Learn as much by writing as by reading.
— Lord Acton
If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.
— Stephen King
In this unit you will:
·understand the role of the introduction section in a research paper
·learn about the structure of the introduction
·analyze the features of the introduction
·learn the various techniques that help producing a satisfactory introduction
Pre-class work
1.Work with your partner and discuss the following topics.
(1) Do you often find it difficult writing the opening paragraphs of a writing assignment? What are your major difficulties?
(2) What writing techniques do you usually employ in order to make your opening paragraphs more interesting to read? Do you think they can be used in the same way in the academic writing?
(3) What time do you think is appropriate to write the introduction section in the academic writing, before you write the main body of your paper or after that? Why?
2. Find a research paper on the Internet and focus on the introduction section of this paper. Try to answer the following questions:
(1) What is the main idea/thesis statement of this paper?
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(2) Besides stating the thesis, what else does the author include in the introduction section?
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(3) What techniques does the author use to make his introduction interesting to read?
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(4) How long is the introduction with proportion to the whole length of the paper?
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