In this blog, we will discuss three common mistakes that beginner writers make while writing the research paper introduction. We will discuss in detail how much background detail should go in the research paper introduction and best practices to keep the section concise.
1. Keep it Short and Sweet
One of the most important things to bear in your mind when you are writing your intro paragraph is that you are not writing a book, you are writing a paper. Please do not cram your research introduction with large amounts of text. Don’t treat your readers as if they don’t know anything. Most people who are reading your paper will have some knowledge about the field. Be selective and decide what is important for your readers.
Tip: If you have a super long introduction, then it means that you don’t have a lot to say about the actual research you have done. Most reviewers won’t like this.
Let’s look at an example. The topic of this passage is about global warming, and how electric vehicles can reduce the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere. The author has spent an entire paragraph explaining, what is Co2? how it causes global warming? and how electric vehicles work?. This is a pretty bad way to write your intro paragraph.
✖ Bad introduction – Too long, sounds like a lecture
Carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is a gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. Natural sources of atmospheric CO2 include outgassing from volcanoes the combustion and natural decay of organic matter, and respiration by aerobic (oxygen-using) organisms. Human activities increase atmospheric CO2 levels primarily through the burning of fossil fuels—principally oil and coal. An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors.
Now, look at the example below, it is snappy, and we have provided just about enough information to put things into context. And, we managed to do it within two lines.
✔ Good introduction – Short and snappy
The problem of CO2 emissions has proven to be a serious obstacle to climate change, and road transportation is one of the largest contributors to these emissions. The emergence of electric vehicles offers a possible solution to these problems.
2. Narrow Down to the Specific Topic Quickly
Try to narrow down to the specific topic as soon as possible. Don’t delve on the broad topic for too long. The readers are less interested in the general area of research. They want to quickly learn what is the specific topic of your research.
In this example below, we have only used one sentence to introduce the general area of research, which is ‘global warming’, and in the second line we have jumped to the specific topic of our work, which is ‘Electric vehicles’. This is how it should be done.
✔ Author introduces the specific topic of research on the second line
The problem of CO2 emissions has proven to be a serious obstacle to climate change, and road transportation is one of the largest contributors to these emissions. The emergence of electric vehicles offers a possible solution to these problems.
_ General area of research _ Specific topic of research
3. Use Technical Terms and Scientific Jargon
Use technical terms and specialized vocabulary in your paper. This will help you to keep your research introduction short. This will also enhance the quality of the paper since you are using the language used by your peers in your field.
If the technical term is widely known, there is no need to define it in your paper. If the technical term is less known then provide a brief and concise definition at the first mention to ensure that readers understand its meaning.
Author defines ‘AI’ first, and uses the short-form in the rest of the text
In this paper, we refer to artificial intelligence (AI) as an automated computer system that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI is widely used in a variety of fields including engineering, medicine, daily lifestyle applications, electronics, automobiles etc.
4. Summary
Introduction is the first thing you readers will read in your paper. It is very important that you write this section in a way that it piques their interest. Please be mindful of the issues we discussed in this blog while writing your introduction section. For further reading, see our blog on academic phrases for research paper introduction, which is relevant to the topic discussed in this blog.
