Functions of An Introduction In An Academic Paper Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

The purpose of the introduction is to show your reader what you are doing in your writing. In many parts of your writing but especially in introductions you may need to provide background information and introduce new concepts or ideas and provide a description of how you are going to proceed in the rest of your writing. In the following text, after giving some background information to justify the research, sentence 10 introduces the rest of the report: use of a writing web site by pre masters students on an english for academic purposes course. Gillett, university of hertfordshire 1 during the past 10 years, the availability of computers in educational institutions has increased dramatically james, 19. 2 progress in computer development has been made to the point that powerful, inexpensive computers with large capacities are available in many classrooms and libraries for student use. 3 many students also have purchased and are purchasing computers for their own use at home.

4 most studies seem to agree that the microcomputer will continue to hold an important role in education in the future. 5 for example, james 19 and smith 20 suggest large increases in the numbers of computers both in educational institutions and the home in the near future. 6 as far as education is concerned, shaw 2001 identified three main uses of computers: the object of a course, an administrative tool, and a means of providing instruction. 7 fish and cheam 2002 cite four uses of computers as a means of providing instruction: exercise, tutorial, simulation and problem solving.

8 a wide range of computer programmes are now therefore available in all these areas for individual and classroom use. The purpose of the introduction is to show your reader what you are doing in your writing. 137 165: use of a writing web site by pre masters students on an english for academic purposes course. Gillett, university of hertfordshire introduction 1 during the past 10 years, the availability of computers in educational institutions has increased dramatically james, 19.

functions of an introduction

a n overly simplistic model for the relationship between the introduction, the body.

And the conclusion is the old newspaper maxim: tell them what you are going to say, say it, and tell them what you said. I magine an inverted triangle, thus: i n this model, the introduction begins with the general and moves toward the specific, as the sides of the triangle narrow down toward a point. A writer uses the introduction to show how the specific question addressed in this essay relates to a greater issue or field. For example, if we are writing about how george orwell's novel 1984 subverts traditional notions of hero, we might want to begin by explaining what a traditional notion of hero is, or by discussing the characters in orwell's work in general. T he thesis a writer discusses in an essay does not exist in a vacuum the thesis and the essay are part of a bigger set of issues.

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The introduction can provide the necessary background so that the reader understands how your essay fits into the bigger discussion about some topic. Therefore, it is important that a writer also determine what the audience knows already, and what it needs to know in order to understand the context for this thesis, this essay. By the time we reach the end of our introductory paragraph, we should be ready to state the thesis of the essay. The introduction does not give away all of the opinions and conclusions to be developed in the essay, but the writer should give readers a clear idea of what the main idea is to be. They want to know what it's about, to understand its background or context, and to see its goals or purpose. An explicit and detailed overview will help you show the richness and complexity of your work and set up the reader's expectations for your paper.

Some writers write the introduction in the middle of the drafting process once they see the larger direction of the paper others write the introduction last, once they know the exact content of their work. Try different approaches to see which one is best for you, but always check your introduction before you turn in your final draft to be sure it matches the paper you actually wrote. Depending on the discipline you're writing in, an introduction can engage readers in many ways: ask a question identify a debate give a comparison explain a situation describe a problem quote an authority cite an example set up an intellectual problem offer a hypothesis introductions represent a promise the writer makes to the reader. Your introduction should announce your paper's topic and purpose, situate that purpose in relation to what you've discussed in your course or what has already been published on that topic, and offer your readers a preview of how you will satisfy that purpose. One of the important functions of an introduction is to announce what you are writing about to your readers. You will often read them toward the end of an introduction: the thesis statement which could also be a purpose statement or question.

This is a promise that your paper is going to make a point, not just cover a topic. If you are writing for an instructor, this promise might mean suggesting that your paper will touch on the main topic of the course. If you are writing as a scholar, this promise might meaning explaining how your research will fill an important gap in the existing research.

An introduction should seek to engage readers so that they will become invested in your writing. In some contexts this means finding a way to persuade a reader who is reading 60 papers on the same topic that yours is worth paying special attention to. In other contexts this means helping a reader already committed to your work to recognize what unusual or exciting question your paper will address. Notice that this introduction begins by situating the paper in the context of larger conversations about british attitudes towards french politics and ends by promising a specific argument that the rest of the paper will support. In just a few decades, france's once formidable divine right monarchy had been reduced to a state of relative powerlessness by frequent warfare, burgeoning social unrest, and a pressing financial crisis from the nation's incessant militarism and the court's lavish expenditures. As france's sociopolitical scene intensified, noteworthy events found their way onto london stages with a flourish of historicity, drama, and hyperbole.

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