How do you structure your introduction and literature review to engage your readers and set the context?

2 Provide some background

After the hook, you need to provide some background information on your research topic, such as the main concepts, definitions, and terms. You should also explain why your topic is important, interesting, or relevant to your field and to society. For example, continuing with the coral reef example, you could write: "Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that provide many benefits, such as food, tourism, coastal protection, and biodiversity. However, they are also threatened by various factors, such as rising temperatures, ocean acidification, pollution, and overfishing."

3 Identify the gap

The next step is to identify the gap or problem that your research aims to address. You should review the existing literature and show what is known and what is not known about your topic. You should also highlight the limitations, weaknesses, or controversies in the previous studies. For example, you could write: "Despite the extensive research on coral reef ecology and conservation, there is still a lack of understanding of how different species of corals respond to different stressors and how they adapt to changing conditions."

4 State your research question and objectives

The final step of your introduction is to state your research question and objectives clearly and concisely. You should also explain how your research contributes to filling the gap or solving the problem that you identified. You should also mention the scope, methods, and expected outcomes of your research. For example, you could write: "The aim of this study is to investigate how different types of corals cope with thermal stress and bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef. We will use a combination of field surveys, laboratory experiments, and molecular techniques to compare the physiological, morphological, and genetic characteristics of corals under different scenarios. We expect to find that corals have different strategies and capacities to survive and recover from bleaching events, which could have implications for coral reef management and restoration."

5 Organize your literature review

After your introduction, you should present a comprehensive and critical review of the relevant literature on your topic. You should not just summarize the sources, but also analyze, compare, synthesize, and evaluate them. You should also show how they relate to your research question and objectives. You should organize your literature review according to themes, trends, or categories, rather than chronologically or by source. For example, you could group the sources according to the different stressors that affect coral reefs, such as temperature, acidity, pollution, and overfishing.

6 Use transitions and signposts

One of the key elements of a good literature review is the use of transitions and signposts to guide your readers and show the connections between the sources and your arguments. Transitions are words or phrases that link sentences or paragraphs and show the logical relationships between them, such as contrast, comparison, cause and effect, or addition. Signposts are words or phrases that indicate the structure, direction, or purpose of your literature review, such as introduction, summary, evaluation, or conclusion. For example, you could use transitions like "however", "similarly", "therefore", or "in addition" to show contrast, comparison, cause and effect, or addition between sources. You could use signposts like "this section will", "the main findings are", "a major limitation is", or "in conclusion" to introduce, summarize, evaluate, or conclude your literature review.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?