Anglès:

Research article introduction

Opening sentences:

Can you start a research article by saying "this article is about…"? The answer is "yes, you can, but don't expect anyone to keep on reading after that".

The opening sentence of your article is very important; it focuses attention and launches your reader into the topic of the article. A good or a bad opening sentence makes a lot of a difference. Look at these three examples from an imaginary article titled "Women Through History":

Down through history, from Joan of Arc to Marie Curie, we find extraordinary women. These characters have…

There can be no doubt that women play a role in history. From the onset of…

Are there any women worth remembering out there? To answer this question we must look….

Which one encourages you to keep on reading?

Why?

Experienced writers make use of several kinds of stylistic means to begin an article:

quotations

questions

an opinion opposite to the one you plan to take

a short narrative or anecdote

an interesting fact

an explanation of a term relevant to your research

paradox or irony

an analogy

source: Online Writing Lab, Purdue University

Are you sure about all of these different ways to start an article? If not, click on this button:

Exercise: Imagine you must hand in a research article on the way TV advertisements influence teenage habits. Write a few likely opening sentences that you may use in your writing. Then click the button and compare you answer with some possible opening sentences.
1	A quotation.


2	A question.


3	An opinion opposite to the one you plan to take .


4	A short narrative or anecdote.


5	An interesting fact.


6	An analogy.

Used in isolation this technique is very limited and can result in confusing sentences. Remember that words can have multiple meanings and positive or negative connotations. It is essential to always check your synonyms in a good English dictionary and consider the context of the ideas you are paraphrasing. Changing the words is not enough by itself. You also need to change the structure of the text.