Second, I will explain how geography has affected American foreign policy. In sum, I will analyze and discuss the impact of geography on American foreign policy. The roadmap paragraph improves on the lofty sounding throat-clearing paragraph because it tells the reader the topic to be discussed, i.e., geography and U.S. foreign policy. The problem with the roadmap paragraph is that it tells readers the wrong thing about the topic. It tells readers how you are going to proceed and not what you re going to say.
Readers care about the latter much more than the former.
Again, a strong opening paragraph previews the main argument for the reader. It not only names the topic, it specifies the paper s thesis. The history of U.S. foreign policy bears out his maxim. The United States was blessed with weak neighbors as well as a large ocean separating it from the major powers of Europe. After reading this opening paragraph, readers know not only that the topic is geography and American foreign policy but also that the author believes that geography has promoted a peculiarly American approach to foreign policy.