Guidelines for students on how to write academically and enhance their course work with a meaningful introduction to reports, essays or assignments.

2. Your introduction is there to encourage the
reader to be interested in your subject
Try asking yourself
- so what?
Then think about
- why is this important?

3. The introduction is your chance to make an
excellent first impression.
You should be engaging
- Be focused
- don’t waffle!
You should be accurate
- Be organised
- check there are no mistakes!

4. Invite the reader to think your ideas through
with you
Introduce your main idea
or argument
- Explain how you will
present the information
- Explain how the work
will be organised

5. Your assignment question
is a good starting point
- but don’t write it out for
the introduction!
Your answer to this question
will be the main idea
(or thesis) for your work
- Are there other specific details
to include from your brief?

6. Some things to avoid in your introduction:
Using up the space with
vague sentences
Using a dictionary definition
Making broad, general
statements that are not relevant
Writing in the style of a book reference
This presentation uses ideas from: INTRODUCTIONS. The Writing Centre (2015) [Online] Available from -
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/introductions// [Accessed 16/05/2015]