In academic writing, nothing must come as a surprise to the reader. Academic writing is not like fiction writing, where the reader can be held in suspense, not knowing who committed the crime, or whether the girl will get the boy, or whether the story will end happily or tragically. In academic writing, the whole “story” is outlined in the introduction, and given in detail in the body.
Activity 2-1: Analyzing the structure of an introduction
Below is an introduction which would be suitable for a 1500-2000 word essay on intercultural communication. Read carefully and discuss with your partner what aspects of information are addressed by this introduction.
Sample Introduction 1
Over the past twenty five years, since Australia embraced multiculturalism as a policy, issues of intercultural communication have become more and more prominent in the workplace. However, until relatively recently, little had been written on these issues, and even now, many organizational managers have no training or knowledge of how to deal with communication problems, even though most workplaces are staffed by people of diverse cultures. Particular problem areas include the difficulties that some non-English speakers have in understanding safety instructions (figures produced by the ABS in 1997 show that migrant workers have a higher incidence of accidents at the workplace); an ignorance of the different forms of non-verbal communication used by other cultures(for example it is considered impolite in some societies for an employee to look directly at his or her employer), which can lead to misunderstandings and unpleasantness; and the lack of knowledge about differing expectations. Based on interviews with managers and staff in six organizations (public and commercial), this report examines these three problem areas, and shows that many of the difficulties faced by both natives and migrants in the workforce are caused by a lack of awareness of, and training in, intercultural communication.