literature review
Part of managing your education is communicating well with others at your institution. For instance, you might need to email your instructor to request an office appointment or explain why you will need to miss a class. You might need to contact administrators with questions about your tuition or financial aid. Later, you might ask instructors to write recommendations on your behalf.
Treat these documents as professional communications. Address the recipient politely; state your question, problem, or request clearly; and use a formal, respectful tone. Doing so helps you make a positive impression and get a quicker response.
Post-secondary-level reading and writing assignments differ from high school assignments, not only in quantity but also in quality.
Managing reading assignments successfully requires you to plan and manage your time, set a purpose for reading, practise effective comprehension strategies, and use active reading strategies to deepen your understanding of the text.
Post-secondary writing assignments place greater emphasis on learning to think critically about a particular discipline and less emphasis on personal and creative writing.
By now you have a general idea of what to expect from your courses. You have probably received course syllabi, started on your first few assignments, and begun applying the strategies you learned about in Section 1.1 Post – Secondary Reading and Writing .
At the beginning of the semester, your workload is relatively light. This is the perfect time to brush up on your study skills and establish good habits. When the demands on your time and energy become more intense, you will have a system in place for handling them.
This section covers specific strategies for managing your time effectively. You will also learn about different note-taking systems that you can use to organize and record information efficiently.
As you work through this section, remember that every student is different. The strategies presented here are tried-and-true techniques that work well for many people. However, you may need to adapt them to develop a system that works well for you personally. If your friend swears by her smartphone, but you hate having to carry extra electronic gadgets around, then using a smartphone will not be the best organizational strategy for you.
Read with an open mind, and consider what techniques have been effective (or ineffective) for you in the past. Which habits from your high school years or your work life could help you succeed now? Which habits might get in your way? What changes might you need to make?
To succeed in your post-secondary education—or any situation where you must master new concepts and skills—it helps to know what makes you tick. For decades, educational researchers and organizational psychologists have examined how people take in and assimilate new information, how some people learn differently than others, and what conditions make students and workers most productive. Here are just a few questions to think about:
Most people have one channel that works best for them when it comes to taking in new information. Knowing yours can help you develop strategies for studying, time management, and note taking that work especially well for you.
To begin identifying your learning style, think about how you would go about the process of assembling a piece of furniture. Which of these options sounds most like you?
You would carefully look over the diagrams in the assembly manual first so you could picture each step in the process.
You would silently read the directions through, step by step, and then look at the diagrams afterward.
You would read the directions aloud under your breath. Having someone explain the steps to you would also help.
You would start putting the pieces together and figure out the process through trial and error, consulting the directions as you worked.
Now read the following explanations of each option in the list above. Again, think about whether each description sounds like you.
Your learning style does not completely define you as a student. Auditory learners can comprehend a flow chart, and kinesthetic learners can sit still long enough to read a book. However, if you do have one dominant learning style, you can work with it to get the most out of your classes and study time. Table 1.3: Learning Style Strategies lists some tips for maximizing your learning style.
Table 1.3 Learning Style Strategies
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Visual | When possible, represent concepts visually—in charts, diagrams, or sketches. Use a visual format for taking notes on reading assignments or lectures. Use different coloured highlighters or pens to colour code information as you read. Use visual organizers, such as maps and flow charts, to help you plan writing assignments. Use coloured pens, highlighters, or the review feature of your word processing program to revise and edit writing. |
Verbal | Use the instructional features in course texts—summaries, chapter review questions, glossaries, and so on—to aid your studying. Take notes on your reading assignments. Rewrite or condense reading notes and lecture notes to study. Summarize important ideas in your own words. Use informal writing techniques, such as brainstorming, freewriting, blogging, or posting on a class discussion forum to generate ideas for writing assignments. Reread and take notes on your writing to help you revise and edit. |
Auditory | Ask your instructor’s permission to tape record lectures to supplement your notes. Read parts of your textbook or notes aloud when you study. If possible, obtain an audiobook version of important course texts. Make use of supplemental audio materials, such as CDs or DVDs. Talk through your ideas with other students when studying or when preparing for a writing assignment. Read your writing aloud to help you draft, revise, and edit. |
Kinesthetic | When you read or study, use techniques that will keep your hands in motion, such as highlighting or taking notes. Use tactile study aids, such as flash cards or study guides you design yourself. Use self-stick notes to record ideas for writing. These notes can be physically reorganized easily to help you determine how to shape your paper. Use a physical activity, such as running or swimming, to help you break through writing blocks. Take breaks during studying to stand, stretch, or move around. |
The material presented here about learning styles is just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous other variations in how people learn. Some people like to act on information right away while others reflect on it first. Some people excel at mastering details and understanding concrete, tried-and-true ideas while others enjoy exploring abstract theories and innovative, even impractical, ideas. For more information about how you learn, visit your school’s academic resource centre.
In university or college, you have increased freedom to structure your time as you please. With that freedom comes increased responsibility. High school teachers often take it upon themselves to track down students who miss class or forget assignments. Your instructors now, however, expect you to take full responsibility for managing yourself and getting your work done on time.
At the beginning of the semester, establish a weekly routine for when you will study and write. A general guideline is that for every hour spent in class, you should expect to spend another two to three hours on reading, writing, and studying for tests. Therefore, if you are taking a biology course that meets three times a week for an hour at a time, you can expect to spend six to nine hours per week on it outside of class. You will need to budget time for each class just like an employer schedules shifts at work, and you must make that study time a priority.
That may sound like a lot when taking several classes, but if you plan your time carefully, it is manageable. A typical full-time schedule of 15 credit hours translates into 30 to 45 hours per week spent on schoolwork outside of class. All in all, a full-time student would spend about as much time on school each week as an employee spends on work. Balancing school and a job can be more challenging, but still doable.
In addition to setting aside regular work periods, you will need to plan ahead to handle more intense demands, such as studying for exams and writing major papers. At the beginning of the semester, go through your course syllabi and mark all major due dates and exam dates on a calendar. Use a format that you check regularly, such as your smartphone or the calendar feature in your email. (In Section 1.3 Becoming a Successful Writer , you will learn strategies for planning major writing assignments so you can complete them on time.)
The two- to three-hour rule may sound intimidating. However, keep in mind that this is only a rule of thumb. Realistically, some courses will be more challenging than others, and the demands will ebb and flow throughout the semester. You may have trouble-free weeks and stressful weeks. When you schedule your classes, try to balance introductory-level classes with more advanced classes so that your work load stays manageable.
Crystal knew that to balance a job, classes, and a family, it was crucial for her to get organized. For the month of September, she drew up a week-by-week calendar that listed not only her own class and work schedules but also the days her son attended preschool and the days her husband had off from work. She and her husband discussed how to share their day-to-day household responsibilities so she would be able to get her schoolwork done. Crystal also made a note to talk to her supervisor at work about reducing her hours during finals week in December.
Now that you have learned some time management basics, it is time to apply those skills. For this exercise, you will develop a weekly schedule and a semester calendar. Working with your class schedule, map out a week-long schedule of study time. Try to apply the two to three-hour rule. Be sure to include any other nonnegotiable responsibilities, such as a job or child care duties.
Use your course syllabi to record exam dates and due dates for major assignments in a calendar (paper or electronic). Use a star, highlighting, or other special marking to set off any days or weeks that look especially demanding.
Setting up a schedule is easy. Sticking with it, however, may be challenging. A schedule that looked great on paper may prove to be unrealistic. Sometimes, despite students’ best intentions, they end up procrastinating or pulling all-nighters to finish a paper or study for an exam.
Keep in mind, however, that your weekly schedule and semester calendar are time management tools. Like any tool, their effectiveness depends on the user: you. If you leave a tool sitting in the box unused (e.g., you set up your schedule and then forget about it), it will not help you complete the task. And if, for some reason, a particular tool or strategy is not getting the job done, you need to figure out why and maybe try using something else.
With that in mind, read the list of time management dos and don’ts. Keep this list handy as a reference you can use throughout the semester to troubleshoot if you feel like your schoolwork is getting off track.
Do set aside time to review your schedule and calendar regularly and update or adjust them as needed.
Do be realistic when you schedule study time. Do not plan to write your paper on Friday night when everyone else is out socializing. When Friday comes, you might end up abandoning your plans and hanging out with your friends instead.
Do be honest with yourself about where your time goes. Do not fritter away your study time on distractions like email and social networking sites.
Do accept that occasionally your work may get a little off track. No one is perfect.
Do accept that sometimes you may not have time for all the fun things you would like to do.
Do recognize times when you feel overextended. Sometimes you may just need to get through an especially demanding week. However, if you feel exhausted and overworked all the time, you may need to scale back on some of your commitments.
Do make a plan for handling high-stress periods, such as final exam week. Try to reduce your other commitments during those periods—for instance, by scheduling time off from your job. Build in some time for relaxing activities, too.
Do not procrastinate on challenging assignments. Instead, break them into smaller, manageable tasks that can be accomplished one at a time.
Do not fall into the trap of “all or nothing” thinking. (e.g. “There is no way I can fit in a three-hour study session today, so I will just wait until the weekend.”) Extended periods of free time are hard to come by, so find ways to use small blocks of time productively. For instance, if you have a free half hour between classes, use it to preview a chapter or brainstorm ideas for an essay.
Do not let things slide and then promise yourself, “I will do better next week.” When next week comes, the accumulated undone tasks will seem even more intimidating, and you will find it harder to get them done.
Do not rely on caffeine and sugar to compensate for lack of sleep. These stimulants may temporarily perk you up, but your brain functions best when you are rested.
The key to managing your time effectively is consistency. Completing the following tasks will help you stay on track throughout the semester.
Establish regular times to “check in” with yourself to identify and prioritize tasks and plan how to accomplish them. Many people find it is best to set aside a few minutes for this each day and to take some time to plan at the beginning of each week.
For the next two weeks, focus on consistently using whatever time management system you have set up. Check in with yourself daily and weekly, stick to your schedule, and take note of anything that interferes. At the end of the two weeks, review your schedule and determine whether you need to adjust it.
Review the list of dos and don’ts.
Identify at least two habits from the dos list that you could use to improve your time management skills.
Identify the habit from the don’ts list that you are most likely to slip into as the semester gets busier. What could you do to combat this habit?
If you are part of the workforce, you have probably established strategies for accomplishing job-related tasks efficiently. How could you adapt these strategies to help you be a successful student? For instance, you might sync your school and work schedules on an electronic calendar. Instead of checking in with your boss about upcoming work deadlines, establish a buddy system where you check in with a friend about school projects. Give school the same priority you give to work.
One final valuable tool to have in your arsenal as a student is a good note-taking system. Just the act of converting a spoken lecture to notes helps you organize and retain information, and of course, good notes also help you review important concepts later. Although taking good notes is an essential study skill, many students have never received guidance on note taking.
Marking, note making, or note taking is a matter of personal preference in terms of style. The most important thing is to do something . Again we stress that reading is like a dialogue with an author. The author wrote this material. Pretend you are actually talking to the author.
Put small checks in pencil where you would normally underline. When you finish a section, look back and see what you really need to mark. (If you check over 50 percent of the page, you probably are marking to go back and learn later versus thinking about what is really important to learn now!)
Use consistent symbols to visually help you identify what is happening on the page:
The following sections discuss different strategies you can use to take notes efficiently. No matter which system you choose, keep these general note-taking guidelines in mind.
Before class, quickly review your notes from the previous class and the assigned reading. Fixing key terms and concepts in your mind will help you stay focused and pick out the important points during the lecture.
Come prepared with paper, pens, highlighters, textbooks, and any important handouts.
Come to class with a positive attitude and a readiness to learn. During class, make a point of concentrating. Ask questions if you need to. Be an active participant.
During class, capture important ideas as concisely as you can. Use words or phrases instead of full sentences, and abbreviate when possible.
Visually organize your notes into main topics, subtopics, and supporting points, and show the relationships between ideas. Leave space if necessary so you can add more details under important topics or subtopics.
Record the following:
A good note-taking system needs to help you differentiate among major points, related subtopics, and supporting details. It visually represents the connections between ideas. Finally, to be effective, your note-taking system must allow you to record and organize information fairly quickly. Although some students like to create detailed, formal outlines or concept maps when they read, these may not be good strategies for class notes because spoken lectures may not allow time for to create them.
Instead, focus on recording content simply and quickly to create organized, legible notes. Try one of the following techniques.
A modified outline format uses indented spacing to show the hierarchy of ideas without including roman numerals, lettering, and so forth. Just use a dash or bullet to signify each new point unless your instructor specifically presents a numbered list of items.
The first example shows Crystal’s notes from a developmental psychology class about an important theorist in this field. Notice how the line for the main topic is all the way to the left. Subtopics are indented, and supporting details are indented one level further. Crystal also used abbreviations for terms like development and example .
If you are a visual learner, you may prefer to use a more graphic format for notes, such as a mind map. The next example shows how Crystal’s lecture notes could be set up differently. Although the format is different, the content and organization are the same.
If the content of a lecture falls into a predictable, well organized pattern, you might choose to use a chart or table to record your notes. This system works best when you already know, either before class or at the beginning of class, which categories you should include. The next figure shows how this system might be used.
The Cornell Note-Taking System
In addition to the general techniques already described, you might find it useful to practise a specific strategy known as the Cornell note-taking system. This popular format makes it easy not only to organize information clearly but also to note key terms and summarize content.
To use the Cornell system, begin by setting up the page with these components:
During the lecture, you record notes in the wide column. You can do so using the traditional modified outline format or a more visual format if you prefer.
Then, as soon as possible after the lecture, review your notes and identify key terms. Jot these down in the narrow left-hand column. You can use this column as a study aid by covering the notes on the right-hand side, reviewing the key terms, and trying to recall as much as you can about them so that you can mentally restate the main points of the lecture. Uncover the notes on the right to check your understanding. Finally, use the space at the bottom of the page to summarize each page of notes in a few sentences.
The next figure shows what Crystal’s notes would look like using the Cornell system.
Often, at school or in the workplace, a speaker will provide you with pre-generated notes summarizing electronic presentation slides. You may be tempted not to take notes at all because much of the content is already summarized for you. However, it is a good idea to jot down at least a few notes. Doing so keeps you focused during the presentation, allows you to record details you might otherwise forget, and gives you the opportunity to jot down questions or reflections to personalize the content.
Over the next few weeks, establish a note – taking system that works for you.
If you are not already doing so, try using one of the aforementioned techniques. (Remember that the Cornell system can be combined with other note-taking formats.)
It can take some trial and error to find a note-taking system that works for you. If you find that you are struggling to keep up with lectures, consider whether you need to switch to a different format or be more careful about distinguishing key concepts from unimportant details.
If you find that you are having trouble taking notes effectively, set up an appointment with your school’s academic resource centre.
In the preceding sections, you learned what you can expect from your courses and identified strategies you can use to manage your work and to succeed. This section covers more about how to handle the demands placed on you as a writer at the post-secondary world. The general techniques you will learn will help ensure your success on any writing task, whether you complete an exam in an hour or an in-depth research project over several weeks.
Writing well is difficult. Even people who write for a living sometimes struggle to get their thoughts on the page. Even people who generally enjoy writing have days when they would rather be doing anything else. For people who do not like writing or do not think of themselves as good writers, writing assignments can be stressful or even intimidating. And of course, you cannot get through post-secondary courses without having to write—sometimes a lot, and often at a higher level than you are used to.
No magic formula will make writing quick and easy. However, you can use strategies and resources to manage writing assignments more easily. This section presents a broad overview of these strategies and resources. The remaining chapters of this book provide more detailed, comprehensive instruction to help you succeed at a variety of assignments.
To complete a writing project successfully, good writers use some variation of the following process.
Prewriting. The writer generates ideas to write about and begins developing these ideas.
Outlining a structure of ideas. The writer determines the overall organizational structure of the writing and creates an outline to organize ideas. Usually this step involves some additional fleshing out of the ideas generated in the first step.
Writing a rough draft. The writer uses the work completed in prewriting to develop a first draft. The draft covers the ideas the writer brainstormed and follows the organizational plan that was laid out in the first step.
Revising. The writer revisits the draft to review and, if necessary, reshape its content. This stage involves moderate and sometimes major changes: adding or deleting a paragraph, phrasing the main point differently, expanding on an important idea, reorganizing content, and so forth.
Editing. The writer reviews the draft to make additional changes. Editing involves making changes to improve style and adherence to standard writing conventions—for instance, replacing a vague word with a more precise one or fixing errors in grammar and spelling. Once this stage is complete, the work is a finished piece and ready to share with others.
Chances are you have already used this process as a writer. You may also have used it for other types of creative projects, such as developing a sketch into a finished painting or composing a song. The steps listed above apply broadly to any project that involves creative thinking. You come up with ideas (often vague at first), you work to give them some structure, you make a first attempt, you figure out what needs improving, and then you refine it until you are satisfied.
Most people have used this creative process in one way or another, but many people have misconceptions about how to use it to write. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions students have about the writing process:
“I do not have to waste time on prewriting if I understand the assignment.” Even if the task is straightforward and you feel ready to start writing, take some time to develop ideas before you plunge into your draft. Freewriting —writing about the topic without stopping for a set period of time—is one prewriting technique you might try in that situation.
“It is important to complete a formal, numbered outline for every writing assignment.” For some assignments, such as lengthy research papers, proceeding without a formal outline can be very difficult. However, for other assignments, a structured set of notes or a detailed graphic organizer may suffice. The important thing is to have a solid plan for organizing ideas and details.
“My draft will be better if I write it when I am feeling inspired.” By all means, take advantage of those moments of inspiration. However, understand that sometimes you will have to write when you are not in the mood. Sit down and start your draft even if you do not feel like it. If necessary, force yourself to write for just one hour. By the end of the hour, you may be far more engaged and motivated to continue. If not, at least you will have accomplished part of the task.
“My instructor will tell me everything I need to revise.” If your instructor chooses to review drafts, the feedback can help you improve. However, it is still your job, not your instructor’s, to transform the draft to a final, polished piece. That task will be much easier if you give your best effort to the draft before submitting it. During revision, do not just go through and implement your instructor’s corrections. Take time to determine what you can change to make the work the best it can be.
“I am a good writer, so I do not need to revise or edit.” Even talented writers still need to revise and edit their work. At the very least, doing so will help you catch an embarrassing typo or two. Revising and editing are the steps that make good writers into great writers.
The writing process also applies to timed writing tasks, such as essay exams. Before you begin writing, read the question thoroughly and think about the main points to include in your response. Use scrap paper to sketch out a very brief outline. Keep an eye on the clock as you write your response so you will have time to review it and make any needed changes before turning in your exam.
In Section 1.2 : Developing Study Skills , you learned general time management skills. By combining those skills with what you have learned about the writing process, you can make any writing assignment easier to manage.
When your instructor gives you a writing assignment, write the due date on your calendar. Then work backward from the due date to set aside blocks of time when you will work on the assignment. Always plan at least two sessions of writing time per assignment, so that you are not trying to move from step 1 to step 5 in one evening. Trying to work that fast is stressful, and it does not yield great results. You will plan better, think better, and write better if you space out the steps.
Ideally, you should set aside at least three separate blocks of time to work on a writing assignment: one for prewriting and outlining, one for drafting, and one for revising and editing. Sometimes those steps may be compressed into just a few days. If you have a couple of weeks to work on a paper, space out the five steps over multiple sessions. Long-term projects, such as research papers, require more time for each step.
In certain situations you may not be able to allow time between the different steps of the writing process. For instance, you may be asked to write in class or complete a brief response paper overnight. If the time available is very limited, apply a modified version of the writing process (as you would do for an essay exam). It is still important to give the assignment thought and effort. However, these types of assignments are less formal, and instructors may not expect them to be as polished as formal papers. When in doubt, ask the instructor about expectations, resources that will be available during the writing exam, and if he or she has any tips to prepare you to effectively demonstrate your writing skills.
Each Monday in Crystal’s Foundations of Education class, the instructor distributed copies of a current news article on education and assigned students to write a one-and-a-half to two-page response that was due the following Monday. Together, these weekly assignments counted for 20 percent of the course grade. Although each response took just a few hours to complete, Crystal found that she learned more from the reading and got better grades on her writing if she spread the work out in the following way:
In this exercise, make connections between short – and long – term goals.
Review the long- and short-term goals you set for yourself for the discussion at the beginning of the module. Brainstorm a list of stepping stones that will help you meet that goal, such as “doing well on my midterm and final exams” or “talking to Professor Gibson about doing an internship.” Write down everything you can think of that would help you meet that semester goal.
Identify one action from Step 3 that you can do today. Then do it.
One reason students sometimes find post-secondary courses overwhelming is that they do not know about, or are reluctant to use, the resources available to them. There is help available; your student fees help pay for resources that can help in many ways, such as a health centre or tutoring service. If you need help, consider asking for help from any of the following:
Your instructor: If you are making an honest effort but still struggling with a particular course, set a time to meet with your instructor and discuss what you can do to improve. He or she may be able to shed light on a confusing concept or give you strategies to catch up.
Your academic counsellor. Many institutions assign students an academic counsellor who can help you choose courses and ensure that you fulfill degree and major requirements.
The academic resource centre: These centres offer a variety of services, which may range from general coaching in study skills to tutoring for specific courses. Find out what is offered at your school and use the services that you need.
The writing centre: These centres employ tutors to help you manage your writing assignments. They will not write or edit your paper for you, but they can help you through the stages of the writing process. (In some schools, the writing centre is part of the academic resource centre.)
The career resource centre: Visit the career resource centre for guidance in choosing a career path, developing a resumé, and finding and applying for jobs.
Counselling services: Many schools offer psychological counselling for free or for a low fee. Use these services if you need help coping with a difficult personal situation or managing depression, anxiety, or other problems.
Students sometimes neglect to use available resources due to limited time, unwillingness to admit there is a problem, or embarrassment about needing to ask for help. Unfortunately, ignoring a problem usually makes it harder to cope with later on. Waiting until the end of the semester may also mean fewer resources are available, since many other students are also seeking last minute help.
Identify at least one resource you think could be helpful to you and that you would like to investigate further. Schedule a time to visit this resource within the next week or two so you can use it throughout the semester.
You now have a solid foundation of skills and strategies you can use to succeed in university or college. The remainder of this book will provide you with guidance on specific aspects of writing, ranging from grammar and style conventions to how to write a research paper.
For any writing assignment, use these strategies:
Writing for Success - 1st Canadian Edition Copyright © 2015 by Tara Horkoff; an author removed at the request of the original publisher; and Horkoff, Tara is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write an introduction paragraph in 3 steps.
General Education
It’s the roadmap to your essay, it’s the forecast for your argument, it’s...your introduction paragraph, and writing one can feel pretty intimidating. The introduction paragraph is a part of just about every kind of academic writing , from persuasive essays to research papers. But that doesn’t mean writing one is easy!
If trying to write an intro paragraph makes you feel like a Muggle trying to do magic, trust us: you aren’t alone. But there are some tips and tricks that can make the process easier—and that’s where we come in.
In this article, we’re going to explain how to write a captivating intro paragraph by covering the following info:
Are you ready? Let’s begin!
An introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of an essay , paper, or other type of academic writing. Argumentative essays , book reports, research papers, and even personal essays are common types of writing that require an introduction paragraph. Whether you’re writing a research paper for a science course or an argumentative essay for English class , you’re going to have to write an intro paragraph.
So what’s the purpose of an intro paragraph? As a reader’s first impression of your essay, the intro paragraph should introduce the topic of your paper.
Your introduction will also state any claims, questions, or issues that your paper will focus on. This is commonly known as your paper’s thesis . This condenses the overall point of your paper into one or two short sentences that your reader can come back and reference later.
But intro paragraphs need to do a bit more than just introduce your topic. An intro paragraph is also supposed to grab your reader’s attention. The intro paragraph is your chance to provide just enough info and intrigue to make your reader say, “Hey, this topic sounds interesting. I think I’ll keep reading this essay!” That can help your essay stand out from the crowd.
In most cases, an intro paragraph will be relatively short. A good intro will be clear, brief, purposeful, and focused. While there are some exceptions to this rule, it’s common for intro paragraphs to consist of three to five sentences .
Effectively introducing your essay’s topic, purpose, and getting your reader invested in your essay sounds like a lot to ask from one little paragraph, huh? In the next section, we’ll demystify the intro paragraph format by breaking it down into its core parts . When you learn how to approach each part of an intro, writing one won’t seem so scary!
Once you figure out the three parts of an intro paragraph, writing one will be a piece of cake!
In general, an intro paragraph is going to have three main parts: a hook, context, and a thesis statement . Each of these pieces of the intro plays a key role in acquainting the reader with the topic and purpose of your essay.
Below, we’ll explain how to start an introduction paragraph by writing an effective hook, providing context, and crafting a thesis statement. When you put these elements together, you’ll have an intro paragraph that does a great job of making a great first impression on your audience!
When it comes to how to start an introduction paragraph, o ne of the most common approaches is to start with something called a hook.
What does hook mean here, though? Think of it this way: it’s like when you start a new Netflix series: you look up a few hours (and a few episodes) later and you say, “Whoa. I guess I must be hooked on this show!”
That’s how the hook is supposed to work in an intro paragrap h: it should get your reader interested enough that they don’t want to press the proverbial “pause” button while they’re reading it . In other words, a hook is designed to grab your reader’s attention and keep them reading your essay!
This means that the hook comes first in the intro paragraph format—it’ll be the opening sentence of your intro.
It’s important to realize that there are many different ways to write a good hook. But generally speaking, hooks must include these two things: what your topic is, and the angle you’re taking on that topic in your essay.
One approach to writing a hook that works is starting with a general, but interesting, statement on your topic. In this type of hook, you’re trying to provide a broad introduction to your topic and your angle on the topic in an engaging way .
For example, if you’re writing an essay about the role of the government in the American healthcare system, your hook might look something like this:
There's a growing movement to require that the federal government provide affordable, effective healthcare for all Americans.
This hook introduces the essay topic in a broad way (government and healthcare) by presenting a general statement on the topic. But the assumption presented in the hook can also be seen as controversial, which gets readers interested in learning more about what the writer—and the essay—has to say.
In other words, the statement above fulfills the goals of a good hook: it’s intriguing and provides a general introduction to the essay topic.
Once you’ve provided an attention-grabbing hook, you’ll want to give more context about your essay topic. Context refers to additional details that reveal the specific focus of your paper. So, whereas the hook provides a general introduction to your topic, context starts helping readers understand what exactly you’re going to be writing about
You can include anywhere from one to several sentences of context in your intro, depending on your teacher’s expectations, the length of your paper, and complexity of your topic. In these context-providing sentences, you want to begin narrowing the focus of your intro. You can do this by describing a specific issue or question about your topic that you’ll address in your essay. It also helps readers start to understand why the topic you’re writing about matters and why they should read about it.
So, what counts as context for an intro paragraph? Context can be any important details or descriptions that provide background on existing perspectives, common cultural attitudes, or a specific situation or controversy relating to your essay topic. The context you include should acquaint your reader with the issues, questions, or events that motivated you to write an essay on your topic...and that your reader should know in order to understand your thesis.
For instance, if you’re writing an essay analyzing the consequences of sexism in Hollywood, the context you include after your hook might make reference to the #metoo and #timesup movements that have generated public support for victims of sexual harassment.
The key takeaway here is that context establishes why you’re addressing your topic and what makes it important. It also sets you up for success on the final piece of an intro paragraph: the thesis statement.
Elle Woods' statement offers a specific point of view on the topic of murder...which means it could serve as a pretty decent thesis statement!
The final key part of how to write an intro paragraph is the thesis statement. The thesis statement is the backbone of your introduction: it conveys your argument or point of view on your topic in a clear, concise, and compelling way . The thesis is usually the last sentence of your intro paragraph.
Whether it’s making a claim, outlining key points, or stating a hypothesis, your thesis statement will tell your reader exactly what idea(s) are going to be addressed in your essay. A good thesis statement will be clear, straightforward, and highlight the overall point you’re trying to make.
Some instructors also ask students to include an essay map as part of their thesis. An essay map is a section that outlines the major topics a paper will address. So for instance, say you’re writing a paper that argues for the importance of public transport in rural communities. Your thesis and essay map might look like this:
Having public transport in rural communities helps people improve their economic situation by giving them reliable transportation to their job, reducing the amount of money they spend on gas, and providing new and unionized work .
The underlined section is the essay map because it touches on the three big things the writer will talk about later. It literally maps out the rest of the essay!
So let’s review: Your thesis takes the idea you’ve introduced in your hook and context and wraps it up. Think of it like a television episode: the hook sets the scene by presenting a general statement and/or interesting idea that sucks you in. The context advances the plot by describing the topic in more detail and helping readers understand why the topic is important. And finally, the thesis statement provides the climax by telling the reader what you have to say about the topic.
The thesis statement is the most important part of the intro. Without it, your reader won’t know what the purpose of your essay is! And for a piece of writing to be effective, it needs to have a clear purpose. Your thesis statement conveys that purpose , so it’s important to put careful thought into writing a clear and compelling thesis statement.
Now that we’ve provided an intro paragraph outline and have explained the three key parts of an intro paragraph, let’s take a look at an intro paragraph in action.
To show you how an intro paragraph works, we’ve included a sample introduction paragraph below, followed by an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses.
While college students in the U.S. are struggling with how to pay for college, there is another surprising demographic that’s affected by the pressure to pay for college: families and parents. In the face of tuition price tags that total more than $100,000 (as a low estimate), families must make difficult decisions about how to save for their children’s college education. Charting a feasible path to saving for college is further complicated by the FAFSA’s estimates for an “Expected Family Contribution”—an amount of money that is rarely feasible for most American families. Due to these challenging financial circumstances and cultural pressure to give one’s children the best possible chance of success in adulthood, many families are going into serious debt to pay for their children’s college education. The U.S. government should move toward bearing more of the financial burden of college education.
Before we dive into analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of this example intro paragraph, let’s establish the essay topic. The sample intro indicates that t he essay topic will focus on one specific issue: who should cover the cost of college education in the U.S., and why. Both the hook and the context help us identify the topic, while the thesis in the last sentence tells us why this topic matters to the writer—they think the U.S. Government needs to help finance college education. This is also the writer’s argument, which they’ll cover in the body of their essay.
Now that we’ve identified the essay topic presented in the sample intro, let’s dig into some analysis. To pin down its strengths and weaknesses, we’re going to use the following three questions to guide our example of introduction paragraph analysis:
Now, let’s use the questions above to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of this sample intro paragraph.
First, the intro starts out with an attention-grabbing hook . The writer starts by presenting an assumption (that the U.S. federal government bears most of the financial burden of college education), which makes the topic relatable to a wide audience of readers. Also note that the hook relates to the general topic of the essay, which is the high cost of college education.
The hook then takes a surprising turn by presenting a counterclaim : that American families, rather than students, feel the true burden of paying for college. Some readers will have a strong emotional reaction to this provocative counterclaim, which will make them want to keep reading! As such, this intro provides an effective opening sentence that conveys the essay topic.
T he second, third, and fourth sentences of the intro provide contextual details that reveal the specific focus of the writer’s paper . Remember: the context helps readers start to zoom in on what the paper will focus on, and what aspect of the general topic (college costs) will be discussed later on.
The context in this intro reveals the intent and direction of the paper by explaining why the issue of families financing college is important. In other words, the context helps readers understand why this issue matters , and what aspects of this issue will be addressed in the paper.
To provide effective context, the writer refers to issues (the exorbitant cost of college and high levels of family debt) that have received a lot of recent scholarly and media attention. These sentences of context also elaborate on the interesting perspective included in the hook: that American families are most affected by college costs.
Finally, this intro provides a thesis statement that conveys the writer’s point of view on the issue of financing college education. This writer believes that the U.S. government should do more to pay for students’ college educations.
However, the thesis statement doesn’t give us any details about why the writer has made this claim or why this will help American families . There isn’t an essay map that helps readers understand what points the writer will make in the essay.
To revise this thesis statement so that it establishes the specific aspects of the topic that the essay will address, the writer could add the following to the beginning of the thesis statement:
The U.S. government should take on more of the financial burden of college education because other countries have shown this can improve education rates while reducing levels of familial poverty.
Check out the new section in bold. Not only does it clarify that the writer is talking about the pressure put on families, it touches on the big topics the writer will address in the paper: improving education rates and reduction of poverty. So not only do we have a clearer argumentative statement in this thesis, we also have an essay map!
So, let’s recap our analysis. This sample intro paragraph does an effective job of providing an engaging hook and relatable, interesting context, but the thesis statement needs some work ! As you write your own intro paragraphs, you might consider using the questions above to evaluate and revise your work. Doing this will help ensure you’ve covered all of your bases and written an intro that your readers will find interesting!
Now that we’ve gone over an example of introduction paragraph analysis, let’s talk about how to write an introduction paragraph of your own. Keep reading for four tips for writing a successful intro paragraph for any essay.
If you’re having trouble with how to start an introduction paragraph, analyze your essay prompt! Most teachers give you some kind of assignment sheet, formal instructions, or prompt to set the expectations for an essay they’ve assigned, right? Those instructions can help guide you as you write your intro paragraph!
Because they’ll be reading and responding to your essay, you want to make sure you meet your teacher’s expectations for an intro paragraph . For instance, if they’ve provided specific instructions about how long the intro should be or where the thesis statement should be located, be sure to follow them!
The type of paper you’re writing can give you clues as to how to approach your intro as well. If you’re writing a research paper, your professor might expect you to provide a research question or state a hypothesis in your intro. If you’re writing an argumentative essay, you’ll need to make sure your intro overviews the context surrounding your argument and your thesis statement includes a clear, defensible claim.
Using the parameters set out by your instructor and assignment sheet can put some easy-to-follow boundaries in place for things like your intro’s length, structure, and content. Following these guidelines can free you up to focus on other aspects of your intro... like coming up with an exciting hook and conveying your point of view on your topic!
You can’t write an intro paragraph without first identifying your topic. To make your intro as effective as possible, you need to define the parameters of your topic clearly—and you need to be specific.
For example, let’s say you want to write about college football. “NCAA football” is too broad of a topic for a paper. There is a lot to talk about in terms of college football! It would be tough to write an intro paragraph that’s focused, purposeful, and engaging on this topic. In fact, if you did try to address this whole topic, you’d probably end up writing a book!
Instead, you should narrow broad topics to identify a specific question, claim, or issue pertaining to some aspect of NCAA football for your intro to be effective. So, for instance, you could frame your topic as, “How can college professors better support NCAA football players in academics?” This focused topic pertaining to NCAA football would give you a more manageable angle to discuss in your paper.
So before you think about writing your intro, ask yourself: Is my essay topic specific, focused, and logical? Does it convey an issue or question that I can explore over the course of several pages? Once you’ve established a good topic, you’ll have the foundation you need to write an effective intro paragraph .
Once you've figured out your topic, it's time to hit the books!
This tip is tightly intertwined with the one above, and it’s crucial to writing a good intro: do your research! And, guess what? This tip applies to all papers—even ones that aren’t technically research papers.
Here’s why you need to do some research: getting the lay of the land on what others have said about your topic—whether that’s scholars and researchers or the mass media— will help you narrow your topic, write an engaging hook, and provide relatable context.
You don't want to sit down to write your intro without a solid understanding of the different perspectives on your topic. Whether those are the perspectives of experts or the general public, these points of view will help you write your intro in a way that is intriguing and compelling for your audience of readers.
Some say to write your intro first; others say write it last. The truth is, there isn’t a right or wrong time to write your intro—but you do need to have enough time to write multiple drafts .
Oftentimes, your professor will ask you to write multiple drafts of your paper, which gives you a built-in way to make sure you revise your intro. Another approach you could take is to write out a rough draft of your intro before you begin writing your essay, then revise it multiple times as you draft out your paper.
Here’s why this approach can work: as you write your paper, you’ll probably come up with new insights on your topic that you didn’t have right from the start. You can use these “light bulb” moments to reevaluate your intro and make revisions that keep it in line with your developing essay draft.
Once you’ve written your entire essay, consider going back and revising your intro again . You can ask yourself these questions as you evaluate your intro:
Using these questions as a guide and putting your intro through multiple revisions will help ensure that you’ve written the best intro for the final draft of your essay. Also, revising your writing is always a good thing to do—and this applies to your intro, too!
Your college essays also need great intro paragraphs. Here’s a guide that focuses on how to write the perfect intro for your admissions essays.
Of course, the intro is just one part of your college essay . This article will teach you how to write a college essay that makes admissions counselors sit up and take notice.
Are you trying to write an analytical essay? Our step-by-step guide can help you knock it out of the park.
Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.
Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!
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What this handout is about.
The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.
Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :
Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.
The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:
“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”
Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)
“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”
Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.
“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”
These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:
“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”
These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.
“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”
The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.
Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:
Who is your audience.
Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.
Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .
Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.
Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs
Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:
Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.
Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.
More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:
Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.
Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.
You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .
With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”
So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”
Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .
There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.
Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .
You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.
Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.
No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .
The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.
Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.
Your instructors are not fooled when you:
Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Every student wonders how to start an assignment introduction because this knowledge can keep them afloat through their endless years of school, college, and university. If you're here, you probably wonder that as well. Thankfully, there is nothing complicated about writing an introduction. This is how one starts an essay that teases the topics to come and explains your work’s final goal. Its importance is absolute.
Think about it. You open someone’s essay and see a very boring assignment introduction. Chances are, it’ll inform your opinion about the whole text right then and there, and even if the body has some fascinating facts, you might stay unimpressed anyway. First impressions usually stick with people. The guide prepared by StateOfWriting’s experts will teach you how you can grab your audience’s attention from the first seconds. In it, you’ll find explanations, examples, tips, and even common grading criteria that will help you start most compellingly.
The introduction plays the same role in every paper, regardless of its topic. It must briefly address the content you will explore in the body and outline the needed steps. Its more subtle purpose is triggering genuine interest in your audience, motivating them to keep reading.
Include these components in the introduction for assignment you’re working on:
You have a general picture of how to start writing an assignment now. It’s time to learn about the smaller and more specific details you should include in your introduction!
StateOfWriting’s British experts have written more essays than they can ever count. This extensive experience fuels their professionalism: they know how to create amazing papers, and they shared some key introduction-related insights with you.
StateOfWriting’s experience spans across various fields. We know how college professors operate and what they expect to see in students’ papers. Take a look at their common grading points below. Remember them when you work on your introduction and adjust it accordingly.
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We will provide you with a practical assignment introduction example to secure your theoretical knowledge. One of our top writers created it on the topic we already mentioned, the Devil Judge show. Find its analysis below and use this text as a template for your introduction!
The Dangers of Affection Transference in ‘Devil Judge’ Losing a loved one and then suddenly seeing a stranger with their face is the sharpest and most overwhelming experience. It can bring devastation and joy simultaneously, and this topic lies at the heart of ‘Devil Judge.’ This Korean show aired in 2021; it was written by Moon Yoo-Seok, who worked as a judge for over two decades (Livson, 2023). Kang Yohan, one of the protagonists, has lost his beloved older brother ten years before the show's start. When he meets Ga On, a junior judge sent to spy on him, he feels torn because Ga On bears a striking physical resemblance to his brother. The topic of affection transference is interesting because it is easy to use as a form of emotional manipulation. Moreover, the research in this area is lacking. As Joilis (2022) notes, when a person automatically attributes the qualities of their loved one to someone else over their resemblance, they face the risk of being emotionally compromised. Kang Yohan feels drawn to Ga On because he reminds him of his brother, and he becomes a victim of unwilling manipulation by starting to perceive Ga On as a part of his family sooner than naturally.
Hook: The essay begins by thrusting the readers into a complicated emotional scenario and shortly describing the feelings it evokes. Background: In the next several sentences, we explore the meaning of ‘Devil Judge’, address its main characters, and show our willingness to focus on one specific theme, affection transference. Justification: The paper underlines how transference can be emotionally harmful to people and notes how scarce research is in this area, elevating our study's value. Thesis: We make a final claim that unites the show's plot with our chosen psychological phenomenon and introduces the points we’ll tackle, such as the resemblance between Ga On and Yohan’s brother, accidental manipulation, and the strengths of their feelings.
The average introduction should be between 7% and 10% of your final word count. So, if your essay has 600 words, dedicate 60 of them to your first section.
It could be a shocking statement, statistics, a quote, and even a question.
Stay precise and objective. In this task, you don’t need to develop an individual position on a specific topic, just summarise it properly.
Address the details from this case study. Depending on your prompt, mention the situation and offer ways of analysing or resolving it.
This introduction will be longer. Follow our tips above, but be more detailed. Demonstrate your plan of action and research questions.
The rules don’t change based on assignments. Be formal and thoughtful, and introduce your topic properly by mentioning some of its background.
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These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.
This resource describes some steps you can take to better understand the requirements of your writing assignments. This resource works for either in-class, teacher-led discussion or for personal use.
This resource outlines the generally accepted structure for introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions in an academic argument paper. Keep in mind that this resource contains guidelines and not strict rules about organization. Your structure needs to be flexible enough to meet the requirements of your purpose and audience.
This handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.
This resource will help you with exploratory/inquiry essay assignments.
This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.
This resource discusses book reports and how to write them.
This handout provides suggestions and examples for writing definitions.
While most OWL resources recommend a longer writing process (start early, revise often, conduct thorough research, etc.), sometimes you just have to write quickly in test situations. However, these exam essays can be no less important pieces of writing than research papers because they can influence final grades for courses, and/or they can mean the difference between getting into an academic program (GED, SAT, GRE). To that end, this resource will help you prepare and write essays for exams.
This resource discusses book reviews and how to write them.
This resource will help undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholars write proposals for academic conferences, articles, and books.
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Kate Derrington; Cristy Bartlett; and Sarah Irvine
Assignments are a common method of assessment at university and require careful planning and good quality research. Developing critical thinking and writing skills are also necessary to demonstrate your ability to understand and apply information about your topic. It is not uncommon to be unsure about the processes of writing assignments at university.
This chapter has a collection of resources that will provide you with the skills and strategies to understand assignment requirements and effectively plan, research, write and edit your assignments. It begins with an explanation of how to analyse an assignment task and start putting your ideas together. It continues by breaking down the components of academic writing and exploring the elements you will need to master in your written assignments. This is followed by a discussion of paraphrasing and synthesis, and how you can use these strategies to create a strong, written argument. The chapter concludes with useful checklists for editing and proofreading to help you get the best possible mark for your work.
It is important that before you begin researching and writing your assignments you spend sufficient time understanding all the requirements. This will help make your research process more efficient and effective. Check your subject information such as task sheets, criteria sheets and any additional information that may be in your subject portal online. Seek clarification from your lecturer or tutor if you are still unsure about how to begin your assignments.
The task sheet typically provides key information about an assessment including the assignment question. It can be helpful to scan this document for topic, task and limiting words to ensure that you fully understand the concepts you are required to research, how to approach the assignment, and the scope of the task you have been set. These words can typically be found in your assignment question and are outlined in more detail in the two tables below (see Table 19.1 and Table 19.2 ).
Topic words | These are words and concepts you have to research and write about. |
Task words | These will tell you how to approach the assignment and structure the information you find in your research (e.g., discuss, analyse). |
Limiting words | These words define the scope of the assignment, e.g., Australian perspectives, relevant codes or standards or a specific timeframe. |
Make sure you have a clear understanding of what the task word requires you to address.
Give reasons for or explain something has occurred. This task directs you to consider contributing factors to a certain situation or event. You are expected to make a decision about why these occurred, not just describe the events. | the factors that led to the global financial crisis. | |
Consider the different elements of a concept, statement or situation. Show the different components and show how they connect or relate. Your structure and argument should be logical and methodical. | the political, social and economic impacts of climate change. | |
Make a judgement on a topic or idea. Consider its reliability, truth and usefulness. In your judgement, consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing arguments to determine your topic’s worth (similar to evaluate). | the efficacy of cogitative behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression. | |
Divide your topic into categories or sub-topics logically (could possibly be part of a more complex task). | the artists studied this semester according to the artistic periods they best represent. Then choose one artist and evaluate their impact on future artists. | |
State your opinion on an issue or idea. You may explain the issue or idea in more detail. Be objective and support your opinion with reliable evidence. | the government’s proposal to legalise safe injecting rooms. | |
Show the similarities and differences between two or more ideas, theories, systems, arguments or events. You are expected to provide a balanced response, highlighting similarities and differences. | the efficiency of wind and solar power generation for a construction site. | |
Point out only the differences between two or more ideas, theories, systems, arguments or events. | virtue ethics and utilitarianism as models for ethical decision making. | |
(this is often used with another task word, e.g. critically evaluate, critically analyse, critically discuss) | It does not mean to criticise, instead you are required to give a balanced account, highlighting strengths and weaknesses about the topic. Your overall judgment must be supported by reliable evidence and your interpretation of that evidence. | analyse the impacts of mental health on recidivism within youth justice. |
Provide a precise meaning of a concept. You may need to include the limits or scope of the concept within a given context. | digital disruption as it relates to productivity. | |
Provide a thorough description, emphasising the most important points. Use words to show appearance, function, process, events or systems. You are not required to make judgements. | the pathophysiology of Asthma. | |
Highlight the differences between two (possibly confusing) items. | between exothermic and endothermic reactions. | |
Provide an analysis of a topic. Use evidence to support your argument. Be logical and include different perspectives on the topic (This requires more than a description). | how Brofenbrenner’s ecological system’s theory applies to adolescence. | |
Review both positive and negative aspects of a topic. You may need to provide an overall judgement regarding the value or usefulness of the topic. Evidence (referencing) must be included to support your writing. | the impact of inclusive early childhood education programs on subsequent high school completion rates for First Nations students. | |
Describe and clarify the situation or topic. Depending on your discipline area and topic, this may include processes, pathways, cause and effect, impact, or outcomes. | the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film industry in Australia. | |
Clarify a point or argument with examples and evidence. | how society’s attitudes to disability have changed from a medical model to a wholistic model of disability. | |
Give evidence which supports an argument or idea; show why a decision or conclusions were made. Justify may be used with other topic words, such as outline, argue. | Write a report outlining the key issues and implications of a welfare cashless debit card trial and make three recommendations for future improvements. your decision-making process for the recommendations. | |
A comprehensive description of the situation or topic which provides a critical analysis of the key issues. | Provide a of Australia's asylum policies since the Pacific Solution in 2001. | |
An overview or brief description of a topic. (This is likely to be part of a larger assessment task.) | the process for calculating the correct load for a plane. |
The criteria sheet , also known as the marking sheet or rubric, is another important document to look at before you begin your assignment. The criteria sheet outlines how your assignment will be marked and should be used as a checklist to make sure you have included all the information required.
The task or criteria sheet will also include the:
Task analysis and criteria sheets are also discussed in the chapter Managing Assessments for a more detailed discussion on task analysis, criteria sheets, and marking rubrics.
Brainstorm or concept map: List possible ideas to address each part of the assignment task based on what you already know about the topic from lectures and weekly readings.
Finding appropriate information: Learn how to find scholarly information for your assignments which is
See the chapter Working With Information for a more detailed explanation .
Academic writing tone and style.
Many of the assessment pieces you prepare will require an academic writing style. This is sometimes called ‘academic tone’ or ‘academic voice’. This section will help you to identify what is required when you are writing academically (see Table 19.3 ). The best way to understand what academic writing looks like, is to read broadly in your discipline area. Look at how your course readings, or scholarly sources, are written. This will help you identify the language of your discipline field, as well as how other writers structure their work.
Is clear, concise and well-structured | Is verbose and may use more words than are needed |
Is formal. It writes numbers under twenty in full. | Writes numbers under twenty as numerals and uses symbols such as “&” instead of writing it in full |
Is reasoned and supported (logically developed) | Uses humour (puns, sarcasm) |
Is authoritative (writes in third person- This essay argues…) | Writes in first person (I think, I found) |
Utilises the language of the field/industry/subject | Uses colloquial language e.g., mate |
Essays are a common form of assessment that you will likely encounter during your university studies. You should apply an academic tone and style when writing an essay, just as you would in in your other assessment pieces. One of the most important steps in writing an essay is constructing your thesis statement. A thesis statement tells the reader the purpose, argument or direction you will take to answer your assignment question. A thesis statement may not be relevant for some questions, if you are unsure check with your lecturer. The thesis statement:
Your thesis statement helps you to structure your essay. It plays a part in each key section: introduction, body and conclusion.
When planning and drafting assignments, it is important to consider the structure of your writing. Academic writing should have clear and logical structure and incorporate academic research to support your ideas. It can be hard to get started and at first you may feel nervous about the size of the task, this is normal. If you break your assignment into smaller pieces, it will seem more manageable as you can approach the task in sections. Refer to your brainstorm or plan. These ideas should guide your research and will also inform what you write in your draft. It is sometimes easier to draft your assignment using the 2-3-1 approach, that is, write the body paragraphs first followed by the conclusion and finally the introduction.
Clear and purposeful introductions and conclusions in assignments are fundamental to effective academic writing. Your introduction should tell the reader what is going to be covered and how you intend to approach this. Your conclusion should summarise your argument or discussion and signal to the reader that you have come to a conclusion with a final statement. These tips below are based on the requirements usually needed for an essay assignment, however, they can be applied to other assignment types.
Most writing at university will require a strong and logically structured introduction. An effective introduction should provide some background or context for your assignment, clearly state your thesis and include the key points you will cover in the body of the essay in order to prove your thesis.
Usually, your introduction is approximately 10% of your total assignment word count. It is much easier to write your introduction once you have drafted your body paragraphs and conclusion, as you know what your assignment is going to be about. An effective introduction needs to inform your reader by establishing what the paper is about and provide four basic things:
The below example demonstrates the four different elements of an introductory paragraph.
1) Information technology is having significant effects on the communication of individuals and organisations in different professions. 2) This essay will discuss the impact of information technology on the communication of health professionals. 3) First, the provision of information technology for the educational needs of nurses will be discussed. 4) This will be followed by an explanation of the significant effects that information technology can have on the role of general practitioner in the area of public health. 5) Considerations will then be made regarding the lack of knowledge about the potential of computers among hospital administrators and nursing executives. 6) The final section will explore how information technology assists health professionals in the delivery of services in rural areas . 7) It will be argued that information technology has significant potential to improve health care and medical education, but health professionals are reluctant to use it.
1 Brief background/ overview | 2 Indicates the scope of what will be covered | 3-6 Outline of the main ideas (structure) | 7 The thesis statement
Note : The examples in this document are taken from the University of Canberra and used under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence.
You should aim to end your assignments with a strong conclusion. Your conclusion should restate your thesis and summarise the key points you have used to prove this thesis. Finish with a key point as a final impactful statement. Similar to your introduction, your conclusion should be approximately 10% of the total assignment word length. If your assessment task asks you to make recommendations, you may need to allocate more words to the conclusion or add a separate recommendations section before the conclusion. Use the checklist below to check your conclusion is doing the right job.
Conclusion checklist
This below example demonstrates the different elements of a concluding paragraph.
1) It is evident, therefore, that not only do employees need to be trained for working in the Australian multicultural workplace, but managers also need to be trained. 2) Managers must ensure that effective in-house training programs are provided for migrant workers, so that they become more familiar with the English language, Australian communication norms and the Australian work culture. 3) In addition, Australian native English speakers need to be made aware of the differing cultural values of their workmates; particularly the different forms of non-verbal communication used by other cultures. 4) Furthermore, all employees must be provided with clear and detailed guidelines about company expectations. 5) Above all, in order to minimise communication problems and to maintain an atmosphere of tolerance, understanding and cooperation in the multicultural workplace, managers need to have an effective knowledge about their employees. This will help employers understand how their employee’s social conditioning affects their beliefs about work. It will develop their communication skills to develop confidence and self-esteem among diverse work groups. 6) The culturally diverse Australian workplace may never be completely free of communication problems, however, further studies to identify potential problems and solutions, as well as better training in cross cultural communication for managers and employees, should result in a much more understanding and cooperative environment.
1 Reference to thesis statement – In this essay the writer has taken the position that training is required for both employees and employers . | 2-5 Structure overview – Here the writer pulls together the main ideas in the essay. | 6 Final summary statement that is based on the evidence.
Note: The examples in this document are taken from the University of Canberra and used under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence.
Paragraph writing is a key skill that enables you to incorporate your academic research into your written work. Each paragraph should have its own clearly identified topic sentence or main idea which relates to the argument or point (thesis) you are developing. This idea should then be explained by additional sentences which you have paraphrased from good quality sources and referenced according to the recommended guidelines of your subject (see the chapter Working with Information ). Paragraphs are characterised by increasing specificity; that is, they move from the general to the specific, increasingly refining the reader’s understanding. A common structure for paragraphs in academic writing is as follows.
This is the main idea of the paragraph and should relate to the overall issue or purpose of your assignment is addressing. Often it will be expressed as an assertion or claim which supports the overall argument or purpose of your writing.
The main idea must have its meaning explained and elaborated upon. Think critically, do not just describe the idea.
These explanations must include evidence to support your main idea. This information should be paraphrased and referenced according to the appropriate referencing style of your course.
This should explain why the topic of the paragraph is relevant to the assignment question and link to the following paragraph.
Use the checklist below to check your paragraphs are clear and well formed.
Paragraph checklist
Make sure all the sentences in your paragraphs make sense. Each sentence must contain a verb to be a complete sentence. Avoid sentence fragments . These are incomplete sentences or ideas that are unfinished and create confusion for your reader. Avoid also run on sentences . This happens when you join two ideas or clauses without using the appropriate punctuation. This also confuses your meaning (See the chapter English Language Foundations for examples and further explanation).
Use transitions (linking words and phrases) to connect your ideas between paragraphs and make your writing flow. The order that you structure the ideas in your assignment should reflect the structure you have outlined in your introduction. Refer to transition words table in the chapter English Language Foundations.
Paraphrasing and synthesising are powerful tools that you can use to support the main idea of a paragraph. It is likely that you will regularly use these skills at university to incorporate evidence into explanatory sentences and strengthen your essay. It is important to paraphrase and synthesise because:
Paraphrasing is changing the writing of another author into your words while retaining the original meaning. You must acknowledge the original author as the source of the information in your citation. Follow the steps in this table to help you build your skills in paraphrasing (see Table 19.4 ).
1 | Make sure you understand what you are reading. Look up keywords to understand their meanings. |
2 | Record the details of the source so you will be able to cite it correctly in text and in your reference list. |
3 | Identify words that you can change to synonyms (but do not change the key/topic words). |
4 | Change the type of word in a sentence (for example change a noun to a verb or vice versa). |
5 | Eliminate unnecessary words or phrases from the original that you don’t need in your paraphrase. |
6 | Change the sentence structure (for example change a long sentence to several shorter ones or combine shorter sentences to form a longer sentence). |
Please note that these examples and in text citations are for instructional purposes only.
Original text
Health care professionals assist people often when they are at their most vulnerable . To provide the best care and understand their needs, workers must demonstrate good communication skills . They must develop patient trust and provide empathy to effectively work with patients who are experiencing a variety of situations including those who may be suffering from trauma or violence, physical or mental illness or substance abuse (French & Saunders, 2018).
Poor quality paraphrase example
This is a poor example of paraphrasing. Some synonyms have been used and the order of a few words changed within the sentences however the colours of the sentences indicate that the paragraph follows the same structure as the original text.
Health care sector workers are often responsible for vulnerable patients. To understand patients and deliver good service , they need to be excellent communicators . They must establish patient rapport and show empathy if they are to successfully care for patients from a variety of backgrounds and with different medical, psychological and social needs (French & Saunders, 2018).
A good quality paraphrase example
This example demonstrates a better quality paraphrase. The author has demonstrated more understanding of the overall concept in the text by using the keywords as the basis to reconstruct the paragraph. Note how the blocks of colour have been broken up to see how much the structure has changed from the original text.
Empathetic communication is a vital skill for health care workers. Professionals in these fields are often responsible for patients with complex medical, psychological and social needs. Empathetic communication assists in building rapport and gaining the necessary trust to assist these vulnerable patients by providing appropriate supportive care (French & Saunders, 2018).
The good quality paraphrase example demonstrates understanding of the overall concept in the text by using key words as the basis to reconstruct the paragraph. Note how the blocks of colour have been broken up, which indicates how much the structure has changed from the original text.
What is synthesising?
Synthesising means to bring together more than one source of information to strengthen your argument. Once you have learnt how to paraphrase the ideas of one source at a time, you can consider adding additional sources to support your argument. Synthesis demonstrates your understanding and ability to show connections between multiple pieces of evidence to support your ideas and is a more advanced academic thinking and writing skill.
Follow the steps in this table to improve your synthesis techniques (see Table 19.5 ).
1 | Check your referencing guide to learn how to correctly reference more than one author at a time in your paper. |
2 | While taking notes for your research, try organising your notes into themes. This way you can keep similar ideas from different authors together. |
3 | Identify similar language and tone used by authors so that you can group similar ideas together. |
4 | Synthesis can not only be about grouping ideas together that are similar, but also those that are different. See how you can contrast authors in your writing to also strengthen your argument. |
Example of synthesis
There is a relationship between academic procrastination and mental health outcomes. Procrastination has been found to have a negative effect on students’ well-being (Balkis, & Duru, 2016). Yerdelen, McCaffrey, and Klassens’ (2016) research results suggested that there was a positive association between procrastination and anxiety. This was corroborated by Custer’s (2018) findings which indicated that students with higher levels of procrastination also reported greater levels of the anxiety. Therefore, it could be argued that procrastination is an ineffective learning strategy that leads to increased levels of distress.
Topic sentence | Statements using paraphrased evidence | Critical thinking (student voice) | Concluding statement – linking to topic sentence
This example demonstrates a simple synthesis. The author has developed a paragraph with one central theme and included explanatory sentences complete with in-text citations from multiple sources. Note how the blocks of colour have been used to illustrate the paragraph structure and synthesis (i.e., statements using paraphrased evidence from several sources). A more complex synthesis may include more than one citation per sentence.
What does this mean.
Throughout your university studies, you may be asked to ‘argue’ a particular point or position in your writing. You may already be familiar with the idea of an argument, which in general terms means to have a disagreement with someone. Similarly, in academic writing, if you are asked to create an argument, this means you are asked to have a position on a particular topic, and then justify your position using evidence.
In order to create a good and effective argument, you need to be able to:
For tips on how to read and write critically, refer to the chapter Thinking for more information. A formula for developing a strong argument is presented below.
As can be seen from the figure above, including evidence is a key element of a good argument. While this may seem like a straightforward task, it can be difficult to think of wording to express your argument. The table below provides examples of how you can illustrate your argument in academic writing (see Table 19.6 ).
Introducing your argument | • This paper will argue/claim that... • ...is an important factor/concept/idea/ to consider because... • … will be argued/outlined in this paper. |
Introducing evidence for your argument | • Smith (2014) outlines that.... • This evidence demonstrates that... • According to Smith (2014)… • For example, evidence/research provided by Smith (2014) indicates that... |
Giving the reason why your point/evidence is important | • Therefore this indicates... • This evidence clearly demonstrates.... • This is important/significant because... • This data highlights... |
Concluding a point | • Overall, it is clear that... • Therefore, … are reasons which should be considered because... • Consequently, this leads to.... • The research presented therefore indicates... |
Once you have finished writing your first draft it is recommended that you spend time revising your work. Proofreading and editing are two different stages of the revision process.
As can be seen in the figure above there are four main areas that you should review during the editing phase of the revision process. The main things to consider when editing include content, structure, style, and sources. It is important to check that all the content relates to the assignment task, the structure is appropriate for the purposes of the assignment, the writing is academic in style, and that sources have been adequately acknowledged. Use the checklist below when editing your work.
Editing checklist
There are also several key things to look out for during the proofreading phase of the revision process. In this stage it is important to check your work for word choice, grammar and spelling, punctuation and referencing errors. It can be easy to mis-type words like ‘from’ and ‘form’ or mix up words like ‘trail’ and ‘trial’ when writing about research, apply American rather than Australian spelling, include unnecessary commas or incorrectly format your references list. The checklist below is a useful guide that you can use when proofreading your work.
Proofreading checklist
This chapter has examined the experience of writing assignments. It began by focusing on how to read and break down an assignment question, then highlighted the key components of essays. Next, it examined some techniques for paraphrasing and summarising, and how to build an argument. It concluded with a discussion on planning and structuring your assignment and giving it that essential polish with editing and proof-reading. Combining these skills and practising them, can greatly improve your success with this very common form of assessment.
Academic Skills Centre. (2013). Writing an introduction and conclusion . University of Canberra, accessed 13 August, 2013, http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/conclusions
Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2016). Procrastination, self-regulation failure, academic life satisfaction, and affective well-being: underregulation or misregulation form. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31 (3), 439-459.
Custer, N. (2018). Test anxiety and academic procrastination among prelicensure nursing students. Nursing education perspectives, 39 (3), 162-163.
Yerdelen, S., McCaffrey, A., & Klassen, R. M. (2016). Longitudinal examination of procrastination and anxiety, and their relation to self-efficacy for self-regulated learning: Latent growth curve modeling. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16 (1).
Writing Assignments Copyright © 2021 by Kate Derrington; Cristy Bartlett; and Sarah Irvine is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Table of Contents
Writing an introduction is not that hard, what makes a good introduction, an example of introduction for assignment, useful resources to get ease your intro writing.
Knowing how to start writing an assignment is basically knowing how to write an introduction for an assignment. No matter how easy it sounds, it can often become tricky. An introduction is a part of academic writing that always differs depending on initial instructions and the subject in question. For example, writing a reflective journal for your Nursing course would be different from some research paper.
We can sum it up by saying that introductions should always follow a clear purpose, which is to provide your target audience with a definite idea regarding your essay’s content.
It all comes down to the purpose of your introduction. It will either catch your reader’s interest or make them feel confused. Your introduction should focus on providing certain general data or statistics before narrowing things down . It makes it essential. It works as the preface to your thesis statement by making it sound valid. For example, if your thesis statement discusses the negative effects of modern video games, your introduction part will have to provide clear stats along with the significance of this problem for society and/or educators.
It is a well-known fact that college professors start paper evaluation by taking a closer look at your introduction, thesis statement, and the final part of the paper. It is another reason why setting the clear purpose of the introduction matters for your paper’s success and recognition.
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The most important is to understand your assignment structure. It means that you should not apply the same methods when dealing with your research paper or writing a compare-and-contrast essay.
Most importantly, it must be clear and convincing, including:
If this kind of work sounds too confusing, you should ask yourself why this topic matters to you and why you have chosen it. Remember that your introduction should be about 10% of the total paper, not counting your thesis statement sentence. If you are not sure about your introduction’s content or do not know which structure would fit better, consider approaching assignment writing help . It is only natural to feel lost when starting with your paper.
Of course, the rules always differ, and we have our opinions that will not match everyone’s taste. Yet, the academic standards regarding how to write an introduction are quite clear. Coming up with a great introduction for assignment, make sure that it:
Do not forget that even your creative writing tasks must have an inspiring introduction that talks about your purpose of writing.
By following the initial instructions outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to provide impactful statistics, introduce your topic effectively, and lead your readers towards a compelling thesis in your assignment’s introduction.
Let us take the topic of Special Education and Dyslexia as an introduction example:
As you can see, the introduction provides statistics and introduces the topic by leading it to a strong thesis (the last sentence).
Here is the list of helpful resources that you can use as you are brainstorming various ideas or think about how to come up with a perfect introduction for your essay:
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In essence, the writing tasks in academic tenure students are an integral part of any curriculum. Whether in high school, college, or university, they may also address the various issues and concerns with their friends and mentors about different academic writing assignments they receive.
The main purpose of all these assignments is to recognize how you can adequately express yourself through words and how much you understand a particular subject.
An introduction is a base of an assignment. It is challenging to prepare, and many students struggle to write an assignment.
Some students have doubts about how to write assignment introduction. The current educational system has neglected to teach this vitally necessary writing method.
The best thing about writing is that you can learn and grow all the time by practicing. In this blog, I will discover significant tips for assignment writing, which is the art of writing an assignment introduction.
If you are struggling with your assignment, then you can get top-notch assignment help online service from our experts who will help you with any type of assignment.
Table of Contents
An assignment introduction segment is a crucial piece of any task or article. It is the main area of your task. This area generally has not more than a few passages.
It is a fact that your “ first impression is your last impression .” So, if you write a good introduction to your assignment, you catch your examiner’s eye and get good grades.
The primary purpose of the introductory paragraph is to give the readers a real understanding of the topic of your assignment. The introduction gives the subject a generalization until the author narrows the discussion.
It is just like your assignment guide. It also provides context information regarding the assignment topic and an outline of your view or claim.
You can understand it more deeply if you go through some introduction examples. It gives the reader an overview of your essay and what it’s all about.
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Hope that you find this information useful. Happy learning, and best of luck with your assignment.
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Before you searching the answer to your question about how to write an assignment introduction, you must keep these things in mind before writing it:
Proper introduction for a process documentation creates your experience a lot easier. It frees you from evaluating whether readers would be excited to continue your work. If you want to attract more readers, keep a few parameters before creating the introduction section It is a strong recommendation for the serious writers to take help from AI Content Detector Tools which are much efficient to secure your website ranking factor. You have a choice to check the best solution on Originality.AI in this regard.
To present a valid assignment to your audience, you must use audience-centric language rather than writer-centric. Ask yourself what the audience needs to understand from your writing. Are your audience expected to have an emotional reply to your writing? What do you need the audience to act, think, or feel about it? No matter how well-educated, we all bear the challenge of getting into someone’s shoes. Audience information is one of the keys to efficient completion.
The thesis statement is your essay’s most significant sentence. So you’ve got to work over and over to get it accurate. Get assured you explain the research question acutely while writing your thesis statement. In the sentence of the thesis statement, your point of view should be clear. Avoid a lengthy, wordy, and complex statement of the thesis.
Don’t try to explain anything to make your argument in the introduction section. You should drop the information part to the principal body. Just mention the primary points of the argument you plan to make later in the assignment. This point is important while searching for how to write an assignment introduction, as the introduction must be written in brief only.
There is no doubt that the duration of the introduction depends on the subject, the format of the assignment, and the research work. However, it will be written in one paragraph.
Remember that your introductory section should be more or less half a page long so that the audience can finish it one day. The introduction should be one-tenth of the entire assignment.
None of this comes as a surprise in academic writing. Academic writing is unlike writing fiction, where you can keep the audience in suspense. The entire assignment should be outlined in the introduction in academic literature, followed by a description in the central body. The following points will comprise an overview,
a. Related background data
b. A Map of Essay
c. A Sentence of Thesis
d. Your opinion.
Note: This is the rule for writing an introduction in the assignment. But there is no fast and robust rule for introduction writing. You need to be careful about the criteria you need to fulfill. Nevertheless, the above suggestions certainly will enable you to write a useful introduction.
These are the following tips and tricks to write assignment introduction.
Your whole assignment should often be based on the assignment question’s answer, and the introduction is the first step of your assignment. Your direct response to your question on the assignment is your idea statement that should be involved in your introduction. Your assignment problem often starts with a large view and narrows down to some topic field. You should follow assignmentguru.com for an identical pattern while writing the introduction. Begin with a broad picture to attract readers, then give the readers particular information to engage in more reading.
Remember, the subject needs an effective ‘big opening.’ For instance, an opening sentence that explains, ‘Human beings are capable of learning more than any other entity on earth’ would not be appropriate for the subject of ‘work and study.’ In another instance, the opening statement does not provide a world perspective in an assignment focusing on the city or state. So when you think about how to write an assignment introduction, you must take care of the opening statement as the success of the assignment introduction depends on it.
The best method to write assignment introduction is to write it at the beginning. The explanation for this is very clear when you write the introduction, you may have an indefinite view of the key points of the argument. Yet when you finish the material, you have good ideas about what you’ve written in your writing so far. When you follow all the rules, first write all of your proof and, finally, the introduction. Please ensure that your facts, conclusion, and introduction represent the claim you plan to bring forward.
Don’t be scared to make and alter an experimental introduction in the first as you proceed with the subject. Writing an introduction is often the most challenging for any student since this is the first thing readers can search for. All you should do is write a normal introduction to get the work started. Complete the task, return to the introduction section again, and thoroughly review it. If rewriting is required, do not hesitate to do so.
You may start with a quotation, short story, analogy, or even subject-related statistics. Create a strong impression on the audience by making that relevant information accessible. This is the point of thinking outside the box and using new skills. The reader won’t want to read the truth they already know. Uniquely, you need to find specific ways of expressing details or opinions. The students who want to know how to write an assignment introduction are searching for a unique way and methods to write it.
Avoid phrases like “I will address about- in this article. Such sentences are of no concern to the reader’s mind. First of all, you need to leap in confidence in your story. Readers will find it hard to connect when you don’t believe in your content. So be sure of what you’re writing; only the readers will be involved in more reading.
All the above strategies help you in writing an effective and engaging introduction.
These are the following most common strategies for writing assignment introductions.
Here the following elements are crucial to write an assignment introduction.
These are the following assignment introduction examples;
From the above discussion, now you get the answer to your question, “how to write an assignment introduction.” All the above strategies and points help you in improving your writing. We hope that you find this information useful. Happy learning, and best of luck with your assignment.
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What do you say in a quick introduction.
The personal introductions should include the name, expected graduation date, major career goals, experience in projects, internship, co-op, etc.
Follow these steps to start a good assignment introduction :
1. Define the main purpose of writing 2. Discuss the problems and try to solve them 3. What will be the tone and style of writing?
The introduction for the assignment should be three to five sentences long or 50-80 words.
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A good introduction aims to show the reader that the essay will provide a relevant answer to the assignment question. To achieve this, the introduction should link back to the question. This is done by writing a paragraph that deals with all the key content mentioned in the assignment question. This is reinforced by the use of words (or their synonyms) mentioned in the question.
In the next activities you will look again at Fred’s essay, which you worked with in Week 4, to see how his paragraphs are linked and how they work together to answer the assignment question. If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you download the file [ Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. ( Hide tip ) ] that has been provided and print it out, as you may find it helpful to be able to highlight, underline or annotate portions of the text.
Reread the assignment question Fred had to answer. The key content words have been highlighted in bold italic and numbers have been added to link the words to a specific topic in Fred’s essay.
Why is it important for carers [1] to recognise the differences [2] between public [3] and private [4] spaces? Your answer should refer to care [1] provided in hospital [5], residential [6] and domestic [7] settings.
Now look at the introduction to Fred’s essay. Identify all the words Fred uses that relate to each specific theme. You can do this in any way you wish: by highlighting or underlining in different colours or otherwise adding numbers to a paper copy of the essay. Two numbers have already been placed for you. When you have finished compare your answer with mine.
People consider their home their own private space [4] which they are able to control and keep separate from any public spaces [3] in which they live or work. However, should their circumstances change, and they find themselves in need of care, this private area may be encroached or they may have to spend time in a public space. This can be an uncomfortable experience whether care is delivered in public places such as hospitals or in residential and domestic environments. The ability to determine the differences between public and private spaces is therefore essential for those who wish to be skilled and effective carers as it affects the quality of their work in all care contexts. This essay will consider the differences between public and private spaces and how these can affect the behaviour of both carers and those receiving care in hospital, residential and private homes.
The word(s) in bold italic are the key words that link to each topic. The numbers indicate which topic the highlighted word(s) relates to.
People consider their home their own private space [4] which they are able to control and keep separate from any public spaces [3] in which they live or work. However, should their circumstances change, and they find themselves in need of care [1], this private area [4] may be encroached or they may have to spend time in a public space [3]. This can be an uncomfortable experience whether care [1] is delivered in public places [3] such as hospitals [5] or in residential [6] and domestic environments [7]. The ability to determine the differences [2] between public [3] and private spaces [4] is therefore essential for those who wish to be skilled and effective carers [1] as it affects the quality of their work in all care [1] contexts. This essay will consider the differences [2] between public [3] and private spaces [4] and how these can affect the behaviour of both carers [1] and those receiving care [1] in hospital [5], residential [6] and private [4] homes [7].
If you chose to use colour to visualise this activity you can see the same information in this PDF: Week 5 Activity 2 answer .
It is important to use the first paragraph to introduce the key themes that will be covered in the essay. This helps readers to follow the student’s reasoning and reassures them that the answer is relevant to the assignment question.
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Essay writing is a fundamental skill, a basic task, that is expected of those who choose to pursue their undergraduate and master’s degrees. It constitutes a key requirement for students to complete a given course credit. However, many students and early career researchers find themselves struggling with the challenge of organizing their thoughts into a coherent, engaging structure. This article is especially for those who see essay writing as a daunting task and face problems in presenting their work in an impactful way.
Read on as we delve into the basic elements of essay writing, outline key principles for organizing information, and cover some foundational features of writing essays.
Essays are written in a flowing and continuous pattern but with a structure of its own. An introduction, body and conclusion are integral to it. The key is to balance the amount and kind of information to be presented in each part. Various disciplines may have their own conventions or guidelines on the information to be provided in the introduction.
A clear articulation of the context and background of the study is important, as is the definition of key terms and an outline of specific models or theories used. Readers also need to know the significance of the study and its implications for further research. Most importantly, the thesis or the main proposition should be clearly presented.
The body of the essay is therefore organized into paragraphs that hold the main ideas and arguments and is presented and analyzed in a logical manner. Ideally, each paragraph of the body focuses on one main point or a distinct topic and must be supported by evidence and analysis. The concluding paragraph should bring back to the reader the key arguments, its significance and food for thought. It is best not to re-state all the points of the essay or introduce a new concept here.
In other words, certain general guidelines help structure the information in the essay. The information must flow logically with the context or the background information presented in the introductory part of the essay. The arguments are built organically where each paragraph in the body of the essay deals with a different point, yet closely linked to the para preceding and following it. Importantly, when writing essays, early career researchers must be careful in ensuring that each piece of information relates to the main thesis and is a building block to the arguments.
The structure of an essay can be determined by the kind of essay that is required.
Also known as the cause-and-effect approach, this is a straightforward way to structure an essay. In such essays, events are discussed sequentially, as they occurred from the earliest to the latest. A chronological structure is useful for discussing a series of events or processes such as historical analyses or narratives of events. The introduction should have the topic sentence. The body of the essay should follow a chorological progression with each para discussing a major aspect of that event with supporting evidence. It ends with a summarizing of the results of the events.
Where the essay focuses on a specific problem, the problem-methods-solutions structure can be used to organize the essay. This structure is ideal for essays that address complex issues. It starts with presenting the problem, the context, and thesis statement as introduction to the essay. The major part of the discussion which forms the body of the essay focuses on stating the problem and its significance, the author’s approach or methods adopted to address the problem along with its relevance, and accordingly proposing solution(s) to the identified problem. The concluding part offers a recap of the research problem, methods, and proposed solutions, emphasizing their significance and potential impact.
This structure of essay writing is ideally used when two or more key subjects require a comparison of ideas, theories, or phenomena. The three crucial elements, introduction, body, and conclusion, remain the same. The introduction presents the context and the thesis statement. The body of the essay seeks to focus on and highlight differences between the subjects, supported by evidence and analysis. The conclusion is used to summarize the key points of comparison and contrast, offering insights into the significance of the analysis.
Depending on how the subjects will be discussed, the body of the essay can be organized according to the block method or the alternating method. In the block method, one para discusses one subject and the next para the other subject. In the alternative method, both subjects are discussed in one para based on a particular topic or issue followed by the next para on another issue and so on.
An essay structure serves as a framework for presenting ideas coherently and logically. It comprises three crucial elements: an introduction that communicates the context, topic, and thesis statement; the body focusing on the main points and arguments supported with appropriate evidence followed by its analysis; and a conclusion that ties together the main points and its importance .
An essay structure well-defined essay structure enhances clarity, coherence, and readability, and is crucial for organizing ideas and arguments to effectively communicate key aspects of a chosen topic. It allows readers to better understand arguments presented and demonstrates the author’s ability to organize and present information systematically.
Yes, while expert recommend following an essay structure, early career researchers may choose how best to adapt standard essay structures to communicate and share their research in an impactful and engaging way. However, do keep in mind that deviating too far from established structures can hinder comprehension and weaken the overall effectiveness of the essay, By understanding the basic elements of essay writing and employing appropriate structures such as chronological, problem-methods-solutions, or compare and contrast, researchers can effectively organize their ideas and communicate their findings with clarity and precision.
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You’re asked to write your first essay at uni and you have no idea where to start let alone finish. Never fear… Shantel is here with a simple three-step process for you to master. You’ll be submitting that essay in no time. Check it out!
Written by Shantel Hussain
Essay writing for a first-year student may seem hard!
I mean of course it is, I remember being a first-year student and getting my first essay prepared. I submitted my work to Studiosty to run it through the embedded tutors, and I still wasn’t completely confident!
Luckily when we get an essay, our subject outline highlights the main things you need to be able to make a successful essay! Not only that but Charles Sturt has an essay writing process made up by the academic skills team for students like you and me to read when we need help.
Now to make things simpler I’ve broken down some tips on what helped me write essays confidently.
The first step is to research your essay! Making sure you research, research, research! – Quick tip don’t forget to note down references so you can cite your essay correctly.
Good research will make your essay easier to write as when u have all the info in front of you, all you’ll need to do is focus on structuring your essay! (simple right?)
The second step is to plan your essay! You need to look at all your research you’ve gathered and start with planning with info you’ll be using as your argument – make sure to choose strong ones.
I particularly start with the introduction beginning with a statement to set up the essay, discuss what’s to be examined in the essay and always importantly make sure to include my thesis stament! – This is the main sentence that summarises the essay and contains a point of view.
Then make my following paragraph’s all lead back to the introduction, because the introduction does initially tell us what the essay is about right?
Please please please, don’t forget to reference your work as you go!
After the introduction and body paragraphs I will read through my work again and write my conclusion which is a testament of my thesis with additional knowledge and a summary of the main points in my essay!
Third step ready for some final touches! Once I have a draft of my essay I would normally submit it to Studiosity for help in fixing the grammar, feedback on paragraph structure and even if we have referenced our work correctly! (plus 2-3 hour wait time to get our work back how good!) Once I get my feedback I work with all the things that was pointed out and submit it again but this time letting the team at Studiosty know its nearly ready to hand in, and then I’ll get my work back, finish up the final touches and there you have your very own hand written essay!
In conclusion… oh wait this isn’t an essay it’s a blog!
If you go back and take a look at the way I’ve structed this blog it’s just like an essay only without academic references. I hope all first-year students who come across this blog master writing your essays and hopefully I have helped make it simple for you!
Goodluck, and I have attached the link to Charles Sturt’s essay writing process article also.
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Barry Mauer and John Venecek
This portion of the course covers key library resources: literature databases, academic journals, scholarly monographs, and primary source collections. We also discuss key library services for undergraduates as well as connecting with librarians who specialize in English studies, and search tips that will help make your research more efficient. We also cover an often-overlooked skill: citation management, which enables you to compile, organize, and manage your resources efficiently. Managing citations as you go will reduce the stress of the research process
Understanding how to efficiently locate relevant literature will free up time for your reading and writing. You will learn about library services to help you with your search. A key resource is your subject librarian, who is always available to help. In this chapter, you will learn about:
Chapter 6 Objectives Copyright © 2021 by Barry Mauer and John Venecek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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Published on September 24, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on March 27, 2023.
The introduction to a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:
The introduction looks slightly different depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or constructs an argument by engaging with a variety of sources.
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Step 1: introduce your topic, step 2: describe the background, step 3: establish your research problem, step 4: specify your objective(s), step 5: map out your paper, research paper introduction examples, frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.
The first job of the introduction is to tell the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening hook.
The hook is a striking opening sentence that clearly conveys the relevance of your topic. Think of an interesting fact or statistic, a strong statement, a question, or a brief anecdote that will get the reader wondering about your topic.
For example, the following could be an effective hook for an argumentative paper about the environmental impact of cattle farming:
A more empirical paper investigating the relationship of Instagram use with body image issues in adolescent girls might use the following hook:
Don’t feel that your hook necessarily has to be deeply impressive or creative. Clarity and relevance are still more important than catchiness. The key thing is to guide the reader into your topic and situate your ideas.
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This part of the introduction differs depending on what approach your paper is taking.
In a more argumentative paper, you’ll explore some general background here. In a more empirical paper, this is the place to review previous research and establish how yours fits in.
After you’ve caught your reader’s attention, specify a bit more, providing context and narrowing down your topic.
Provide only the most relevant background information. The introduction isn’t the place to get too in-depth; if more background is essential to your paper, it can appear in the body .
For a paper describing original research, you’ll instead provide an overview of the most relevant research that has already been conducted. This is a sort of miniature literature review —a sketch of the current state of research into your topic, boiled down to a few sentences.
This should be informed by genuine engagement with the literature. Your search can be less extensive than in a full literature review, but a clear sense of the relevant research is crucial to inform your own work.
Begin by establishing the kinds of research that have been done, and end with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to respond to.
The next step is to clarify how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses.
In an argumentative research paper, you can simply state the problem you intend to discuss, and what is original or important about your argument.
In an empirical research paper, try to lead into the problem on the basis of your discussion of the literature. Think in terms of these questions:
You can make the connection between your problem and the existing research using phrases like the following.
Although has been studied in detail, insufficient attention has been paid to . | You will address a previously overlooked aspect of your topic. |
The implications of study deserve to be explored further. | You will build on something suggested by a previous study, exploring it in greater depth. |
It is generally assumed that . However, this paper suggests that … | You will depart from the consensus on your topic, establishing a new position. |
Now you’ll get into the specifics of what you intend to find out or express in your research paper.
The way you frame your research objectives varies. An argumentative paper presents a thesis statement, while an empirical paper generally poses a research question (sometimes with a hypothesis as to the answer).
The thesis statement expresses the position that the rest of the paper will present evidence and arguments for. It can be presented in one or two sentences, and should state your position clearly and directly, without providing specific arguments for it at this point.
The research question is the question you want to answer in an empirical research paper.
Present your research question clearly and directly, with a minimum of discussion at this point. The rest of the paper will be taken up with discussing and investigating this question; here you just need to express it.
A research question can be framed either directly or indirectly.
If your research involved testing hypotheses , these should be stated along with your research question. They are usually presented in the past tense, since the hypothesis will already have been tested by the time you are writing up your paper.
For example, the following hypothesis might respond to the research question above:
The final part of the introduction is often dedicated to a brief overview of the rest of the paper.
In a paper structured using the standard scientific “introduction, methods, results, discussion” format, this isn’t always necessary. But if your paper is structured in a less predictable way, it’s important to describe the shape of it for the reader.
If included, the overview should be concise, direct, and written in the present tense.
Full examples of research paper introductions are shown in the tabs below: one for an argumentative paper, the other for an empirical paper.
Are cows responsible for climate change? A recent study (RIVM, 2019) shows that cattle farmers account for two thirds of agricultural nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands. These emissions result from nitrogen in manure, which can degrade into ammonia and enter the atmosphere. The study’s calculations show that agriculture is the main source of nitrogen pollution, accounting for 46% of the country’s total emissions. By comparison, road traffic and households are responsible for 6.1% each, the industrial sector for 1%. While efforts are being made to mitigate these emissions, policymakers are reluctant to reckon with the scale of the problem. The approach presented here is a radical one, but commensurate with the issue. This paper argues that the Dutch government must stimulate and subsidize livestock farmers, especially cattle farmers, to transition to sustainable vegetable farming. It first establishes the inadequacy of current mitigation measures, then discusses the various advantages of the results proposed, and finally addresses potential objections to the plan on economic grounds.
The rise of social media has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the prevalence of body image issues among women and girls. This correlation has received significant academic attention: Various empirical studies have been conducted into Facebook usage among adolescent girls (Tiggermann & Slater, 2013; Meier & Gray, 2014). These studies have consistently found that the visual and interactive aspects of the platform have the greatest influence on body image issues. Despite this, highly visual social media (HVSM) such as Instagram have yet to be robustly researched. This paper sets out to address this research gap. We investigated the effects of daily Instagram use on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls. It was hypothesized that daily Instagram use would be associated with an increase in body image concerns and a decrease in self-esteem ratings.
The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:
and your problem statement
Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.
This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .
The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .
A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2023, March 27). Writing a Research Paper Introduction | Step-by-Step Guide. Scribbr. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-paper/research-paper-introduction/
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Assignment: Introduction to Python Instructions: Answer the following questions based on your understanding of Python programming. Provide detailed explanations and examples where appropriate.
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Installing Python:
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Assignment by Michael Chang, Julie Zelenski, and Chris Gregg, with modifications by Nick Troccoli
We'll discuss the terminal and text editors even more during lecture 2, so that lecture material is needed to get the starter project, edit files, and complete the intruder detection portion of the assignment. However, prior to then, you can get your computer set up to log into the myth machines by installing a terminal program, review the course syllabus, and complete the honor code survey linked below.
The goals for this assignment are for you to get familiar with working in the Unix environment, and editing/building/running C programs.
The pages in the Handouts dropdown above have information, including videos, for various Unix commands, tools, and more that we'll be using this quarter. We highly recommend reading through the getting started guide and unix guide and trying out various commands and tools yourself, to get practice. In particular, some of the activities in this assignment will rely on information you will need to read up on there. Note that you don't need to memorize all the information, but you may start to memorize lots of commands just by repetition.
Before starting the assignment, double-check that you are comfortable with these Unix fundamentals - discussed in the getting started guide.
View Getting Started Guide
Additionally, take a look at the guide in the assignments dropdown about working on assignments. It outlines everything you need to know about working through a CS107 assignment, from getting the starter code to testing to submitting. We will refer to this document many, many times throughout this assignment, so keep it handy as you work through this page.
View Assignments Guide
To get started on the assignment, you must "clone" the starter code to get a copy you can work on. Check out the assignments guide for how to do this.
If you attempt to clone and receive an error that the repository does not exist :
If you confirm you are on a myth system and your correctly-typed path is not available, this indicates that you were not on the Axess enrollment list at the time we created the student starter code projects. Please send an email to the course staff and tell us your username so we can manually set up the starter code for you. Please make sure to enroll in Axess as soon as possible so that the starter code is automatically generated for you in the future.
The starter project contains the following:
Symbolic links mean that the files actually live in the CS107 class directory, but appear just like normal files in your starter code folder. Note that the shared directories are not editable by you, so you will not be able to create, edit, or delete files within these directories, since they actually live in the CS107 class directory.
In order to complete your enrollment in CS107, you must fill out the readme with some information about you, confirm your ability to attend the final exam and accept the course Honor Code policy.
Open the readme.txt file in your editor now and edit as appropriate.
As part of this, you must complete the Honor Code Form. When grading your assign0, we will check that you made a submission through this form, so please make sure to fill it out!
Access the Honor Code Form
Once you have done this, also complete the following setup tasks:
For this activity, you will investigate a simulated break-in and answer the questions below. Type your answers into the readme.txt file. For each, briefly describe (in 1-2 sentences) how you arrived at that answer and what Unix commands you used (text editor keyboard shortcuts (e.g. vim commands) do not classify as Unix commands).
Activity Learning Goals: In class we have taught you the basics of Unix: how to login to myth, how to make directories, and how to list files. In this activity, you will further develop your Unix skills by understanding how to use common Unix commands beyond what we know so far. The how-to's of many of the commands you will learn are available on our CS107 Unix guide, under "Handouts". We recommend you browse this guide as you complete this activity:
View Unix Guide
Situation: An intruder had broken into your dorm's unix-based server and deleted most of the files! Fortunately, there is a backup of the server contents, but before restoring the files, you'd like to know who the intruder was and what they did. With your newly-developed Unix skills, you are just the expert to help investigate.
The key files are available in the directory samples/server_files , which you can access within your assign0 directory.
The first thing you want to determine is the username of the intruder. The server is used by many different users. Each user has a home directory under home/ . For example, the home directory for the user bob would be the path home/bob . The file users.list contains a list of all the authorized users. In an uncompromised system, each home directory would correspond to a user on the authorized list and vice versa. The intruder is not an authorized user and they gained illicit access by inserting their own home directory onto the system. This means there is one home directory that doesn't belong, and your job is to find it.
Manually cross-comparing the users.list to the directory contents would be time-consuming. Instead, what Unix commands can you use to help? Check out the Unix guide for some ideas.
Hint: the samples/ folder and everything inside it is a shared, read-only folder for all students for this assignment. For this reason, you can't create any new files within samples , and you can't create new files outside of samples from within the samples folder. If you need to create a temporary file, try creating it directly inside your assign0 directory instead.
Now that you know the intruder's username, you can examine the files in intruder's home directory to learn what they were up to. Though the intruder tried to delete all the home directory files as part of covering their tracks, you can see that this supposedly empty directory is still taking up space. Perhaps something interesting was overlooked?
Take a closer look to find out what files have been left behind. Open each of the files in the intruder's home directory to see their contents.
You believe that the intruder used sudo to execute some commands as a privileged user. You want to identify those commands, but the file is rather long to comb through by hand. What Unix command can you use to extract the information you seek?
The final task of the assignment gives you practice using the Unix development tools to edit, build, run, and test a short C program.
In your assign0 folder, type make . This will build the program named triangle . Run the program to see what it does:
You should be rewarded with an ascii representation of Sierpinski's triangle - cool! Try to run make again:
This isn't an error; it simply means that nothing has changed in the program's source, so there isn't anything to re-compile.
Open triangle.c in a text editor and change the value of the #define d value, DEFAULT_LEVELS above main from 3 to 5. After you have saved the file, you must then use make to re-build the program , and then you can run the newly built program to see the bigger triangle. If you forget to re-run make , you will run the original version of the program that has not been updated!
The starter code uses a fixed constant for the number of levels to print. Your task is to extend the program to take an optional command-line argument that allows the user to dictate the number of levels. With no arguments, ./triangle should default to a level 3 triangle, but the user should also be able to provide a numeric argument, e.g. ./triangle 4 or ./triangle 2 , to control the number of levels. If given an unworkable number of levels (anything larger than 8 gets unwieldy and negative would be nonsensical), your program should reject it with a helpful and explanatory message that informs the user how to correct their error, and then terminate early with an exit status of 1 (this indicates something went wrong with the program execution). The best function to do this is the error function; check out the manual pages ( man 3 error ) for more information about this function (Fun fact: man pages have information for both Unix commands and built-in C functions!) One note is that you should specify an errnum of 0 , since we don't need to print out an error message corresponding to a specific error code. Try to figure out the values for the remaining parameters. You must exactly match the error message of the sample solution . Note : You may assume that the user will enter an integer value, and do not have to worry about handling arguments that are not valid integers. If the user specifies multiple command-line arguments, you should use just the first one .
When applicable, you should define constants in your program rather than using "magic numbers", which are numbers hardcoded into your program. See the starter code for an example of how to do this in C.
In order to complete this task, the program will need to convert the user's argument (supplied in string form) into an integer. The C library function atoi can be used to do this. Review the man page ( man atoi ) or look in your C reference to get acquainted with this function.
Now let's test the program implementation. The Sanity Check tool is included in the assignment starter project, and acts as a testing aid. Read the guide to working on assignments for more information about how to use it.
The default sanitycheck for assign0 has one test that validates the output of the triangle program when given no argument. The unmodified starter program code should pass this test. After you have extended the triangle program to accept an argument, the program should continue to pass the default sanitycheck, but you will need new tests to validate the argument-handling.
You extend sanitycheck to test additional cases by using a custom tests file. The starter project includes a custom_tests file. Open this file in your editor to see the format. Now consider what additional test cases are needed to fully vet the output of your new, improved triangle program. You will need at least two additional tests. Add those tests to this custom_tests file and use these with sanitycheck to validate that your triangle program passes all tests. For more information about how to run your custom tests, check out the guide to working on assignments. For tips on thorough testing, check out our testing guide, linked to from the assignments dropdown.
Once you are finished working and have saved all your changes, check out the guide to working on assignments for how to submit your work. We recommend you do a trial submit in advance of the deadline to familiarize yourself with the process and allow time to work through any snags. You may submit as many times as you would like; we will grade the latest submission.
You should only need to modify the following files for this assignment: readme.txt , triangle.c , custom_tests .
We would also appreciate if you filled out this homework survey to tell us what you think once you submit. We appreciate your feedback!
The assignment is graded out of about 26 functionality points, plus a bucket grade for style. Full credit will be awarded for reasonable answers to the questions in the readme.txt file and a correct modification of triangle.c and custom_tests . This assignment is worth far fewer points than all of our other assignments. But, hey, we expect each and every one of you to earn all of the points on this one!
How did the assignment go for you? We encourage you to take a moment to reflect on how far you've come and what new knowledge and skills you have to take forward. Once you finish this assignment, you should have your environment configured and should be starting to feel comfortable with the command-line interface, navigating the filesystem, using a Unix text editor, and getting around Unix. You're off to a great start!
To help you gauge your progress, for each assignment/lab, we identify some of its takeaways and offer a few thought questions you can use as a self-check on your post-task understanding. If you find the responses don't come easily, it may be a sign a little extra review is warranted. These questions are not to be handed in or graded. You're encouraged to freely discuss these with your peers and course staff to solidify any gaps in your understanding before moving on from a task. They could also be useful as review for our exams.
When i try to run the triangle program in my directory, it responds "command not found". what's wrong.
Unix wants you to instead refer to the program by its full name ./triangle . See our Unix guide for more information.
Our provided sample executable can be used a reference implementation during testing. Run the solution and your program on the same input and verify the output is the same:
If your program produces the same result as the sample, all is good. You can manually "eyeball" the two results, or run sanitycheck with the provided tests, or your own tests. You can find more information about sanity check in our guide to working on assignments.
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Table of contents. Step 1: Hook your reader. Step 2: Give background information. Step 3: Present your thesis statement. Step 4: Map your essay's structure. Step 5: Check and revise. More examples of essay introductions. Other interesting articles. Frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.
Here are the key takeaways for how to write essay introduction: 3. Hook the Reader: Start with an engaging hook to grab the reader's attention. This could be a compelling question, a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or an anecdote. Provide Background: Give a brief overview of the topic, setting the context and stage for the discussion.
A brief discussion of the context. Identification of the key issue and research question (s). A brief outline of your theoretical approach. A brief outline of your fieldwork and your professional position. In this post, I'll outline the 5 key components of a strong introduction chapter/section in a mark-earning Henley MBA assignment.
Step 3: Writing a first draft. Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it's time to produce a full first draft. This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it's reasonable to begin writing with the main body of the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you're introducing.
In general, your introductions should contain the following elements: Orienting Information. When you're writing an essay, it's helpful to think about what your reader needs to know in order to follow your argument. Your introduction should include enough information so that readers can understand the context for your thesis.
Come up with a thesis. Create an essay outline. Write the introduction. Write the main body, organized into paragraphs. Write the conclusion. Evaluate the overall organization. Revise the content of each paragraph. Proofread your essay or use a Grammar Checker for language errors. Use a plagiarism checker.
Every essay or assignment you write must begin with an introduction. It might be helpful to think of the introduction as an inverted pyramid. In such a pyramid, you begin by presenting a broad introduction to the topic and end by making a more focused point about that topic in your thesis statement. The introduction has three essential parts ...
Although the exact structure of your introduction may differ according to the type of assignment, most introductions follow a similar structure which includes 4 main parts: Context: a short background that briefly leads the reader to the main issues relevant to the topic. Topic: a topic statement which establishes the main focus of the paper (e ...
1. Background. The first thing you have to write in an introduction is a brief background of the study. You have to give an overview of your assignment, what your assignment is about, its impact, and its area of study. 2. Context in brief. You have to include a gist of the context of your assignment.
When you are stuck with how to start a writing assignment, writing an introduction can solve most of your problems. Different types of assignments have different types of introductory paragraphs. The student introduction assignment example mentioned above is suitable for an essay. Now, we will see an example of an assignment introduction for a ...
This chapter covers the types of reading and writing assignments you will encounter as a post-secondary student. You will also learn a variety of strategies for mastering these new challenges—and becoming a more confident student and writer. Throughout this chapter, you will follow a first-year student named Crystal.
Intro Paragraph Part 3: The Thesis. The final key part of how to write an intro paragraph is the thesis statement. The thesis statement is the backbone of your introduction: it conveys your argument or point of view on your topic in a clear, concise, and compelling way. The thesis is usually the last sentence of your intro paragraph.
What this handout is about. The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms ...
Category: Writing Date: 16 April, 2024. Every student wonders how to start an assignment introduction because this knowledge can keep them afloat through their endless years of school, college, and university. If you're here, you probably wonder that as well. Thankfully, there is nothing complicated about writing an introduction.
Many instructors write their assignment prompts differently. By following a few steps, you can better understand the requirements for the assignment. The best way, as always, is to ask the instructor about anything confusing. Read the prompt the entire way through once. This gives you an overall view of what is going on.
Common Writing Assignments. These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.
Writing Assignments Kate Derrington; Cristy Bartlett; and Sarah Irvine. Figure 19.1 Assignments are a common method of assessment at university and require careful planning and good quality research. Image by Kampus Production used under CC0 licence. Introduction. Assignments are a common method of assessment at university and require careful planning and good quality research.
Good example. I wiped the sweat from my head and tried to catch my breath. I was nearly there—just one more back tuck and a strong dismount and I'd have nailed a perfect routine. Some students choose to write more broadly about themselves and use some sort of object or metaphor as the focus.
Yet, the academic standards regarding how to write an introduction are quite clear. Coming up with a great introduction for assignment, make sure that it: Highlights the importance of your subject. Provides a definition of the topic you discuss. Offers the reasoning why you approach your topic. Provides an overview of your methodology or ...
Avoid a lengthy, wordy, and complex statement of the thesis. 3. Avoid Explanation. Don't try to explain anything to make your argument in the introduction section. You should drop the information part to the principal body. Just mention the primary points of the argument you plan to make later in the assignment.
To achieve this, the introduction should link back to the question. This is done by writing a paragraph that deals with all the key content mentioned in the assignment question. This is reinforced by the use of words (or their synonyms) mentioned in the question. In the next activities you will look again at Fred's essay, which you worked ...
Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles . Essays are written in a flowing and continuous pattern but with a structure of its own. An introduction, body and conclusion are integral to it. The key is to balance the amount and kind of information to be presented in each part. Various disciplines may have their own conventions or ...
Research and plan: Shantel uses colours to help her identify specific parts of her essay plan. Red circles - introduction, purple - body paragraphs, and the conclusion will be the introduction summarised using the body. Step 2. The second step is to plan your essay!
Writing Center tutors offer suggestions on ways to improve your writing. Get help with writing assignments, resumes, cover letters, letters of introduction, and creative works for current academic coursework. On-campus Students. Schedule an appointment with a Writing Center tutor through I-Plan.
Introduction to Strategies for Conducting Literary Research. Barry Mauer and John Venecek. Table of Contents. Barry Mauer and John Venecek. Chapter 1: Understanding the Assignment / Types of Research Projects / Preliminary Research / Calls for Papers. Chapter 1 Objectives. ... Writing Academic Prose. Barry Mauer and John Venecek.
Table of contents. Step 1: Introduce your topic. Step 2: Describe the background. Step 3: Establish your research problem. Step 4: Specify your objective (s) Step 5: Map out your paper. Research paper introduction examples. Frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.
Write a Python function that takes two arguments and returns their sum. Include an example of how to call this function. Lists and Dictionaries: Describe the differences between lists and dictionaries in Python. Write a script that creates a list of numbers and a dictionary with some key-value pairs, then demonstrates basic operations on both.
Resources for Educators & Students K-12 Education The AHA strives to ensure that every K-12 student has access to high quality history instruction. We create resources for the classroom, advise on state and federal policy, and advocate for the vital importance of history in public education. Learn More Undergraduate Education…
An introduction to programming using Python, a popular language for general-purpose programming, data science, web programming, and more.
C Introduction. The final task of the assignment gives you practice using the Unix development tools to edit, build, run, and test a short C program. In your assign0 folder, type make. This will build the program named triangle. Run the program to see what it does:./triangle