Guide to Writing Intro for Journal Articles

Getting your article published on a scientific journal is nothing to scoff at. Congratulations in doing so! In many countries, you can’t finish your PhD without getting at least one article published in a peer-reviewed journal.

As such, you need to write and research carefully before turning your work. One of the most critical aspects of your article is the introduction. Without providing a good introduction, your readers won’t read your article until the end.

You have to hook your readers in to read your paper in its entirety. But how do you do that? Well, in today’s post, we’ll be looking at how to write introductions for journal articles.

Sounds exciting? Well then, dig in!

Why Are Introductions Important for Journal Articles?

Simply put, the Introduction should explain the “Why” of your research. This includes why you chose the subject, why it is significant, why you used a particular methodology, and so forth.

The Introduction can also be thought of as the section that identifies the knowledge gap that the remainder of the paper fills. Or as the section in which you define and stake out your territory within the larger field of study.

The Introduction also has the responsibility of providing some background information and establishing the scene. You can accomplish this by outlining the research problem you took into consideration or the research question you posed. And also by briefly reviewing any additional solutions or strategies that you have previously employed.

A research paper, which typically includes a brief review of the literature in the Introduction. Unlike those, a thesis or dissertation typically has a separate chapter titled “Review of literature.”

The final section of the Introduction should outline the goals of the experiment or analysis of the study that is described in the paper. Of course, only after you have provided the background information and established the context.

You should include the specific information or precise question(s) to be addressed later in the paper in this concluding section of the Introduction.

How to Write Introductions for Journal Articles?

You should inform the reader of your topic and why it is interesting or significant in the introduction. Strong opening hooks are typically used to achieve this.

A powerful opening line that clarifies your topic’s relevance is known as the “hook.” Consider a compelling statement, an intriguing fact or statistic, a provocative question, or a brief anecdote. These will make the reader curious about your subject.

Don’t feel as though your hook must be particularly creative or impressive. Still, clarity and relevance are more crucial than novelty. The most important thing is introducing the reader to your subject and placing your ideas.

Instead, you should summarize the most pertinent prior research that has been done for a paper that describes original research. A summary of the current research on your topic, condensed into a few sentences, serves as a miniature literature review.

A sincere reading of the literature should inform this. Your search may be shorter than it would be in a full literature review. However, having a clear understanding of the pertinent research is essential to inform your work.

Research types are established at the outset, and limitations or gaps in the research you plan to address are discussed at the conclusion.

Try introducing the problem in an empirical research paper using the literature check as a foundation.

Using language like the following, you can draw a connection between your issue and the body of existing research. In a paper presenting empirical research, the research question is the one you hope to address.

Clearly and concisely state your research question at this point without much discussion. The discussion and investigation of this question will take up the majority of the paper. At this point, all you need to do is state your position.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve enjoyed our guide on how to write introductions for journal articles. Getting your article published on a peer-reviewed place is a huge deal.

With these tips and tricks that we mentioned above, we hope you will be able to write the killer introduction that your paper deserves.