Introduction (writing)

In an essay, article, or book, an introduction (also known as a prolegomenon) is a beginning section which states the purpose and goals of the following writing.

[1] In a book of technical writing, the introduction may include one or more standard subsections: abstract or summary, preface, acknowledgments, and foreword.

For example, the American Journal of Physics (AJP) specifically advises authors that an introduction “need not summarize”.

Instead, the introduction can provide “background and context”, and/or indicate “purpose and importance”, and/or describe the raison d'être for an article (i.e. motivation) in a way that is “informative and inviting”.

Consider the journal Biochemistry, whose editors write the following (emphasis added):[3] The Introduction should state the motivation for the investigation and its relationship to other work in the field.