Your introduction is your chance to get your reader interested in your subject. Accordingly, the tone of the paragraph has to be just right. You want to inform, but not to the point of being dull; you want to intrigue, but not to the point of being vague; you want to take a strong stance, but not to the point of alienating your reader.
Studies show that many students and researchers find it difficult in writing a satisfactory introduction. Here is some advice on what steps to go through in writing the introduction section.
1. Announce your topic broadly
One strategy to start is to use a similar model in your own introduction—start off with a big picture and then declare your particular take. For example, if you are interested in talking about the narrator in Virginia Woolf’s novels, you might begin by saying that Woolf’s narrator has posed a problem for many of her critics; provide a quick definition of the problem, as others have defined it; and declare your thesis (which states your own position on the matter).
2. Provide any background material important to your argument
Providing background information or other contextualizing material shows how your topic fits into a broader framework, and what approach you are taking. By doing this, you can point your readers in the direction you want them to go; you can also show them why the topic is significant.
Activity 3-1: Providing background material
Suppose that you are writing a paper on the characterization of Jane Austin’s novel Pride and Prejudice. Please decide for yourself what background information you will address in the introduction part.
The related background information I want to address in my introduction includes:
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