18 Science Research Writing What tense should I write in here? Phrases like much study in recent years or in the past fi ve years are normally followed by the Present Perfect tense (Much study in recent years has focused on...). Other ways of establishing signifi cance may use the Present Simple tense (Th ere are substantial benefi ts to be gained from...). In Sentence 2 'PLA is a polymer obtained from corn and is produced by the polymerisation of lactide.' the writer provides general background information for the reader. Sentence 2 is in the Present Simple tense, which is used for accepted/ established facts (see Section 1.1). Research articles oft en begin with accepted or established facts. Th is ensures that the reader shares the same level of background information as the writer, and is therefore ready to read the article. So what kind of facts should I start with? Th is depends on how wide your subject — and therefore your readership — is. If the subject of your research is very specifi c, then many of your readers will have a high level of background knowledge, and you can start with fairly specifi c information. If your paper is likely to attract a wider audience, then you should start with more general background information. Remember that your background facts may come from research (see Section 1.1), so don't forget to include the research references where necessary. What if there are several background facts I want to start with, not just one? How do I know which one to begin with? Start with the most general one, the one that many of your readers will already know. Th is is a 'meeting place' fact, a place where all your readers can start together, aft er which you can move on to more specifi c information. Always show your readers the general picture before you examine the details: show them the wall before you examine the bricks! Also, don't forget to close the gap between these sentences (see Section 1.2.2) so that your readers can move smoothly through the information.
Introduction — Writing Task 19 Remember that the background facts to your research are very familiar to you and the people you work with, but they won't be as familiar to all of your readers. Th erefore, if the article is to reach a wider audience you need to state background facts which seem obvious or well-known to you. I'm still not sure where to begin. If you are still stuck for a fi rst sentence, look at your title. It is helpful to your readers if you defi ne the key words in your title — perhaps you can begin with a defi nition or a fact about one of those key words. Can't I start by describing the problem I am hoping to solve? You can, but most authors don't, because it's sometimes diffi cult to say exactly what the problem is until your readers have enough background information to understand it. It's also very hard to limit yourself to one sentence about the problem you are hoping to solve, and before you know it, you've written down a lot of specifi c information which your readers aren't ready for because you haven't given them enough background. In Sentence 3 'PLA has many possible uses in the biomedical fi eld1 and has also been investigated as a potential engineering material 2,3' the writer does the same as in Sentences 1 and 2, but in a more specifi c/detailed way, using research references to support both the background facts and the claim for signifi cance. Don't the research references mean that this is part of the literature review? No, it's still part of the background to general research in this area. Th e short literature review which is generally found in the Introduction of a research article comes later, and is more likely to deal with individual studies and their methods or results. In a thesis the literature review is much longer and may be a separate chapter. So why does the author include references if it's only the background? For three reasons: First, because plagiarism (failing to give others the appropriate credit for their work) is unprofessional; second, referencing gives your reader the chance to fi nd and read the study mentioned.