While studying, regardless of whether you are at university or college, at some stage you will be required to write a research paper. This is one of the biggest challenges that you will face as a student, but one thing that most students struggle with is simply getting started. That’s why it is so important to learn how to write an introduction for a research paper. Here are some helpful hints to get you started.
Conduct Thorough Research
When it comes to uncovering the key to a successful research paper, the clue is in the name! Conducting thorough research is the first step in tackling this type of paper and it must be carried out prior to thinking about writing an introduction for your paper. Good research is so much more than just gathering a number of different sources, you must also read those sources and analyse them to make sure that you fully understand the topic. Only then will you be able to craft a strong introduction for your paper.
Plan Your Paper
The introduction of your research paper is essentially a summary of your writing. This means that you must plan out the content of your assignment before you start writing your introduction. In fact, many students choose to leave the intro until last so that they already have the rest of the paper to refer to. At the bare minimum, you should write an essay plan highlighting the key points that your paper is going to cover. This will give you enough information to complete a first draft of the introductory paragraph.
Start With Some Interesting Information
One of the key roles of the introductory paragraph is to act as a ‘hook’ to draw your readers in. Upon reading your introduction, you want people to be interested in reading on. That means that the opening sentences must be captivating. The best way to do this is to start by sharing some interesting information about your research topic. This could take the form of a key fact or quote that directly relates to your research question. Taking this approach will allow you to introduce your thesis in a less abrupt manner, as immediately diving into the thesis statement can be jarring for the reader.
Introduce Your Thesis
Once you have decided upon your hook and written your opening sentences, it is time to introduce your thesis. This could require several sentences as you will want to clearly state the intentions of your research paper. If your introduction runs to several paragraphs, then your thesis should be introduced towards the end of the very first paragraph. If you put it any later in the introduction then your readers may be confused about what you are actually going to write about.
Outline The Main Points
Once you have introduced your thesis, the next step is to summarize the key points that your paper will be covering. This includes stating your objectives if appropriate and outlining the points that you will be investigating as part of your research. This helps your reader to know what to expect and will also go some way towards strengthening their initial interest in your topic and help to maintain that initial level of engagement as they move toward the main body of your research paper.
Bring Your Writing To Life
Students are often focused on making sure that all of the important elements that we have discussed here are included and as a result, the introduction ends up being dry and sterile. It is important to put some of your style and personality in your writing and give it a little bit of life. It is a great idea to redraft your introduction after getting the bare bones in place and look at how you can liven things up. Some good ideas include adding quotations, sharing anecdotes and referring to recent news stories relating to your topic.
Edit & Proofread
Once you have your introduction ready, the final – and perhaps most important – step is to edit and proofread your work. It is always a good idea to put it away for a few days, or at least a couple of hours if you are struggling to meet a deadline, and then come back to it with fresh eyes. Go over the introduction several times and look for errors or clumsy phrasing. It is not unusual for students to draft their research paper introductions as many as five or more times until they have it just right.
It can take a great deal of time and effort to produce a great introduction, but once you understand how to write it and keep practising, you will find that it starts to get easier.