Description Start your essay with an introductory paragraph setting out how you intend to answer the question. You may want to include a bit of background as to why the question has been asked, and place it in a wider context. For example, if your essay is addressing reasons as to why sea levels are rising, you may wish to give some detail on why this is an issue (e.g. it is a threat to humanity, particularly in low-lying coastal areas such as Bangladesh and the Maldives), and some statistics outlining by how much sea levels are rising.