introduction

Writing Introductions
There are many ways to introduce an academic essay or assignment. Most academic writers, however, appear to do one or more of the following in their introductions: Examples of phrases which are commonly employed to realise these functions are listed below. Note that there may be a certain amount of overlap between some of the categories under which the phrases are listed.
 * establish the context, background and/or importance of the topic
 * indicate a problem, controversy or a gap in the field of study
 * define the topic or key terms
 * state of the purpose of the essay/writing
 * provide an overview of the coverage and/or structure of the writing