The Thesis Introduction: A Guide To Content

The introduction to your thesis sets out for the reader what is is you intend to do, the questions you are answering, how you propose to do it as well as background information on your topic that the reader might need.
When to Write Your Introduction
Your introduction can be written at either the beginning or the end of your research. Writing it at the beginning can be useful in establishing your thoughts and setting out the direction you intend your research to go in, but you will need to review your introduction to ensure it still contains all the necessary information. Writing a good thesis plan will help you extensively if you decide to (or are required to) write your introduction first.
Writing your introduction at the end of your writing has the benefit that you already know what you have covered and can lead into it but can mean that you are writing your thesis without a clear plan of what you need to write.
Basic Format of a Thesis Introduction
While the format will be different depending on what type of thesis you are writing you should still cover some basic information, including:
a general description of your topic
background
gap statement
how you intend to fill it
(proposed) structure of your thesis
an ending statement to lead the reader into your thesis
The order you use should be changed to suit your topic, and you may find that there are some things that you need to include that is specific to your discipline or topic. It is recommended that you talk to your supervisor or lecturer to see if there are any particular requirements that they have.
The General Description in the Thesis Introduction
Providing a general description of your topic first “sets the scene” for both your thesis and your introduction. It is essentially an introduction to your introduction that explains the general field your thesis belongs to.
Background in the Thesis Introduction
The background provides the reader with the history of the topic your thesis is on. It may include the historical lead-up to your thesis, the specific scientific information for your thesis, or what the main theories or writers in your topic were (this would be elaborated on in your Literature Review). It is also useful to include definitions, specific assumptions, equations or other information that the reader will need to know in order to understand what you have written. Essentially you are providing all the necessary tools for your thesis to be understood by the reader. You are also leading up to proving that there is a need for your research.
Be careful not to over simplify. Assume your reader is intelligent, somewhat knowledgeable in your field, but does not know everything.
Gap Statement in the Introduction
Your “Gap Statement” is essentially the gap in the area in your field that your research is intended to fill. It states clearly that there is a need for your research, as established in your background and elaborated in your Literature Review. It states that there is a need for what you are researching and sets out the problem, hypothesis or question that your research responds to. Your “Gap” does not need to be Earth shattering, and can state that while your problem has been discussed previously, no one has done it in this way or has used this technique. Your “Gap Statement” may be comprised of several questions that your thesis will answer.
Aims and Objectives of the Thesis Introduction
This section sets out what you will cover in your thesis and how you intend to do it. This could include the methodology you use, framework, experiments. There is a key difference between an aim and an objective. Aims are a broad intent like “investigating how the make-up industry uses metals,” where as an objective quantifies it, for example “investigating 20 samples of products from company X, for metal traces.”
Structure of Your Thesis in the Thesis Introduction
It is useful to explain the structure you have used in your thesis, and a general reference to the content of your chapters, so the reader knows what to expect. This can be a chapter by chapter statement or one that is more broad based on the content of your thesis.
Once you have written your introduction, it is important to proofread it and check it against the actual content of your chapters to avoid unnecessary mistakes which may have come about from the editing process. This is especially important if you have written the introduction first, as you may have changed the content of chapters, moved them about or changed direction.
If you write your introduction first, it can be useful to go back to your introduction to re-clarify in your own mind what you set out to do, to measure if you are still on track.

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