How To Write A Research Paper Introduction: Analyze, Plan, And Compose

No matter which research paper you have to write for your college assignment, it must follow the standard structure. It means you will have three parts – the Introduction, the Body, and the Conclusion. While you prepare for the work and read the guidelines, you see tons of remarks about the Introduction section’s critical importance.

Authors mention the role of the first impression and the necessity to present your paper in such a way that your audience would follow attentively. Of course, there will be mentions of the opening paragraph’s small size that must include so many meanings. It is all true.

As a result, many students hate writing Introductions. They even try copying some successful opening from the Web. No one wants to fail this task, but using someone else’s texts is not a solution. First, it is plagiarism, and second, the Introduction must be an original and integral part of your research paper. 

It is not impossible. This article will describe to you how to write a research paper introduction. You’ll see, you can do it. The key is knowing what you need to do, what elements work best, and how to organize your work. Ready? Let’s proceed!

How to Write an Introduction to a Research Paper: The Start of Work

The research paper introduction consists of several components. The main catch with them is that the student might not have them all at the beginning. It is the main reason to postpone Introduction till the end of the essay writing. The thing is, the efficiency of this element depends on how well it presents your research paper. You would often not know the most significant points or even the right tone until you complete the piece. 

Thus, the first statement of how to write a research paper introduction is clear: you write it when you have this paper done and polished. The critical condition is to know what you’ve found and offered to the audience. Then you can determine how you will introduce this in the best way. 

Still, no matter which style you choose, your Introduction must ensure to reach several primary goals:

• attract the audience’s interest. The opening must motivate the public to get familiar with your full work;
• prove the reliability of your research. For this, mention the most reputable sources you used in work;
• describe the benefits. The Introduction states that your audience will get profit from learning about your findings;
• sketch the structure. Your audience needs to understand how you expose the information to follow it. 

We’ll clarify further, how to implement these goals in the text. Let’s proceed to the next chapter of our guide on how to write an introduction to a research paper. 

Writing a Research Paper Introduction: Components and Their Role

To reach the goals we described above, the student needs the following elements of the Introduction: 

1. The Hook. It is the attention-catcher in the first sentences, appealing to both the intelligence and emotions. 
2. The description of the theme. It must provide the necessary information to understand your work and follow it. 
3. The thesis statement. It is the central statement that you dedicate the entire research to and the starting point.

Writing a research paper introduction suggests that you fulfill all these “shapes” of components with precise data. It is important to note that the research paper is not equal to an essay. This academic paper type is usually longer and with stricter requirements for the research reliability and scientific value. According to these demands, we need to compose the components of the research paper introduction. 

Hook 

 “Hook” is the definition of the paper’s first several sentences. It works as its name suggests – it grabs your audience. That’s why it is so important to appeal to emotions in this opening. 

Not every hook is applicable for the research paper opening. It depends on the particular paper, its tone and your stylistic preferences, and the audience. The right choice of the beginning is crucial, that’s why, do it as the last action, when you have all the other parts in place. Also, consider the below rules: 

• the hook must be relevant! It would be a grave mistake to use something catchy but nor matching the paper, and this mistake can lower your grade significantly. Make sure that the emotional tone and the contents of the hook correlate with the Body contents; 
• it is possible to appeal to humor for specific paper types. Papers with subjects suggesting some emotional impressions are suitable for humorous hooks. But it would hardly be reasonable for “hard” researches in the Sciences.;
• such hooks as exciting facts from the particular fields, statistic data, and questions are universal. You can apply them to any research paper.

The Description of the Theme

This part of the Introduction placed after the hook applies to the topic and its importance. You define your theme and explain your choice. Make it concise and clear so that the audience could understand the value of the subject too.

The next parts of the “Description” section include: 

• methods. You clarify which tools and approaches you used. This piece is necessary, as it states the trustworthiness of your work. We mentioned it as one of the goals above;
• sources. Your findings are the most valuable parts of your work. Still, you should refer to other books. Whether you supported some opinions or opposed them, you must be familiar with them and understand their roles;
• the specific background data. Suppose there are data essential in your work demanding particular knowledge. In that case, make sure that your audience is aware of them. Otherwise, they might not catch your ideas properly;
• the structure guideline. Define what you explore in each meaningful part of the text, and explain the orders of sections. It shows how these sections correlate logically.

The Thesis Statement 

The central idea of custom paper writing must be present at the end of this opening section. The rest of the article should relate to this claim continuously. Put the transition phrase or sentence to proceed to the next part – it will be the Body section.

Now you see which data you need to write a good introduction for a paper. First, you need to collect and formulate all the information. Then, you compile the Introduction section of those data.

Learn From The Successful Research Paper Introduction Example

It is not acceptable to copy other students’ papers or their fragments. Still, you can use some successful research paper introduction examples to learn from it. Here on the website, you will find a collection of samples from the highly-evaluated research papers. Review them thoroughly and analyze how they meet the goals described in our article earlier. 

One more beneficial aspect is reviewing the means used by other writers who succeeded with their papers. Note how they worked with hooks and, primarily, how they defined the importance of their researches. Some original wording used in an intro for research paper may suit you too. Cite such phrases in your work correctly and give credit to the authors. 

Get the Most Impressive Introductions to a Research Paper

We’d like to share more tips with you to make the job of preparing a paper intro easier for you. 

1. Make sure your work is logical! First, it is the obligatory requirement of any research. All the elements of the Introduction must be in a logical order. The cause-and-effect connections must be apparent. Then, check how your Introduction applies to the entire research paper. It must match it in tone, and all ideas expressed in the opening must find their continuation in the paper.
2. If the introduction part takes more than one paragraph, you need to check how the contents’ fragments are located. For instance, the hook and the theme presentation might take one section, and the “methods and sources” data should be in the next fragment. This approach makes it easy to percept. Pay attention to the structure further – one idea for one paragraph, and direct logical connections are mandatory. An argument can’t appear out of the blue, and thoughts must not disappear suddenly without a conclusion.
3. Transitions are beneficial in research papers. They make the structures more polished and evident. Use the transition phrases and words to demonstrate how you pass from one claim to the next one. Also, transitions highlight the logical connections’ meanings, like comparison, the effect of some cause, etc. 

We hope that our article helped you to understand how to deal with this essential task. Writing different introductions to a research paper is an excellent exercise itself – it lets you “feel” your work better. This way, you also choose the best approaches to the audience. 

Still, if you struggle with writing this opening or face difficulties with the entire research paper, our research paper writing service will gladly assist you. According to your requirements, we’ll be glad to consult you on a particular task or perform it for you.