INTRODUCTION

#When to write introduction?

In thesis both introductions and conclusions are normally written after the main
body.

Moves in writing introduction

Move 1. Establishing a research territory
A. By showing its importance, centrality, problematic or relevant in some way
(optional)
B. By reviewing items of previous research in the area (obligatory=ob)
Move 2. Establishing a niche
A. Indicating a gap in previous knowledge (ob)
Move 3. Occupying the niche
A. By outlining purposes or stating the nature of the present research (ob)

Move 1-A. claiming centrality

Recently, there has been growing interest in …
The possibility of . . . has generated wide interest in. . .
The development of . . . is a classic problem in. . .
The development of . . . has led to the hope that. . .
The . . . has become a favorite topic for analysis. . .
Knowledge of . . . has a great importance for . . .
The study of . . . has become an important aspect of . . .
A central issue in . . . is. . .
(Swales & Feak, 2004, pp. 250-251)

Opening sentences of introduction

The first few sentences should be general but not vague, to help the reader focus
on the topic. They often have the following pattern:

It is important to avoid opening sentences that are over-general. Compare:

Nowadays there is a lot of competition among different providers of news.
Newspapers are currently facing strong competition from rival news providers such
as the internet and television.

Currently,
the control of water resources
has emerged as potential cause of international friction.
Since 2008
electric vehicles
have become a serious commercial proposition.

Move 1-B: Reviewing the literature (obligatory)

Three major patterns:
Pattern 1: Past—researcher activity as agent, reference to single studies:
a. Jones (1997) investigated the causes of illiteracy.
Pattern 2: Present Perfect—areas of inquiry
The causes of illiteracy have been widely investigated (Jones 1977, Ferrara 2000,
Hyon 2004)
There have been several investigations into the causes of …
Pattern 3: Present—reference to state of current knowledge
“Illiteracy appears to have a complex set of causes.”
“The causes of illiteracy are complex (Jones 1997, Ferrara 2000, Hyon 2004)”
(Swales & Feak , 2004, pp.254-255)
Note:
Pattern 1 (single studies, past ) and Pattern 2 ( areas of inquiry, present
perfect) focus on what previous researchers did.
Pattern 3 (current knowledge, present) focus on what has been found. Often adopted
by research.

Subtle differences in tenses

1. Jones (1997) concluded that illiteracy can be related to. . .
2. Jones (1997) has concluded that . . .
3. Jones (1997) concludes that . . .
From 1 to 3🡪 increasingly closer to current state of knowledge.
Citational present is also used with famous important sources: e.g., Plato argues
that …

Move 2: Establishing a niche

A mini-critique to indicate the gap of knowledge
Language Focus:
Little (Uncountable)
- However, little information/work/data/research . ..
Few (Countable)
- However, few studies/investigations/ researchers/attempts. . .
However, previous research in this field has… (using verb)
- concentrated on - been limited to/been restricted to
- Disregarded - overestimated
- failed to consider - ignored/neglected to consider
- overlooked/suffered from/underestimated/misinterpreted
Nevertheless, these attempts to establish a link between dental fillings and
disease are at present (using adjective)
- controversial/incomplete/inconclusive - misguided/questionable/unconvincing/
Unsatisfactory
However, it remains unclear whether… (using contrastive statements)
Avoid using a full negative like “no studies”

Move 3. Occupying the niche

Two variations in occupying the niche:
1. Purposive (P): The author(s) indicate their main purpose or purposes
E.g., The aim of this paper is to give…
2. Descriptive (D): The author(s) describe the main feature of their research
E.g., This paper reports on the results obtained…

Tense and purpose statements

Use present tense when referring to the type of text—paper, article, thesis,
report, research
The aim of this paper is to . . .
Use present or past tense when referring to investigation—experiment,
investigation, study, survey, etc. To be safe, use present tense.
This type of investigation was/is carried out in order to . . .

zLoc####Location of the purpose statement####

In longer research papers, the thesis (purpose) statement is usually at the end of
an introduction:
The purpose of this paper is to . . .
This paper describes and analyzes. . .
My aim in this paper is to . . .
In this paper, we report on . . .

The introduction should be written with these steps, moving from the known
information (in the literature) to the unknown one (knowledge gap).
The three “C” (Citation + Critique + Constructive) should be applied in the whole
writing process.
Citation should be given to all important statement and data. Try to avoid sources
from predatory journals and non peer-reviewed journals (very popular mistakes in
VN). Use sources within 5 years, exceptional 10 years.
Critique is used when you try to establishing a niche. However, critique should be
polite – never say other researcher’s result are completely wrong. Never use the
tone of lecturing or moralizing in the introduction. All the critique should be in
a constructive manor.

The introduction should not be too long. Being written too long would make the
readers think you are too talkative, but being too short would make them think you
are lacking of ideas or just too lazy.
Very often the experience writers would write the introduction after the Result and
Discussion (they write later, although they have read and form it in their heads
before)

Introduction: Structure and Format

General problem
Identify general problem and current understanding
Narrow to specific problem and location
Identify key knowledge gap(s)
Very specific problem statement
Logic
Goals and specific objectives

Introduction: Structure and Format

Begin by defining a problem; should not be too broad (e.g., global warming) but
also not too specific (e.g., lack of information on phosphorus levels in the Cau
River);
Example: “Increasing population growth and rapid economic
development is adversely affecting water quality in Vietnam’s rivers and
streams.”
Rapidly narrow this broad problem to a much more specific issue;
Example: “Intensive agriculture may be causing high levels of nutrients and
agricultural chemicals in the Cau River in X District (or a specific section of the
Cau River).”;
Need to summarize what is known about this specific issue, and what is not known,
and identify the gap(s) in knowledge that your paper will address;
Need references to support key statements and past studies.

Introduction: Structure and Format

This logically leads to a specific problem statement:
Example: “Acacia plantations in northern Vietnam may decrease rather than increase
soil organic matter.”
The problem statement should logically lead immediately to the goal and specific
objectives.
Example: “The goal of this project is to determine if there are any significant
differences in soil organic matter between mature Acacia plantations and adjacent
natural forests.”
This problem statement is usually placed at the end of the introduction, and right
after that is some optional contents: expected results / the result’s implication /
the structure of the thesis.

Introduction structure and format

Certain words or phrases in the title may need clarifying because they are not
widely understood:
e.g: in a thesis entitled ‘Evaluate the experience of e-learning for students in
higher education’ the introduction may need to clarify the term “e-learning” as
follow: There are a range of definitions of this term, but in this paper ‘e-
learning’ refers to any type of learning situation where content is delivered via
the internet

(b) It is useful to remind the reader of the wider context of your work. This may
also show the value of the study you have carried out:
Learning is one of the most vital components of the contemporary knowledge-based
economy. With the development of computing power and technology the internet has
become an essential medium for knowledge transfer.

(c) While a longer article may have a separate literature review, in a shorter
essay it is still important to show familiarity with researchers who have studied
this topic previously. This may also reveal a gap in research that justifies your
work:
Various researchers (Webb and Kirstin, 2003; Honig et al., 2006) have evaluated e-
learning in a healthcare and business context, but little attention so far has been
paid to the reactions of students in higher education to this method of teaching.

Introduction structure and format

(d) The aim of your research must be clearly stated so the reader knows what you
are trying to do:
The purpose of this study was to examine students’ experience of e-learning in a
higher education context.

(e) The method demonstrates the process that you undertook to achieve the aim given
before:
A range of studies was first reviewed, and then a survey of 200 students from a
variety of disciplines was conducted to assess their experience of e-learning.

(f) You cannot deal with every aspect of this topic in an essay, so you must make
clear the boundaries of your study:
Clearly a study of this type is inevitably restricted by various constraints,
notably the size of the student sample, and this was limited to students of
Pharmacy and Agriculture.

(g) Understanding the structure of your work will help the reader to follow your
argument:
The paper is structured as follows. The first section presents an analysis of the
relevant research, focusing on the current limited knowledge regarding the student
experience. The second part . . .

How to write a paragraph in an introduction

A paragraph has only ONE main idea. Never have several main ideas in one paragraph.
The idea should be discussed until it is exhausted. You may begin a paragraph with
a topic sentence, then an explanation, then data, example, etc.
In short, the introduction should answer the question “why you conduct this
research?”
The introduction is written using the model CaRS (create a research space). You
have to pursued the readers that your topic is important and necessary, there is a
knowledge gap (niche), and your research will fill that knowledge gap.
The introduction moves from the general- to the specific context (whereas, the
Discussion moves from the specific- to the general context)

Practice#Opening sentences of introduction

Write introductory sentences for three of the following titles.
How important is it for companies to have women as senior managers?
__________________________________________________
(b) Are there any technological solutions to global warming?
___________________________________________________________
What can be done to reduce infant mortality in developing countries?
___________________________________________________________
Compare the urbanisation process in two contrasting countries.
___________________________________________________________

Practice#Opening sentences
You have to write an essay with the title
‘Can everyone benefit from higher education?’

Use the notes below to write the introduction in about 150 words
Definition: Higher education (HE) = university education
Background: Increasing demand for HE worldwide puts pressure on national budgets >
many states seek to shift costs to students. In most countries degree = key to
better jobs and opportunities
Purpose: To decide if access to HE should be restricted or open to all, given costs
involved
Method/Outline: Discussion of following points: HE is expensive, so who will pay?
Increasing numbers = lower quality Is it fair for all taxpayers to support students
who will earn high salaries? How to keep HE open to clever students from poor
backgrounds?
Limitations: The use of your own country as an example

What is normally found in an essay introduction? Choose from the list below.

(i) A definition of any unfamiliar terms in the title.

Y/N
(ii) Your opinions on the subject of the essay.
(iii) Mention of some sources you have read on the topic.
(iv) A provocative idea or question to interest the reader.
(v) Your aim or purpose in writing.
(vi) The method you adopt to answer the question (or an outline).
(vii) Some brief background to the topic.
(viii) Any limitations you set yourself.
(IX) Add 2-3 paragraphs that discuss previous work.
(X) Start the section with a general background of the topic
Practice

Practice
(b) Read the extracts below from introductions to articles and decide which of the
functions listed above (i – viii) they are examples of.
(m) In the past 20 years the ability of juries to assess complex or lengthy cases
has been widely debated.
(n) The rest of the paper is organised as follows. The second section explains why
corporate governance is important for economic prosperity. The third section
presents the model specification and describes the data and variables used in our
empirical analysis. The fourth section reports and discusses the empirical results.
The fifth section concludes.
(l) The purpose of this paper is to investigate changes in the incidence of extreme
warm and cold temperatures over the globe since 1870.
(o) There is no clear empirical evidence sustaining a ‘managerial myopia’ argument.
Pugh et al. (1992) find evidence that supports such theory, but Meulbrook et al.
(1990), Mahoney et al. (1997), Garvey and Hanka (1999) and a study by the Office of
the Chief Economist of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1985) find no
evidence.
(u) ‘Social cohesion’ is usually defined in reference to common aims and
objectives, social order, social solidarity and the sense of place attachment.
(p) This study will focus on mergers in the media business between 1990 and 2005,
since with more recent examples an accurate assessment of the consequences cannot
yet be made

Practice
Which are essential and which are optional?
There is no standard pattern for an introduction, since much depends on the type of
research you are conducting and the length of your work, but a common framework is:

A
Definition of key terms, if needed.
Essential / optional?
B
Relevant background information
C
Review of work by other writers on the topic
D
Purpose or aim of the paper
E
Your methods and the results you found.
F
Any limitations you imposed
G
The organisation of your work