The first essay we need to write for a thesis, report, research proposal, science paper, or science journal is the introduction. These documents have different styles of formats regardless, the introduction is a must. This section is the foundation of your paper and it should guide your reader to the overall content. At the end of the reading, the reader should be able to grasp the juice of your paper. Hence, the introduction must be structured properly to help the reader to understand your work.
The basic structure of a good introduction for a science paper should have these three elements; General statement, research description, and the problem statement.
General statement
The first paragraph of your introduction should describe the general information about the paper. The text must not be too broad and should be closely related to a specific field of the study conducted. In addition, the sentences must not too long and use simple sentences. Long and complex sentences tend to avoid reader interest. Foremost, applied the following tips to write a general statement of a good introduction;
- Use the definition of word or phrases
- Relate to the history of the topic
- Describe the origin
- Tell a simple fact or statistic
Research description
In this section, tell the audience about the background of your research. At this point, you must have decided your research niche and be specific as possible. After reading the general description, the reader will want to know more. Fill them with the past and current progress in the field by providing a brief review. Do not provide too much detail because at this point the reader just started to learn about your research. To retain their interest add the following content in the research description;
- What is the research niche or research context
- A brief review of the past and current progress
- Make a comparison between alternatives, methods, processes, etc.
- Explain related past issues or problems and how it was overcome
- Highlight remaining issues to be solved
Problem statement
The problem statement is the core of the introduction. It is more technical to write a good problem statement than other parts. It has to be specific and avoid any general information. The problem statement should be arranged in the following manner;
- General statement of the problem
- Specific problem to be solved or proposed solution/alternative
- Propose solution/alternative
- Statement of hypothesis
- Highlight the main objective of the research
- How the research would be carried out to achieve the objective
- In the end, restate the problem & emphasized the expected outcome or who are going to get the benefit from the research.
Specific Format of introduction for science paper
Generally, the introduction for a research journal, research proposal, research project, and thesis could be written by following the above guidelines. However, they may have a specific format.
Introduction for a research journal
For instance, the introduction section for a research journal usually doesn’t have a sub-section. Hence, the general statement, research description, and the problem statement should be separated in a different paragraph. If the research description is too long, write them in multiple paragraphs based on the contents.
Introduction to the thesis
Whereas for the thesis, the introduction usually is more organized with sub-section. Hence, the general statement, research description, and the problem statement are written in a dedicated subsection. It is also required to clearly state the specific objectives that measurable to indicate the accomplishment of the research. The header of the sub-section should be more specific in the thesis. Use keywords or key phrases in the header instead of the “general statement” and “research description”.