The instructions for submitting a paper to your professional organization require that you write a 200-word abstract. Your team’s template for technical reports requires an executive summary. You would like to write an introduction for a paper or report. But what is the difference between an abstract, an executive summary, and an introduction? And how do you write each? In previous blogs, we reviewed a 5-Question Method for Writing Abstracts and a 5-Question Method for Writing Executive Summaries. Now let’s explore the introduction.
While a short paper/report may require only a one or two-sentence purpose statement, longer papers/reports may require an Introduction—an expanded purpose statement.
A purpose statement describes the paper’s or report’s purpose and scope. For example, “This paper provides an overview of recent online articles and fact sheets about the Ebola virus.”
In addition to defining purpose and scope, a well-written introduction motivates readers to read the paper/report. By providing context, the introduction prepares readers to focus on, fully understand, and assess the significance of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations you present in the body of the paper/report. To provide context, you clearly explain information such as the following:
- The magnitude of the change or issue, or the importance of the unanswered question that caused the work.
- The necessity, significance, or urgency of the work (including how the work continues previous efforts, complements concurrent efforts, or positions future efforts, and how the work aligns with the organization’s mission and goals and with current events).
- The theory/theories or assumptions that provide a foundation for the work.
- The group or individual who initiated the work.
- The heritage of the work (including highlights of your review of literature or a summary of the earlier phases of the work)—a summary of your Background Section.
- The technical question being answered by the work—posed in terms that matter to readers.
- The benefits of learning the results or the answer; the cost of not knowing the results/answer.
Thus in the introduction (as in an indicative abstract), the writer defines the purpose of the work that was done, describes the topic or the problem that was investigated, and previews the paper/report by explaining its purpose and scope. The introduction, unlike the informative abstract or summary, does not include findings, conclusions, or recommendations.
The easiest way to write an introduction is to write a purpose statement and expand it by providing context. We can revisit our Ebola example [created for instructional purposes only]:
1. What is the context for the issue? Why was the study/research/work performed? What problem are you solving? What question are you answering? What is the scope of your work?
The Ebola virus, an aggressive pathogen causing a highly lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, has claimed almost 3,000 lives in the current West African outbreak. Officials estimate that at least 10 per cent of reported deaths have been healthcare workers combatting the disease. The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 additional people are at risk of being infected by November 2014. Healthcare facilities require the latest information about this often fatal illness.
2. What is the purpose of the work or research?
Medical and virological literature were reviewed to assemble lessons learned from previous epidemics as well as key facts about Ebola including its pathogenicity and virulence in humans, the progress of vaccine development, and the World Health Organization’s infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare workers in a healthcare environment.
3. What is the purpose of the paper or report?
This paper provides the results of that review.
Then we remove the questions, and “voilà!”—an introduction.
The Ebola virus, an aggressive pathogen causing a highly lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, has claimed almost 3,000 lives in the current West African outbreak. Officials estimate that at least 10 per cent of reported deaths have been healthcare workers combatting the disease. The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 additional people are at risk of being infected by November 2014. Healthcare facilities require the latest information about this often fatal illness.
Medical and virological literature were reviewed to assemble lessons learned from previous epidemics as well as key facts about Ebola including its pathogenicity and virulence in humans, the progress of vaccine development, and the World Health Organization’s infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare workers in a healthcare environment.
This paper provides the results of that review.
With a working definition of an introduction and with the 3-Question Method for Writing Introductions, you are now equipped to write an Introduction.
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