An author may craft the introduction how he or she sees fit. Traditionally, the author has creative freedom to introduce his or her paper as long as the format provides the necessary contextual information to the audience. Here are a few successful ways to provide an introduction.
Use Narrative, including a Hypothetical
- Opening a paper/comment with a first-person narrative in ordinary language engages the reader's interest & provides context for the alleged problem that is the point of the paper.
- Similarly, authors may want to create a hypothetical that provides context for the focus of the paper. A hypothetical can demonstrate how rare/common, simple/complex, or important/irrelevant a problem is, today.
Open or Close with Quotation
- The quotation is meant to spark the reader's interest by either reflective and learned, or impertinent, humorous, and provocative. (Fajans and Falk (2011).
Begin Quickly & Forcefully
- Why?
- To capture your reader’s attention.
- How?
- Perhaps use a provocative, wise, or humorous quote.
- Or use some controversial statement that will draw readers in.
- Or tell a story (either real or hypothetical)
