Writing Introduction

1. Writing Introduction UCLan Papers writing Boot Camp, July 2012 Dr Mahmood Shahmhshah@uclan.ac.uk

2. Introduction • Introduction     Introductory paragraphs     Statement of the problem     Purpose     Significance of the study     Research questions and/or hypotheses

3. Introduction • Writing an introduction Make it a short, complete writeup. • Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context. • Defend the model - why did you use this particular concept or system? What are its advantages? You might comment on its suitability from a theoretical point of view as well as indicate practical reasons for using it. • Provide a rationale. State your specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe the reasoning that led you to select them. • Very briefy describe the experimental design and how it accomplished the stated objectives.

4. Substance • Never say, "No one has ever looked at this, so I did... • " Never say, "this is interesting“ • Never talk at the level of methods in your introduction (e.g., variables, measures, factors) • Do not write papers for academics/peers.- it is a difficult process – how much to introduce the topic- to what depth?

5. Observations • Introductions are the difficult to write: inverted triangle model: funnel • Your study should be totally motivated from your introduction • Avoid using the expression, "Research has found" or "studies have shown" (if you delete this, the sentence sounds much better)

6. Observations • It is a fallacy that you should leave some obvious things wrong or incomplete in the paper so as to give the reviewer/reader something to criticize • Most people accept or reject a paper in the first 5 pages and then look for evidence in a confirmatory manner • Use active voice! • Edit! Edit! Edit! (e.g., cut all phrases such as, "in order to"; cut all boilerplate sentences (e.g., "in today's society")