Writing an Introduction
Elements of the introduction:
1. General statements about a field of research, to provide the reader with a setting or context for
the problem to be reported and to claim its importance.
2. More specific statements about the aspects of the problem already studied by other
researchers, laying a foundation of information already known.
3. Statements that indicate the need for more investigation, creating a gap for the present study. 4. Very specific statements giving the purpose/objectives of the writer’s study or outlining its
main task.
5. Optional statements that give a positive value or justification for carrying out the study. 6. Statements that describe the structure or organization of the thesis.
Organization 1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the study (Setting: 1, 2)
Recently, there has been wide interest in …
The effect of … has been studied extensively in recent years.
1.2 Literature Review (3) (if put in Part II, use Purpose and Significance/Implication of the
study)
Most studies have ….
Much research has been done on …. Bachman (1990) showed that validity is an important aspect of writing language tests. …
However, …/ Although many studies have been done on X, …
1.3 Purpose of the study (4, 5)
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze/investigate/explore/examine, etc. This thesis + describes/presents + the result of …. This thesis will discuss/deal with …. Significance or value:
The study may provide an alternative ….
The analysis may provide new insights into the teaching of literature in China.
1.4 Structure of the thesis (6)
The thesis contains four parts: Part 1 …. Part 2 is …. Part 3 …. Part 4 …. (Please refer to your outline.)
For example:
Using Microcomputers in Teaching
During the past 40 years, the United States has experienced the integration of the computer into life of people. Progress has been made to the point that small, inexpensive computers are
available for innumerable uses. Many schools have purchased and are purchasing microcomputers for infusion into their directed learning programs.
Most individuals seem to agree that the microcomputers will continue to play an important role in education. Gubser (1980) and Hinton (1980) suggested increases in the numbers of computers both in schools and home in the near future. Schmidt (1982) identified three types of microcomputer use in classroom: the object of a course, a support tool, and a means of providing instruction. Foster and Kleene (1982) cite uses of microcomputers in agriculture: drill and practice, simulation and problem solving. The findings of studies examining the use of various forms of computer-assisted instruction have mixed. Studies by Hickey (1968) indicated superior result, but studies by other researchers indicated little or no significant effect. Although much work to analyze data has been done, more studies need to be conducted to ascertain the effects of microcomputer-assisted instruction in teaching various subjects in a variety of learning situations.
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect of using microcomputer-assisted instruction as compared to a lecture-discussion technique in teaching principles and methods of language acquirement in EFL context to senior students of Education. This topic was identified as being of importance to teachers in providing them the necessary background to teach lessons in this field.
The thesis consists of 4 parts. Part 1 is the introduction, which informs the readers of the background and the purpose of the study as well as the organization of the thesis. Part 2 is the literature review, presenting studies done by other scholars both home and abroad. Part III is the core of the thesis, which describes the analysis of the text conducted by the author. Part IV concludes the thesis by discussing the significance of the study and some limitations.
1) The beginning sentence(s) (research field/territory) The increasing interest in … has heightened the need for … Of particular interest and complexity are …
Recently, there has been a spate of interest in how to …
In recent years, applied researchers have become increasingly interested in … The possibility … has generated interest in … Recently, there has been wide interest in …
The explication of the relationship between … is a classic problem of …
The well-known … phenomena … have been favorite topics for analysis both in … Knowledge of … has a great importance for …
The study of … has become an important aspect of … The theory that … has led to the hope that …
The effect of … has been studied extensively in recent years. Many investigators have recently turned to …
The relationship between … has been studied by many authors. A central issue in … is the validity.
2) Current state (more specific research topic)
There is now much evidence to support the hypothesis that … The … properties of … are still not completely understood. A standard procedure for assessing has been …
Education core courses are often criticized for … … is a common finding in patients with … An elaborate system of … is found in the …
English is rich in related words exhibiting “stress shifts”. There are many situations where …
3) Previous relevant research (some major ones)
To relate what has been found (or claimed) to who has found it (or claimed it);
To provide a specification (in varying degrees of detail) of previous findings, an attribution to the research workers who published those results, and a stance towards the findings themselves. Citation:
Types: integral and non-integral: depending on the surface features
Integral citation: the name of the researcher occurs in the actual citing sentence as some sentence-element: a subject, passive agent, part of a possessive noun phrase, or an adjunct of reporting For example:
Bachman (1990) showed that validity is an important aspect of writing language tests.
Validity as one important aspect of writing language tests was established by Bachman (1990). Bachman’s theory (1990) claims that …
Bachman’s (1990) theory of language testing has general support. According to Bachman (1990), validity …. (adjunct of reporting)
Non-integral citation: the name of the research either in parenthesis or elsewhere by a superscript number, or via some other device For example:
Previous research has shown that … (Bachman, 1990). It has been shown that … (Bachman, 1990). It has been established that … 1-3
Validity might be an important aspect … (Bachman, 1990). Validity may be an … (but cf. Ellis, 1989).
4) Point out the gap—not treated in the previous studies but are very important aspects, including:
--- the important aspect that lacked adequate study or that didn’t draw much attention from other researchers.
--- The problem already studied but still unsolved, or with a different opinion or opposite view. ---The problem raised by someone but never studied, so the need for further, more profound study.
Write just one or two sentences.
Use proper signal words to draw readers’ attention: however, but, few, little, no, unknown, untreated, unavailable, etc.
However/But + gap (inadequately studied part) + the research topic of the present study
However, no research has been conducted on …
But few studies have been done on ….
Very little is known about the impact of microcomputers in the education to disable people
Although, while: little, no, few, many, much, some, etc. used in the main clause. Although/While + Previous work + Gap topic (study not conducted yet)
Although some information is available on X, … Although many studies have been done on X, …
While much research has been conducted on X, little knowledge is available on Y.
5) Purpose of the thesis or study
This thesis + describes/presents + the result of surveys and interviews conducted in Xinjiang to
determine the distribution of underground water in that area.
This paper + will discuss/deal with + the operation of an automatic measurement system
appropriate for laboratory demonstration.
Research orientation (investigation, study, experiment, etc.): past or present + research question The purpose of this research/investigation/study/experiment was to Report orientation
The purpose of this study + was + to investigate the effect on computer-assisted instruction to
education of the disabled people.
The purpose of this investigation was to …
The purpose of this report/thesis is to determine whether an automatic measurement system can be applied to population investigation.
Significance of the study
(1) Comment on the benefits or effects produced from the application of the findings in actual
practice. For example:
The study may provide an alternative to the problem of shortage of entertainment facilities in this newly built community.
The result of this research could be useful to authorities and educators responsible for planning course of secondary education.
(2) Comment on the theoretical implication and significance. For example:
Both of the factors under investigation in this study may be of importance in exploring the occurrence of SARS in this season.
Results of this study may suggest a need for further research into the impact of psychological factors on this disease.
6) The structure or the content of the remainder of the thesis at the end of the introduction.
Eg. I have organized the rest of this thesis in the following way … This thesis is structured as follows…
The remainder of this thesis is divided into five sections. Section II describes …
For example
The impact of studying in a second language (L2) medium university
on the development of L2 writing
Neomy Storch
Introduction
In the past decade, Australian universities have experienced an exponential growth in the number of internationalstudents. For example, in 2006 the University of Melbourne reported an 88% growth in its international student enrolments since 2000. A report by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs shows that international education is now Australia’s third largest export industry (Australian Education International, 2008). Most of the international students come from Asia, from countries such as China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. In response to the growing number of international students and their perceived needs, universities throughout Australia have developed a range of language and academic support programs (see Melles, Millar, Morton, & Fegan, 2005). For example, the university in which this study was conducted offers a free-of-charge diagnostic test to incoming international students. The test results are used to generate recommendations regarding the type of language support, if any, the student is likely to need. A range of support options is available: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) credit subjects, non-credit-bearing workshops and short courses, as well as individual consultations with language tutors who offer an editing type of service. However, neither the test nor the recommended support options are mandatory, and indeed many students do not follow the recommendations because of timetabling constraints (on enrolling in an EAP subject concurrently) and a perceived lack of time to attend workshops and consultations (see Storch & Hill, 2008). Other studies (e.g., Hirsch, 2007) also report low uptake of support options for similar reasons.
One of the assumed advantages of studying in an Australian university is that this immersion experience integrated with formal study will lead to improved English language skills. This is a reasonable expectation. Living and studying in the second language (L2) environment provides learners with exposure to rich and authentic language input and with opportunities to produce extensive and meaningful language output. In theories of second language acquisition, exposure to such input (Gass, 2003; Krashen, 1985) and practice in producing language (Swain, 1985; Swain & Lapkin, 1995) are generally accepted as essential conditions for successful second language acquisition. However, output practice is now regarded as more important than input (e.g., Ellis, 2003), particularly for the development of productive skills such as writing (DeKeyser, 1997). Researchers building on Swain’s work (e.g., Cumming, 1990; Muranoi, 2007) have argued that the need to produce language pushes learners to process language syntactically; that is, pay attention to the means of expression necessary to convey their intended meaning. For example, Cumming (1990, p. 483) writes: ‘‘Composition writing elicits an attention to form-meaning
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