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Introductions

Author: Ms. K

Parts of an Introduction

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.

Source: Made by Ms. K

Sample Scientific Introduction

This shows a complex introduction in action. Notice this is only the introduction to this study and it has multiple paragraphs. This type of introduction is used when revealing the findings of an intensive scientific experiment/study or an extensive research project.

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Source: Analysis by Ms. K introduction used from http://www.jmir.org/2011/1/e26/

Tips for Writing Introductions

Source: Made by Ms. K