How to Write an Introductory Paragraph for Research Paper
The writing of the research paper is a multi-aspect process. Because this type of academic assignment consists of several parts. If you fail to complete one of the levels, you will fail the whole paper.
Introduction is not a Literal Beginning
As you know, the hardest part is just to begin the paper. And what should do student at the beginning? Not writing an outline. And not working on the introduction. He should make massive research on his topic. You cannot start writing an introduction without having a personal view on the issue that you are going to study. You have to prepare for introduction writing though analyzing facts available online and making notes. If it’s hard to do it yourself, the online essay help service by Edusson.com will solve this problem instantly!
Why do We Need an Introduction?
The key aim of the introduction is to introduce to the reader the purpose of your research. Just imagine any academic writing starting from the main body section. You cannot pour on the reader your evidence, ideas, and arguments without an explanation of what are you writing about. In the introduction, you must clearly indicate the hypothesis you want to prove or deny. You must explain the necessity of your research, its urgency, and significance for your study, and, finally, hook readers to continue reading it!
What Information Can I Get From my Search for the Introduction?
It depends on the discipline you are writing the research paper on. If your field of study is Humanities, it is likely that you can find a relevant quote, aphorism, or anecdote to introduce your topic to the reader. In case you study tech, social, and medical sciences quotes are irrelevant. More precise and specific facts will fit such an introduction. There is a general rule for all specialties too. You must find a fact that will intrigue a reader. You must hook him.
Attract the Reader in Any Case
Imagine that your research paper is a product that you want to sell and be paid for it. Figuratively, it is true because your aim is to be rewarded with high mark. The first thing salesmen do to sell their product is a promotion of it. They put effort into and use various methods to hook clients. So, what should research paper writers do to attract a reader? Even if you write a research paper, and the style of writing is formal, it is still necessary and possible to draw his attention.
For example, your research paper topic is “How has the music industry been affected by the internet and digital downloading?”. After a hasty internet search, you can find out that there are many legendary musicians like Radiohead that gave up being dependent on music labels and started to issue their LPs by themselves, online. Also, there is a site Pledge Music which is a popular crowdfunding platform for modern musicians. Such popular synth-pop band as IAMX raises money there to record and promote their albums.
These two facts prove that digital downloading somehow affects the music industry, and it is urgent to research this topic to learn the character of this effect.
struggle as possible.
Writing a Thesis Statement
Research paper writing is one of the most challenging tasks for students. To write your research papers in a relevant way, it is important to add new information and to connect the text with the research topic. For example, a research paper introduction example can help you learn how to create an introduction that grabs the attention of the reader. The introduction should not only explain the topic but should also provide enough detail to set up the body of the paper. This can be done by providing background information, presenting a hypothesis, or discussing existing research on the topic. Adding new information will make the introduction more interesting and will lead the reader to the body of the paper.
What do you feel when you watch a good teaser for the movie? You feel hooked, intrigued, and eager to watch the story till the end. The same result you must achieve with the thesis statement in a research paper. You must indicate the highlights of your essay, and leave an open question, a mystery, which the reader will want to learn for sure.
To provide a worthy example of a research paper thesis statement let’s return to the discussed above topic “How has the music industry been affected by the internet and digital downloading?”.
A thesis statement is a point that you will have to defend. It mandatorily must not be general. For example, if you declare this statement during the conversation, it will surely provoke a conflict and make all people differ in their attitude and take a side.
Wrong way: “Downloading music from the internet is bad and we must fight it.”
It leaves too many questions to answer. And this statement is way too objective, it does not reflect the controversy of your topic. The truth is that there are no absolutely good or totally bad phenomena. And your thesis statement must show the reality.
Right way: “The culture of digital music consumption must be changed because the creations of musicians become worthless due to activity of web pirates and people stop valuing music according to its merit .”
In this example of thesis, I’ve narrowed my argument to the consequences of digital music downloads on the culture of music consumption. I’ve also focused on the fact that the main harm to the music industry present web pirates. It induces readers to assume that I will argue against them in the main body.
To check if you have created a debatable thesis statement for the research paper, you must figure out whether it is debatable. It means that you must make the reader argue either for or against this statement.
Wrong way: “The music industry has changed because of the era of the internet.”
It is a statement, but not a thesis statement. It is a general truth. There is no point to argue with that fact. You can narrate about that, but not argue and make research to provide proper evidence to prove your point.
Right way: “Free music download sites must become commercial because recording a music is a full-time job of musicians and every work must be rewarded.”
Now it is debatable. Opponents can argue that product that music product is not principal way to earn money for musicians, and internet is a the most effective way to promote their creation and lure audience to visit their concerts, what is a real way to earn money.
Avoid puzzlement. It means that you must not overdo with previous two thesis statement tips. It must be focused and debatable and should also show your side. In the latter example, we can easily see that the writer is against free music downloads because it affects negatively the work of the music industry and he is going to prove why in the main body.
Research paper Introduction Writing Tips
Research paper introduction is an essential part of your writing and it must be created according to certain rules. It is true that when you write any kind of text you can push yourself too hard and cross the borders of norms. Because academic styles of writing are referred to as creative writing as well. You look for information, then analyze it, come up with thoughts, and ideas, and reflect it in a coherent text. The next tips will show you how to fulfill the purpose of the research paper introduction and get rid of the creative mess.
- Size matters. Before a tutor starts reading the article, he reviews it visually. If the size of the introduction is too large, it will make a bad impression on your paper. Just remember, all you have to present in the introduction is: the definition of the topic idea and its urgency, an explanation of the aim of the research, facts to hook the reader, and a thesis statement.
- Be logical. Your introduction will be really strong if it contains key ideas only in a few sentences. To reach such a result it is important to satisfy the logical connection of the thoughts. Your goal is to make the reader understand in the end of the introduction what exactly you attempted to achieve in a research paper and why this problem is worth profound research.
- Make it the last part. Many successful students first work on the whole outline, write the body of the paper and only then form the introduction. That’s because a person becomes more sure in what direction his research goes only after at least a shallow search and analysis of sources.
- Review previous studies on your topic. Every person can study the same topic in a different way. Before you start your own research, you must become aware of the discoveries other scholars made on this issue. Any result will be a reliable background for future work. Note that it is better to indicate recent developments in the primary research rather than a lengthy report.
Research Paper Introduction Example
Finally, when we have analyzed all highlights of introduction writing we can gather all parts of it in one, ultimate part of a paper. Let’s refresh the exemplary topic of it: “How has the music industry been affected by the internet and digital downloading?”. Now, have a look at the research paper introduction example:
“The musical marketing turns to be digital according to demands of current online epoche. Such underground, but worldwide famous bands like Radiohead and IAMX gain profit from the internet and use it as a primary source to show the audience their creation. On the other hand, many artists find the digital era harmful and destructive to their creativity because there are many sites that offer their products for free, giving no profit to the creator. Currently, there are more and more studies that reveal the business side of the music industry is far from the positive side. This research paper will define whether the culture of digital music consumption must be changed because the creations of musicians become worthless due to the activity of web pirates and because people have stopped valuing music according to its merit.”
As you see, all main components are preserved in the example above. The first sentences hook readers, the mid part of the introduction prove the reason for the research, and the thesis statement puts a debatable argument that needs further analysis and the right solution.
Integrity is a Key
After you created the final paper, be decisive to make necessary changes and corrections, especially before the submission. It usually happens that at the end of the research, a writer can face with inconsistencies in all sections of his writing. If the whole paper does not sound like a cohesive text, make improvements. If your main part does not answer the question raised in the introduction nothing obstructs you from adjusting its sense to the ideas from the main body. A paper with cohesive text deserves a high mark, so rule your writing!
Now You’re a Winner
I suppose that before you came across this article you underestimated the value of a worthy introductive paragraph. In fact, I have not introduced you to another meaningful feature of it. You know that all academic essays must end with a conclusive paragraph. There is an assumption that this is the hardest part of research paper completion. In fact, if you have succeeded in making of impressive introduction, you will significantly facilitate the process of conclusion writing. You don’t think it is easy for you? Ask professionals “write an essay for me” because writing your essay does not have to be a difficult job.
