What gives the reader a preview of your main points in an an essay?

its always good to restate the question in the first paragraph to answer it, it adds length and personally i think it looks smart. When I right an essay I like to do this as the first sentence. Say the essay question was your question. I would use "Some good Words to use for the introduction sentence for an essay are restating the question as an answer."

Also, you should state the points you're trying to (dis)prove in your essay. Summerize the purpose of the essay. When i write essays, I like to do the intro/conclusions after I write the body of the essay, because then I know exactly what I'm going to say at that point. Don't forget to restate your intro or if you have one a thesis statement in your conclusion. Good luck!!