Scientific Writing

Writing a Introduction Section

BACKGROUND INFO
Writing an engaging Introduction section can be difficult. In order to communicate your results
and conclusions effectively you must first be able to introduce readers to the topic of your
experiment. With a little practice, however, you can improve this skill! An Introduction section is
usually one to two paragraphs long that begins with general information about your topic before
narrowing down to a more detailed focus point. You can think of it as a funnel that captures a
reader’s attention and guides them into your write -up or experiment:

Introduction: Your opening sentences should

be very broad so you can engage a wide
variety of readers! This is usually accomplished
with a few facts, everyone loves facts! A good
idea is to use numbers or percentages etc.

Middle: This is where you add a little more

detail to give more context about your
experiment. You can start to narrow down on
your topic here, being specific about your
topic!

End: This is where you nail down what you are

investigating in your experiment!

INTENDED LEARNING
In this literacy task, you will learn the correct structure of an Introduction and identify key
elements within it that contribute to high quality writing.
TASK
You will:
 Read three Introductions and highlight/annotate sections that you think are high quality (be
ready to explain why)
 Give each section a grade (A-E)
 Provide reasons for the grade and include a pro/cons list
 Learn about what key elements make a good introduction

PROCESS
Read each of the three examples below and annotate/highlight sections that you think are good
and bad. Be ready to explain why you think this. Use the dot points below to support your
grading:
 Is the information relevant and detailed yet concise?
 Is the text written-like or spoken-like?
 Are appropriate terms and definitions used?
 Does the Introduction make sense, flow well and follow a logical order? 

Finally, provide a pros/cons list of what you thought the example did well or not so well.
Example 1:
Igneous rocks are one type of rock. There is lots of types of igneous rocks. Sometimes they are
made from volcanoes and sometimes they form underground. They are made from magma or lava.
Magma and lava are the same thing but magma is inside the Earth’s surface and lava is from
volcanoes. Examples of igneous are basalt, granite, gabbro, pegmatite, obsidian and andesite. The
crystals in igneous rocks is related to how it cooled. If it cooled slowly its crystals are bigger than if it
cooled fast because if it cools fast id makes crystals that are smaller.

Example 2:
There are three main types of rocks: there are igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic
rocks. Metamorphic rocks form when existing rock changes from one form to another through heat
or pressure. Sedimentary rocks form from igneous and metamorphic rocks that are broken down
into small particles called sediment. The sediments layer over a long period of time and harden over
that time. Rocks that cool quickly make small crystals. Rocks that cool slowly form large crystals.

Example 3:
Igneous are one of the three main types of rocks. There are over 700 different types of igneous rock
that are known to scientists. They form between 90-95% of the top 16km of the Earth’s crust.
Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools down and crystallises. They can form when lava is
ejected from a volcano, forming an extrusive igneous rock. If the magma cools within the Earth’s
crust it is called an intrusive igneous rock. Since igneous rocks are very hard, there are many
commonly found igneous that are useful to society. For example, basalt is an extrusive igneous rock
used widely in construction. Another example is Diorite which is a hard igneous rock used in
construction of roads. Igneous rocks are made of interlocking crystals. The size of the crystals is
related to how rapidly or slowly the magma or lava cooled. If it slowed quickly, the crystals do not
have enough time gather and grow therefore they are small. If it cooled slowly the crystals have
more time to gather and grow larger. This experiment is based on this theory that the cooling rate
of a rock affects its size.

Example 4:
Igneous rock, any of various crystalline or glassy rocks formed by the cooling and solidification of
molten earth material. Igneous rocks constitute one of the three principal classes of rocks, the
others being metamorphic and sedimentary. there are mainly two types of igneous rock. Intrusive/
plutonic Rocks. These are formed when the hot molten rock (magma) cools down slowly beneath
the earth's crust and solidifies into rocks. Intrusive rocks are naturally very hard and are usually
coarse-grained. Examples are gabbro and granite rocks.
Andesite. Andesites are simply fine-grained extrusive indigenous rocks that are light gray in color.
They consist mainly of plagioclase minerals that are mixed together with hornblende, biotite and
pyroxene.

Basalt. Basalts are fine-grained volcanic rocks. They are dense and appear in dark-gray color. They
mainly consist of plagioclase and pyroxene. Basalts are the most common form of solidified lava
and are utilized in building and construction processes.

As magma cools, it begins to crystallise and form solid rock. Igneous rocks are made up of several different mineral crystals that grow
within the melt as it cools.

The video below is a clip of crystals forming in solution. Crystals in magma grow in a similar way as the melt cools. (Video Credit: