The structure of a good opening paragraph is as follows, in the same order:
- Hook phrase
- Research outline
- Strong thesis statement
Argumentative paper: emphasize importance
In an argumentative research paper, you can simply state the topic you intend to discuss and indicate what is original or important in your argument.
In an empirical research paper, present the problem based on your analysis of the literature. Think about the following questions:
Overview
After a great introduction, you should provide an overview of your main topic and some background on your research. If you’re not sure how to begin an essay introduction, the best way is to offer a basic explanation of your topic before going into detail. Simply put, you should start with general information and then narrow it down to your relevant topics.
After providing background information about the main topic of your research, give readers a better understanding of what you will cover in your research. . In this section of your introduction, you should quickly summarize your important topics in the order they will be covered later, gradually introducing your thesis statement. You can use some of them. The following questions are crucial to address in this section of your introduction: Who? What? Where? When? How? And why is that?
What do you know?
- Begin the introduction with a strong statement that describes your research topic. Use keywords from your title to help you focus and avoid starting too broad.
- Avoid mentioning too many obvious facts that your target readers already know. You need to be specific about the area of interest so readers can orient themselves properly before diving into your article.
- As a tip to help you combat starting too broad, write down your assumption or reason first.
- Then work backwards to think of the basic information your reader needs to appreciate the importance of your analysis.
- Stop backtracking when you get to the point where your readers are comfortable understanding the claims you make, but may not have complete confidence in all aspects of your explanation of those facts.
- Please cite relevant and up-to-date primary literature to support your interpretation of our current knowledge base. Be sure to include any significant work that might contradict your argument, and correct any flaws with that opposite line of thinking. You want your readers to decide that your approach is more plausible than other theories.
- Be sure to cite your sources. Plagiarism is a serious crime in the academic community that can damage your credibility (not to mention a violation of many copyright laws). Direct copying or strictly adapted language should be avoided. Instead, be sure to use your own words to paraphrase what you read in the literature, and include references.
- Don’t forget that the introduction is not an in-depth literature review! Don’t overwhelm your reader with a sea of quotes. Instead, use key primary literature (ie, journal articles) to quickly guide your reader from the general area of study to more specific material covered by your hypothesis. In other words, the literature you cite should logically lead your reader to ask the same questions that led you to carry out your research project. Approximately half a page should be enough, but double check the author information in the target journal.
- As you explain our understanding of the relevant topic, identify areas where not much information is available. However, don’t stop yourself by saying “we don’t know much about…”. You need to explain and tell your readers why we should be careful when looking for more information about this lack of knowledge. See the subheading “How and why should we close this gap?” for more information.
- Alternatively, your introduction should indicate what logical next steps can be developed based on existing research. After all, the purpose of sharing research is to inspire other researchers to develop new research and improve our understanding of a particular problem. By demonstrating that you have analyzed current data and devised a method to find new applications and make new decisions, you demonstrate to your peers that you are aware of the direction your field is moving and that you are confident in your decision to continue the study. . you consider. paper.
Facts/Stats
This hook is popular because people like to learn facts and statistics. Studying can be very exciting. We consider studies as proof or evidence and we highly value statistics. When readers see a stat, they want to know more about how it relates to what you write. However, make sure that the data you use is from a trusted source.
When you start an article or essay with a question, people want to know the answer. They are curious by nature, so an interesting question makes them want to keep reading. Make sure this question relates to what you are writing about. A confusing off-topic question.