How to write an introduction

Writing an introduction is very important as it allows the reader to understand what your essay will be about and what are its main points.

Basically, a good introduction will lead to a better overall IMPRESSION of your essay. When you have caught the attention of your reader it is more likely that they will be interested in your writing and perhaps give you a good grade.

So how do you write an introduction?

You simply DEFINE, COMMENT and LIST.

Define: provide definitions for some of the words in the question

Comment: what is the question all about? what are the key issues? why are sociologists interested in the debate?

List: Briefly mention what you will write in your essay (you should already have a PLAN of your key arguments).


For example:


'Assess the strengths and limitations of using secondary data in sociological research'


Define:

Secondary data in sociological research refers to ........

Comment:

Although secondary data can provide information that is reliable for researchers, the validity of the information collected could be under question....


List:

This essay will discuss the implications of secondary data such as the use of official statistics and personal documents and highlight their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, a comparison between secondary and primary sources will also be discussed.