Introduction

Write an introduction that gets to the point

An introduction has to do three things: show what's known, show what's missing, and say what this paper does about it. Most drafts spend two pages on the first and a sentence on the other two. Here is how to rebalance it.

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Introduction

Research paper
  • What's known2 paragraphs, 9 sources
  • What's missingThe gap, with evidence
  • This studyAim and approach
  • ContributionOne sentence

Here we test whether the effect holds outside the laboratory. We followed 212 first-year students across one semester and measured revision after each returned essay.

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The problem

Why introductions lose readers

Reviewers often decide how they feel about a paper by the end of page one.

It starts too far back

"Since the dawn of time" openings, or a history of the whole field, when the reader wants to know what this paper is about.

The gap never arrives

A page of background with no sentence that says what is still unknown.

The aim is buried or missing

Readers reach the methods without having been told what the study set out to do.

Claims without sources

"It is well known that" is not a citation. Every factual statement in an introduction needs one.

Step by step

How to do it in LitraMind

Write the last paragraph first. It tells you what the rest has to lead up to.

  1. Write your aim in one sentence

    Open your document and type what this paper does and why. Everything else in the introduction exists to make that sentence feel necessary.

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  2. List what a reader must know to follow it

    Three or four points, no more. Each becomes a paragraph or part of one. Anything that isn't needed to understand the aim goes to the discussion or out.

  3. Draft the background from your sources

    Attach your key papers to AI Write and ask for a paragraph on each point, then rewrite it around your own reading. Keep the paragraphs short.

    About AI Write

  4. Support every claim

    Highlight each factual sentence and find a source with Research & Cite. Prefer recent papers and reviews for the state of the field.

    About Research & Cite

  5. State the gap plainly

    One or two sentences beginning with "However" or "Yet". Write these yourself, with Ghost Text if it helps. This is your argument for why the paper exists.

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  6. Cut the first paragraph

    Reread the opening. If the introduction still makes sense without it, delete it. Then use Trim on anything that runs long.

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Start step 1 free
The guide

How introductions are built

The pattern is consistent enough across fields that it has a name.

Three moves

The linguist John Swales described research introductions as three moves, a model known as CARS (Create a Research Space). It's a useful check on a draft: can you point to where each move happens?

The three moves of a research introduction (after Swales)
MoveWhat it doesTypical opening
Establish the territoryShows the topic matters and what is known"Recent studies have shown..."
Establish the nichePoints to a gap, a conflict or a question"However, it remains unclear..."
Occupy the nicheStates what this paper does"Here we examine..."

Think of a funnel

Start at the width of your readers' shared knowledge and narrow steadily to your specific question. For a specialist journal that starting point is already narrow, so you can skip the general case for why the field matters.

Each paragraph should be narrower than the one before it. If one widens again, it's in the wrong place.

How long

For a journal article, an introduction is commonly around a tenth of the paper: three to five paragraphs in many fields. Thesis introductions are longer and are usually a chapter of their own.

The full review of the literature belongs elsewhere. An introduction cites what is needed to justify the question.

End with the aim, not a tour

Finish with what the study does and, where your field expects it, the hypothesis or main finding. A paragraph listing what each section contains is conventional in some fields, such as computer science and economics, and unnecessary in most others.

Written by the LitraMind team. Last reviewed .

In their words

What researchers and students say

“It helped me shorten the background and make the research problem appear much earlier. The introduction finally felt like it was leading somewhere.”

Hannah C•••PhD Candidate, PsychologyN••• University, United Kingdom

“I had plenty of literature but no clear narrative. Reorganising it around the research problem made a significant difference.”

Eric J•••Doctoral Researcher, EngineeringW••• Institute of T•••, United States

“The gap and objective paragraphs were where I needed the most help. They became much more specific after revision.”

Aditya B•••Research Scholar, Computer ScienceN••• Institute of A••• C•••, India

“It was useful for checking whether every paragraph in the introduction was actually contributing to the rationale for the study.”

Julia W•••PhD Researcher, Public HealthR••• University, Germany

“My introduction originally read like a miniature literature review. The revised structure was much more focused.”

Marie F•••Doctoral Candidate, Environmental ScienceP••• Institute for E••• R•••, France

“It helped me make the final paragraph much clearer about exactly what the study was going to investigate.”

Chloe W•••PhD Candidate, EducationS••• C••• University, Australia
The tools

What this workflow uses

All of them live in the same editor, so you don't move text between apps.

AI Write

Prompt the AI with your document, your selection or your uploaded papers as context.

About AI Write

Research & Cite

Highlight a claim, search scholarly sources for it, and insert the citation in your chosen style.

About Research & Cite

AI Autocomplete

Ghost Text suggests the next sentence as you type. Press Tab to keep it, keep typing to ignore it.

About AI Autocomplete

AI Rewrite

Seven rewrite modes for selected text: Paraphrase, Make Academic, Improve Fluency, Simplify, Trim, Change Tone and Synonyms.

About AI Rewrite
Straight answer

What stays your job

The introduction is an argument, and the argument is yours.

  • Deciding what the gap is. A drafted paragraph can describe prior work; it can't know why your study was worth doing.
  • Judging which sources matter. Search results are relevant, not ranked by importance to your field.
  • Matching your field's conventions on hypotheses, contributions lists and section roadmaps.
Questions

Questions people ask

Short answers before you start. Plan limits are on the pricing page.

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Can AI write my introduction?
It can draft background paragraphs from papers you provide. The gap and the aim are your argument for the paper, so write those yourself and make sure the drafted parts lead to them.
How long should an introduction be?
Around a tenth of a journal article is common, often three to five paragraphs. Check recent papers in your target journal for the norm.
Should I write the introduction first?
Most people find it easier to write it late, once the results are known. Draft a rough version early to guide you, and rewrite it when the paper is done.
Should the introduction include results?
It depends on the field. Many science journals expect a sentence on the main finding at the end of the introduction; others keep findings for the results section. Follow your target journal.
How is an introduction different from a literature review?
An introduction cites only what's needed to justify the question. A literature review surveys and synthesizes the field. In a thesis they are usually separate chapters.
Keep going

Related use cases

All use cases

Abstract writing

Write the abstract last, give each sentence one job, and cut it to the word limit without losing the result.

Read the guide

Finding research gaps

Read what authors admit they didn't do, lay the studies side by side, and test whether the gap you've found is real.

Read the guide

Discussion section

Interpret your results against the literature, be honest about limitations, and stop short of claims the data can't carry.

Read the guide

Start with one sentence: what does this paper do?

Type it into a new document in LitraMind and build the introduction backwards from there.

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