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ES1103Week5_Tutorial2_WritingIntroductions_LM

WritingIntroductions

Objectives
Whenyouhavefinishedthissection,youwillbeableto:
introducethespecificstructureofanintroduction
analyseintroductionsamples
jointconstructanintroduction
writeanintroductionindividually

Beforeclass
Surveythewebpagesinthefollowingwebsiteandanswerthequestionsthatfollow.
http://writesite.elearn.usyd.edu.au/m3/m3u3/index.htm
1. Whatisthepurposeofanintroduction?Whatshouldthereaderbeclearaboutbytheendof
theintroduction?
2. Whataretheelementsexpectedinanintroduction?

Inclass
Analysethepromptandreadthesampleintroduction.Howwouldyouevaluatetheintroduction?
Asareader,doyouthinktheintroductionaddressesthepromptclearly?

Prompt: In his TED talk, Goldin mentions a number of problems that have resulted from rapid
globalisation,amongthemthecollapseinbiodiversity,climatechange,financialcrisisandinequality
(2009).Whatdoyouthinkisthemostseriousproblemfacingtheworldasawhole?RefertoONEof
theproblemsmentionedbyGoldininhisTEDtalkanddescribesomeactualorpossiblemeasuresto
alleviatethisproblem.

Sampleintroduction:
Globalizationpromotesintegrationweseeitintheconvergenceofeconomiesandcultures;wesee
itinthefarreachinghandofcommoditiesandmedia.Butthereisanotherlessrepresented,more
pressingmanifestationofsaidintegrationthatdemandsourattentionandthatisthehomogenization
of agroecosystems. Such a phenomenon occurs due to the prolific use of herbicidetolerant seeds
pharmaceutical corporations sell. Though many conventional farms buy into this, organic farms
continuetoholdoutintheirpracticeofecologicalprinciplestowardofpests.Indoingso,habitats
maintain their vibrancy in supporting a myriad of organisms. The adoption of organic agricultural
practicesbyfarmerswillthereforeconserveagroecosystembiodiversityandstemthefurtherlossof
geneticvariety.


ES1103Week5_Tutorial2_WritingIntroductions_LM

Lookatotherexamplesonhttp://writesite.elearn.usyd.edu.au/m3/m3u3/index.htm

An introduction usually follows the inverted triangle structure. This structure represents the
progressionfromgeneraltomoreandmorefocusedcontent.

Thislinksdirectlytotheprompt,using
thepromptskeywordsanddefining
Background them.*

Focusonaspecificissue(i.e.theissuethat
isdebatedinanargumentativeessayor

Focus/Tension theproblemslinkedwiththeissueina
problemsolutionessay).

Themaintopicandyourmessageabout

Thesis thistopic(yourstandinanargumentative
essayorthepreciseproblemina
problemsolution essay).

Themainideastobedeveloped(reasons

Scope foryourstandorproblemsandsolutions
foraproblemsolutionessay).Only
keywordsorgeneralnounstoannounce
theplan.Notasummaryoftheessay.

*Inanacademicessay,thebackgroundisrarelyaquestionorananecdotebutratheradefinitionof
thekeytermsorastatementregardingthesignificanceoftheissue.


ES1103Week5_Tutorial2_WritingIntroductions_LM

Lookatthefollowingpromptandsampleintroduction.Arealltheelementsclearlypresent?

Prompt:
Inthelast20years,ratesofdivorcehaverisensignificantlyinWesterncountries.Criticallyanalyse
someofthedifferentexplanationsgivenforthisphenomenon.Inyourdiscussion,youshouldconsider
whatimplicationstheseexplanationsmighthaveforsocialpolicy.

AmajorchangethathasoccurredintheWesternfamilyisanincreasedincidenceindivorce.Whereas
inthepast,divorcewasarelativelyrareoccurrence,inrecenttimesithasbecomequitecommonplace.
Thischangeisborneoutclearlyincensusfigures.ForexamplethirtyyearsagoinAustralia,onlyone
marriageintenendedindivorce;nowadaysthefigureismorethanoneinthree(AustralianBureauof
Statistics,1996:p.45).Aconsequenceofthischangehasbeenasubstantialincreaseinthenumberof
single parent families and the attendant problems that this brings (Kilmartin, 1997). An important
issue for sociologists, and indeed for all of society, is why these changes in marital patterns have
occurred.InthisessayIwillseektocriticallyexamineanumberofsociologicalexplanationsforthe
'divorcephenomenon'andalsoconsiderthesocialpolicyimplicationsthateachexplanationcarries
withit.Itwillbearguedthatthebestexplanationsaretobefoundwithinabroadsocioeconomic
framework.

JointConstruction
Thewholeclasswillworktogethertowriteanintroduction.

Prompt1:
PersistingloweducationlevelshaveledtoproblemseveninrichcountriessuchastheUSA.Discuss
oneproblemlinkedwithloweducationallevelsandevaluatetheexistingsolutionsbeforesuggesting
neworimprovedmeasures.

Prompt2:
TheInternethasenabledavastvolumeofinformationtospreadfromonepersontotheotherand
onesideoftheworldtotheotherwith incrediblespeedandease andthis hashadsomepositive
impacts.However,therearemanyproblemsassociatedwiththisfast,anduncontrollablespreadof
news/information.Discussoneproblemandthepotentialsolutionsthatcouldsolveit.

Independentconstruction
Writeanintroductionforthepromptyoudidnotuseforjointconstruction.

Steps:
Analysetheprompt
Brainstormideasandorganizethemintoparagraphs
Startworkontheintroduction,includingtheexpectedstagesandinformation.
Sharetheintroductiononyoureportfolioandgivefeedbackto2classmates

Now,turntoyouressayandapplythesestrategiestowriteanintroductionparagraph.

ES1103Week5_Tutorial2_WritingIntroductions_LM

Introductionsinvariousdisciplinesandgenres

Thetutorialtodayhasfocussedonintroductionsofessays.Foranargumentativeessayora
problem/solutionessay,youwilluseaverysimilarstructureandlanguagetowhatwehave
seentoday.

For most genres, the introduction follows the inverted triangle structure (from general to
specific), but according to the text purpose, introduction may follow slightly different
expectedstages.

Forexample,theintroductionforalifeSciencelabreportusuallyfollowsthispattern:
1. Subject/literature(whatisthetopic,whatdoestheliteraturesayaboutit?)
2. Reasonsforexperiment/relevance(whyisthesubjectimportanttostudy?)
3. Experimentalapproach?(Whatisyourapproachandwhy?)
4. Aim(whatistheaimoftheexperiment,whatareyoutryingtofindout?)

http://www.usyd.edu.au/learningcentre/wrise/biology/introduction/intro_structure.html

TheintroductionforafieldtripreportinEngineeringtendstofollowthispattern:
1. Termsofreference(whoaskedforthereportandwhy?Dateandlocationofthefield
trip)
2. Generalpurpose(whatwillthereportachieve?)
3. Outline(whatkeytopicswillthereportcontain,whatistheintentionofeachsection?)
4. Scope(whataretheboundaries,whatisthereportnotcovering?)

http://www.usyd.edu.au/learningcentre/wrise/mining_engineering/introduction/intro_entr
y_quiz_ex.html

Youwillfindmoreinformationonthestructureofvariousgenres(casestudies,labreports,
literaturereviews,reflections,bookreviewsandsoon)on:
http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/genrefram.htm

ForScienceandEngineeringstudents,thereisusefulinformation,sampletextsandpractice
tasksonthefollowingwebsite:
http://www.usyd.edu.au/learningcentre/wrise/

Preparationfornexttutorial:

ReadtheOralPresentationGuidelinesandthePreparationforyourOPhandout.

PrepareyourPresentationofyouressayoutline.

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