Hypothetical Introductions
1. The goal of this essay is to explain what would happen in this hypothetical situation you create.
Example: What if the zombie apocalypse actually took place?
2. Ultimately, there might be different variations on your hypothetical situation, or your reader may have questions
as to exactly what’s going on in your hypothetical.
Are zombies able to run?
Is getting bitten the only way to become a zombie? How does one become a zombie?
Is there any government left in the world or army to fight them?
How can they be killed?
How long ago did the zombie apocalypse take place?
3. Your introduction should answer questions like this, setting the perimeters of the hypothetical you’re creating. In
other words, set the rules and boundaries.
Different Introduction Styles & Examples
Comedic, Informal:
Coffee too hot? Winter too cold? TV commercials too long? Summer vacation too short? Well, brother, let me tell you,
you ain’t seen nothing. Zombies, man. Zombies. They’re here, and they’re serious. They’re chomping at the bit to chomp your
face, and there’s only one way to deal with that—a blow to the head. For them, of course. Sure, death is an option for you, but
even then, you just become one of them, bite or no bite. Sorry, bub, you’re infected already, and the only option is to fight. Help?
Are you serious? The government has been gone for years. Military help? Survivor, please. That zombie over there is wearing
camo for a reason. They’re gone. Lucky for you, these brain-seeking bad boys can’t run, so you’ve got a leg up on them. Get it? A
leg? For running? And yeah, you better get used to running. Time for some cardio training, pronto. You’re on your own, that is,
unless you can find some buddies to tag along with you and not leave you behind to become zombie chow. Zombie spaghetti.
Human Lo Mein. Chicken-fried human. But, hey, all is not lost. There’s still a world out there, and it’s just waiting for you to take
control and rebuild. So, get the band back together. It’s time to team up and make a brave new world out of this pile of garbage and
guts. ‘Cause if the zombie apocalypse occurred, humanity needs to band together and try to rebuild societal systems to protect those
who survived.
Creative, Narrative Introduction:
There is a slow, haunting scraping sound down the hallway. It sounds like the scratching of someone’s hand on sandpaper.
As the sound gets slightly louder, fear and adrenaline begins to take over as a hand is raised steadily towards a weapon to defend
oneself. A knife. A gun. A solid wooden baseball bat. Gruesome as it may seem, these are vital tools bound for the head of the
undead, for when the scraping sound gets close enough, these weapons will have to be used for self-defense against the undead.
The zombies are here. They’ve been here for years, having toppled governments and destroyed civilization as we’ve known it. In
this world, the dead return to haunt the living, and the world is disintegrating around those who remain, most just struggling to
survive. The scraping sound continues, a sound which imposes a fear that chills to the bone because, while these zombies can’t run,
they still pose a significant threat. If bitten, the victim will become a zombie themselves within hours. If the zombie apocalypse
occurred, humanity would band together and try to rebuild societal systems to protect those who survived.
Clinical, Straight-Forward Explanation:
If zombies were to roam the earth, society as it is currently structured would collapse. The disease would have spread
from an airborne virus, impossible to avoid and even more impossible to contain. The military, a once powerful force, would be
overwhelmed by the sheer number of the undead that would overtake the planet as the dead and dying would exponentially
increase in numbers. As bombs would be unthinkable in civilian areas, they would be left only with guns. These zombies can only be
killed by a significant, brain traumatizing blow to the head, so close combat would become necessary, and while the military’s guns
may be effective for a short time, the walking dead would claim more victims, and every fallen soldier would become yet another
zombie. Even death from a gunshot wound would turn any man or woman into an undead cannibal. After years of fighting, only
groups of humans remain, and these people alone resist the end of the world. If the zombie apocalypse occurred, humanity would
band together and try to rebuild societal systems to protect those who survived.