Introductions

There are many styles of introductions, but they all have three general components in common, usually in this order.

1. Motivator – gets your audience interested in reading the rest of the essay
2. Thesis – recaps the entire paper, letting your audience know what the essay is about
3. Blueprint – states the major areas the paper will cover in order to prove the thesis to let your audience know the direction your essay will take.

This is a sample of a simple, but perfectly decent introduction. If you are writing a paper other than your master's thesis, this type of introduction is perfect.

If you are writing a scientific or research-based paper your introduction might include

• A summary of the previous work done on the topic in an effort to help your read get up-to-speed on what has been going on in your field of research.
• A statement of why this study is of interest to the scientific community as part of the motivator.
• A definition of necessary terms or concepts in order to be sure that your audience knows what you will be discussing for the rest of the paper.
• A hypothesis of where you expect your research to take you so that your audience knows what you intended to prove even if that is not what you concluded and a part of the thesis.
• A definition of the scope of your paper to reveal how you accomplished your study.