A summary preview means introducing a topic in brief to your intended reader. This is usually what comes before the rest of your research work. As simple as this may be, most students spend hours trying to decide how to write their summary preview. This does not have to be you. In this article, you will be learning how to introduce a topic. So, keep reading.
How to Introduce Your Topic
- Write Your Summary Preview Last
Now, this may seem weird and unusual but it is actually the best approach to writing a summary preview. If you are writing a dissertation, thesis, or any such academic work, first write out your other chapters. These chapters include your literature review chapter, methodology chapter, analysis chapter, and discussion chapter. Writing these chapters first is easier because you have your ideas and data all laid out. A summary preview is more like a recap of all you have written, however, it is you introducing what you intend to write. And how can you know what you want to write if you have not organized your thoughts and data first? So, when you finish writing your other chapters, you can now go ahead with your summary preview.
- Read Your Chapters Carefully
After writing your chapters, the next thing is to read them again carefully. This will help you understand what you have written so you can write a good summary preview. It will also help you identify any grammatical errors or misplaced sentences. Now, while doing the first reading, do not be in a hurry to mark out the points. Doing so may cause you to miss out on what you should understand.
After doing the first reading, then you can do a second one to mark out the points.
To know which points to mark out, go for strong statements. For example, “I believe that”, “I argue that”, among others. You can also use key quotes that the work draws attention to.
- Draft a Rough Copy
After reading through the paper, the next thing you should do is draft a rough copy. No, do not worry about constricting perfect sentences or paragraphs. Take your time. Start with jotting out the main points and key focus of the literature, methodology, discussion, and analysis chapters.
- Reference Literature
In writing a summary preview, there is some literature that you will need to add to boost your work. Usually, academic writing demands that you reference literature. This shows that your work is not mere opinion and a summary preview is no exception. Make sure you cite sufficient literature as is available. Of course, this depends on your word count. However, for a summary preview of 500 – 1000 words, citing between 10 – 15 literature should suffice.
- Rewrite and Quote Directly
After drafting a rough copy, it is time to start writing your summary preview properly. Now that you have written out the succeeding chapters, it becomes easier for you to go ahead with the summary preview. However, you may still be stuck with how to open the first paragraph. You can start the first paragraphs with a background story of the focus of your topic. For example, if you are writing about insecurity in a community, you can refer to a news story on a recent real-life encounter.
Remember to cite the source of your news story or else your reader will view it as a fictitious tale. You can then continue by showing how the problem of insecurity caused you to develop your chosen topic. Next, introduce the topic to the reader. Furthermore, you can break down the intent of your topic into aims and/or research questions. The aims and/or research questions are important components that should feature in your preview. Also, make sure to give the correct definition of terms. Do not assume your reader knows it neither should you hope that they will consult a dictionary to find out. Now, when defining terms, it is advisable to use published literature over dictionaries. Using published literature improves your credibility as a researcher. Also, make sure that you use appropriate terminologies in a consistent manner. Finally, use transition words to show a flow of ideas.
How to Come Up with a Thesis Topic
Usually, students have many great ideas for their research work. However, coming up with the right topic can be hard. This is because a thesis topic has to be creative and most importantly, original. To come up with a thesis topic, simply write down as many topics that come to your mind. It does not matter whether they make sense or not, just write. Next, research to make sure that no other researcher has used the topic before. Academicians frown on plagiarism and may mark you down if they discovered your topic has already been used.
Also, make sure whatever topic you pick contains the keywords of your thesis. Finally, make your thesis topic short and concise.
Bottomline
Introducing a topic just got easier. Simply remember to follow the steps to introduce the topic and you are ready to write.