Introduction 1 Purpose of the introduction The purpose

Introduction 1

Purpose of the introduction The purpose of the introduction is to set the context for your report, provide sufficient background information for the reader to be able to follow the information presented, and inform the reader about how that information will be presented. 2

Chapter The introduction is usually the first chapter of your report 3

Length of the introduction It can be half to three-quarters of a page in length or even go up to 3 pages (depending on the length of the report) 4

Difference: Abstract and an Introduction Abstract: The essence of the whole paper Covers the following academic elements: Purpose Methods Results (also called ‘findings’) Conclusions Recommendations (or ‘implications’, not always relevant) Summarises briefly the whole paper including the conclusions. Introduction: Introduces the whole paper Covers the following academic elements: The background to the topic of your report to set your work in its broad context Problem Framework / model for research A brief outline of the structure of the report if appropriate (this would not be necessary in a short report). Aim and objectives Introduces the paper and foregrounds issues for discussion. 5

OPERATING STATISTICS OF THE ROLLS ROYCE AVON GAS GENERATOR Example of an introduction: (Background) Over the past few years, computer applications in the business world have become more and more extensive and complex. Inventory, order entry and production control systems, payroll and banking systems, tools for sales and marketing have been influenced by the increasing use of the computer. (Setting your work in its broad context) For any computer system, however, there is a need to store data. Program logic (source data), documentation and reports (text data), and the actual numbers and figures the system processes all need to be stored in computer memory files for use each time the system is run. With the trend toward smaller computer systems and the ever increasing amount of data to be processed, there is a developing awareness of the need for "data compression". Data compression is the process of reducing the storage size of the data. Many different techniques have been developed for compression of the various types of data described above. Most of these techniques apply to source and text data compression. (Problem)The need also exists, however, for the compression of numeric data. 6

(A brief outline of the structure of the report) In this report, three different compression techniques for numeric data will be tested and compared in the following areas: 1) Compression, where the measure of compression used will be a percentage based on the size of the compressed data as compared to the original size of the uncompressed data. Therefore, a compression of 20% is much better than a compression of 80%. 2) Compress/Write Time, which is the time it takes to compress the data and write it into storage. 3) Read/Expand Time, which is the time it takes to read the data from storage and expand it again. 4) Security, which is the rating of the difficulty of unauthorized reading of the compressed data 7

Activity: Read the following two introductions (A and B) and identify their strengths and weakness. (A) Introduction The purpose of this project is to introduce our group's two conceptual designs. We have included the following sketches for each car: 3 dimensional view, elevation, plan, front, rear and interior view. Also, we have included a discussion of how the designs meet the criteria given in the project outline. The cars could be suitable for short trips in busy areas. 8

(B) Chapter 1: Introduction With the rise in global warming and increasing pollution levels, it is becoming essential to find a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine petrol powered car. The aim of this project was to create two designs for a fuel cell powered car, the main criteria being environmental friendliness in terms of both emissions and materials. This report presents the designs for two such cars, each of which includes the following components: engine, fuel, wheels, accessories, safety features and materials. Car A is aimed at the upper end of the market, while Car B is a mid-range vehicle suitable for family use. A description of the design and an analysis of operational efficiency for each car are followed by a comparison of the two designs. Finally, the most cost efficient design is recommended. 9

Comments: Introduction A is weak. It confuses the project with the report (the project is the work you did, while the report is the document which presents the work). There is no background information to set the topic in context, and the topic itself is not clearly stated. The design criteria and key features of the designs are not mentioned, and no structure outline is given. Also, the chapter is not given in the heading 10

Grammatical conventions: Introduction 11

Activity: Correct the tenses Introduction from a report entitled "A Review of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Actions and Opportunities: the Current Status of the Kyoto Protocol". The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that has been keeping the earth's surface warm. Greenhouse gases trap heat from solar radiation, analogous to the way glass panes trap heat in a greenhouse. Due to increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, the greenhouse effect has been significantly augmented, caused a rise in the earth's surface temperature. This temperature rise has led to climate change, causing frequent natural disasters. This has generated increasing awareness of the importance of reduced greenhouse gas emissions through international and domestic initiatives. The aims of this project are to examine the Kyoto Protocol and the effect it had on participating countries. Another aim is investigating the actions already taken by three industrialized countries, namely Australia, the United States, and Canada 12

ANSWER: Introduction from a report entitled "A Review of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Actions and Opportunities: the Current Status of the Kyoto Protocol". The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that keeps (Fact) the earth's surface warm. Greenhouse gases trap heat from solar radiation, analogous to the way glass panes trap heat in a greenhouse. Due to increasing (continuous tense) greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, the greenhouse effect has been significantly augmented, causing a rise in the earth's surface temperature. This temperature rise has led to climate change, causing frequent natural disasters. This has generated increasing awareness of the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through international and domestic initiatives. The aims of this project are to examine the Kyoto Protocol and the effect it would have (future tense)on participating countries. Another aim is to investigate actions already taken by three industrialized countries, namely Australia, the United States, and Canada 13

Activity: Identify the Subject verb disagreements Introduction from a report entitled: Preliminary Design of a Bridge A dual carriageway bridge with two traffic lanes in each direction are to be constructed on the Calder Freeway crossing Slaty Creek in the Shire of Macedon Ranges in Victoria. The bridge is to span 125 metres between man -made compacted fill embankments, and is approximately 15 metres above the river surface, with a grade of 0. 056 m/m. This report present two possible concept designs for this bridge. In evaluating these designs, the following criteria is considered: the cost of the bridge, the method of construction, the durability of the bridge and maintenance considerations, the possible disruption to traffic during construction and the aesthetics of the bridge. The two conceptual designs are presented in the form of sketches of the elevations and cross-sections 14

ANSWER: Introduction from a report entitled: Preliminary Design of a Bridge A dual carriageway bridge with two traffic lanes in each direction is (singular) to be constructed on the Calder Freeway crossing Slaty Creek in the Shire of Macedon Ranges in Victoria. The bridge is to span 125 metres between man-made compacted fill embankments, and is approximately 15 metres above the river surface, with a grade of 0. 056 m/m. This report presents two possible concept designs for this bridge. In evaluating these designs, the following criteria are (criteria considered as plural in form) considered: the cost of the bridge, the method of construction, the durability of the bridge and maintenance considerations, the possible disruption to traffic during construction and the aesthetics of the bridge. The two conceptual designs are presented in the form of sketches of the elevations and cross-sections 15

ELEMENTS IN THE INTRODUCTION: CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS • The background to the topic of your report to set your work in its broad context 2. Why is it interesting and important? • Problem 4. Which are theories involved? • Framework / model for research 5. Why is it hard? (E. g. , why do naive approaches fail? ) • A brief outline of the structure of the report if appropriate (this would not be necessary in a short report) 6. Why hasn't it been solved before? (Or, what's wrong with previous proposed solutions? How does your concept differ? Why are you raising this question? ) • Aim and objectives 1. What is the problem? 3. What was the norm? What was common knowledge? 7. What are the key components of my approach and results? Also include any specific limitations. 16

ACTIVITY: WRITE YOUR INTRODUCTION 17

Is it safe to design a building structure with simple joints, when they are known to exhibit a semi-rigid behaviour? Background information: In building design, joints are classified as pinned, semi-rigid or rigid depending on their stiffness relative to the framing in which they are used. Engineers consider some joints as pinned in their structural analysis, even though it is common knowledge that all joints exhibit some rotational constraint. For example beam-to-column joints made with a thin and nonextended end plate are actually semi-rigid but are modelled as frictionless pinned connections. 18

Set your work in its broad context: Until recently there has been no reliable evidence that the idealisation of such joints is a safe building design practice. Even in the absence of definite proof the above assumption continues to be used. Only recently have extensive studies been performed and design rules established for the modelling of structural joints; these are published in the European regulatory document Annex J of Eurocode 3 [1]. 19

Problem / Issue This raises the question of safety for existing buildings whose designs are based on the assumption of pinned joints. Another important question is whether building practitioners can continue to safely use the pinned joint assumption or adopt a more accurate(and complex) modelling technique. These questions are important for the building industry and will strongly influence the complexity, time and cost of structural analysis and design of buildings. 20

Framework / model for research This research compares the computer numerical simulations based on Euro code 3 for the behaviour of an existing building with experimental test results. Therefore, a ‘‘Eurocode 3 model-test’’ comparison is used to evaluate the level of accuracy of the Eurocode modelling guidelines. 21

Aims and objectives The objectives of the research are to determine whether: • building designs based on idealised joints exhibit similar strength characteristics to a building containing real joints; • existing buildings have been designed using safe modelling practices; • the current modelling techniques must be changed for future building designs (Note: word count for this particular introduction: 295 ) 22

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