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

• establish the context, background and/or importance of the topic
  
• indicate a problem, controversy or a gap in the field of study
• define the topic or key terms
• state of the purpose of the essay/writing
  
• provide an overview of the coverage and/or structure of the writing

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:

this section is written by present simple tense usually and example is as follows;

• It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the .....

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

this section is written by present perfect tense usually and example is as follows;

• In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in ......

Highlighting a problem or controversy in the field of study:

this section is written by present perfect usually and example is as follows;

Highlighting a knowledge gap in the field of study:

this section is written by present perfect tense usually and example is as follows;
In addition, no research has been found that surveyed .......

Focus and aim:

this section is written by present simple tense and future tense usually and example is as follows;

• This paper will focus on/examine/give an account of ......

• This paper seeks to address the following questions:

Outline of structure:

this section is written by present simple tense and future tense and present perfect tense tenseusually and example is as follows;

• The essay has been organised in the following way.
• This paper first gives a brief overview of the recent history of X.