Introduction (writing)
In an essay, article, or book, an introduction (also known as a prolegomenon) is the beginning section that states the purpose and goals of the following writing. The body and conclusion generally follow it.
Common features and techniques
The introduction usually outlines the document's scope and provides a brief summary. It may also clarify certain key elements important to the document. This way, readers can understand the upcoming content before they actually begin reading it.
The University of Toronto provides advice about how to write essays:
A good introduction should identify your topic, provide essential context, and indicate your particular focus in the essay. It also needs to engage your readers’ interest.
Some authors write their introduction first, while others prefer to leave it for a later stage in the writing process. Another option is to start with a rough draft of the introduction and then finish it after the body text is completed.
Introductions sometimes have subsections
In a book on technical writing, the introduction may include one or more standard subsections: an abstract or summary, preface, acknowledgments, and foreword. Alternatively, the section labeled "Introduction" may be a brief segment alongside the abstract, foreword, and others rather than encompassing them. In this scenario, the collection of sections that precede the book's main body is referred to as the front matter. When the book is divided into numbered chapters, convention dictates that the introduction and any other front-matter sections are unnumbered and appear before chapter 1.
Styles vary while the concept remains the same
While maintaining the general concept of the introduction, different documents employ varying styles to present the written text. For instance, the introduction of a Functional Specification includes information the entire document will explain later. In the case of a User Guide, the introduction focuses on the product. Conversely, a report’s introduction provides a summary of its contents.
Introductions often summarize but not always
Not all introductions include summaries. For instance, the American Journal of Physics (AJP) specifically advises authors that an introduction “need not summarize.” Instead, the introduction can provide “background and context,” indicate “purpose and importance,” and describe the article’s raison d'être (i.e., motivation) in a manner that is “informative and inviting.” However, the introduction does not have to summarize or even state the article's main points. In contrast, the abstract should summarize the article, according to AJP.
It is not difficult to find other examples of journals that do recommend for introductions to include summaries. Consider the journal Biochemistry, whose editors write the following :
- The Introduction should state the motivation for the investigation and its relationship to other work in the field. Extensive reviews of the literature should be avoided. The last paragraph should summarize the work's significant findings, conclusions, and significance without reproducing the abstract.
So practice varies from journal to journal about whether introductions should include summaries.
See also
- Abstract (legal)
- Abstract (summary)
- Introduction
- Preamble
- Preface
- Foreword
- Prologue
- Afterword
- Conclusion
- Epigraph
- Epilogue
- Postface
- Postscript
External links
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root