Should I write my introduction first or last? Different advice is confusing me. 😵‍💫

[Petra]

Every teacher I've had says something different. My high school teacher insisted on writing the introduction first — "it sets the direction." My college professor says write it last — "how can you introduce something you haven't written yet?"

I've tried both and here's what I've learned:

Writing introduction first (the traditional way):

• Pros: You have a roadmap from the beginning. You know what you're arguing.
• Cons: You might change your argument halfway through, and then your introduction doesn't match your conclusion. I've done this. It's embarrassing.

Writing introduction last (the smarter way?):

• Pros: You actually know what your essay says. You can introduce it accurately. Your introduction and conclusion will match perfectly.
• Cons: It feels weird starting without a roadmap. You have to trust your outline.

A writing guide from UniSQ suggests that the introduction should clearly state your thesis and outline your key points . That's hard to do before you've written those points.

My new approach (stolen from a PhD student I know):

1. Write a working thesis before I start — one sentence that might change later.
2. Write the body paragraphs first, using that working thesis as a guide.
3. Write the conclusion next — now I know what I actually argued.
4. Write the introduction last, based on what I ended up saying.

This way, my introduction actually matches my essay. No more professors writing "your intro promises X but your essay delivers Y."

The introduction should grab attention and state your thesis . But you can't state a thesis you haven't developed yet. So yeah — write it last.

Anyone else been taught differently? I'm curious how others handle this.