The writing exercise from Jim's blog

A. You are going to use the Internet to find some information about how to write an introduction to an academic essay. Remember – your written assignments this month involve writing an introduction (200 – 250 words) to an essay.
Visit these websites from British universities:



http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/introductions.htm

http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm



1 Looking at the information on both the websites – what should a good introduction contain?

a) It should include a few general statements about the subject to provide a background to your essay and to attract the reader's attention. It should try to explain why you are writing the essay. It may include a definition of terms in the context of the essay, etc.

b) It should also include a statement of the specific subdivisions of the topic and/or indication of how the topic is going to be tackled in order to specifically address the question.



2 On the University of Manchester page, look at the suggested language for different sections of the introduction. Which verb tenses are most commonly used in each section? (write down a verb tense and an example for each…)

• Establishing the importance of the topic:

Present Simple Tense ; X is a common disorder characterised by ......

• Establishing the importance of the topic (time frame given):

Present Perfect Tense ; Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in ......

• Highlighting a problem or controversy in the field of study:

Present Perfect Tense ; The issue has grown in importance in light of recent ......

• Highlighting a knowledge gap in the field of study:

Present Perfect Tense ; However, there have been no controlled studies which compare differences in ......

• Focus and aim:

Present Simple Tense ; This paper seeks to address the following questions:

• Outline of structure:

Present Perfect Tense ; The essay has been organised in the following way.

B. Now visit this site:

http://www.englishforuniversity.com/search/label/Writing%20an%20introduction

1 What is the introduction a chance for you to do?

To make a first impression

2 Why do you think planning is important when you are writing an introduction?

Because it can help an introduction be more effective and help manage the time.

3 Look at the example essay question: "Is the present level of immigration in the United Kingdom beneficial to the country?" Read the introduction (below the plan). You should be able to see that the introduction contains all the elements from your answer to question 1 in the Section A. Also, notice the use of verb tenses.

Present Simple, Present Perfect

4 I would like you to rewrite this introduction (to the same question) using the language suggestions from the University of Manchester website and post it on your blog by the end of this class. If you do not have a blog, write it on a separate sheet of paper to give to me by the end of class.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the immigration to the United Kingdom because it is a developed country. Many people want to get a good quality life, so they move to UK that is the famous country in the world. It brings the benefit to the UK.