don’t cry … or watch soap operas … or wear pink.  Or maybe they do. Every society has certain ideas attached to what it means to be “manly” or “womanly.” Shakespeare’s great tragedy Macbeth, the story of a Scottish lord who kills the king in order to become king himself, is no exception. Throughout this play, characters constantly make reference to manhood and the idea of “being a man.”  In Macbeth, manhood is always associated with physical courage and sometimes even with cruelty.

4. Introduction: Options for Hook
Introductions should catch the reader's attention with a hook. Two options below:
Begin with something engaging/interesting about the topic. Focus on something that would interest readers in reading your essay.
Dislike of another can often be a mask for a person’s true feelings. Identifying what makes a person unlikeable can sometimes lead someone to see something new and interesting.
Begin with a provocative quotation from the play that would connect to the topic of your essay to the play/characters.
“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.” Sometimes love lures a person and sometimes it forces a person into a realization he doesn’t want to see.

5. Writing a Developed and Detailed Conclusion
Conclusions are just as important as introductions.
The conclusion closes the essay and tries to close the issue.
The aim is to convince the reader that your thesis is the best one and the only one that makes sense.

6. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare presents the idea that manliness isn’t limited to men. Throughout the play, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth demonstrate that manliness clearly reflects physical courage and cruelty. Macbeth’s bold and surreptitious actions in hiring murderers and even fighting to his own death illustrate the manly courage and strength required to be a man as defined by his own society. In the end, Macbeth’s desire to kill and avenge destroys himself leaving the audience to wonder whether or not being a real man has tragic consequences.

7. Writing a Developed and Detailed Conclusion
Restates the thesis
1 sentence
Should not be an EXACT restatement
Summarize your claims
1-2 sentences
Reference all claims
Leaves the reader with a strong, lasting thought.