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Unit 4. Introduction （4hs）Topical Highlights General Functions of Introduction:introducing the subject, limiting the research scope, stating the general purpose, showing the writing arrangement Structural Features of Introduction and Some Idiomatic Expressions: starting with the research background, transiting to the existing problem, focusing on the present research Special Attention: sentence structure indicative sentences, imperative sentences, complex sentences, “It + be + adj./participle + that clause…” Theme Presentation 1. General Functions of Introduction Every professional paper should have at least one or two introductory paragraphs with or without a particular subtitle. The length or the degree of formality of a paper may decide whether the introduction should be a separate-labeled section. Regarding the function of an introduction, a well-known professional writer once said that it “may be thought of as a preliminary conference in which the writer and prospective reader ‘go into a huddle’ 1 and agree in advance on the exact limits of the subject, the terms in which to discuss it, the angle from which to approach it, and the plan of treatment that will be most convenient to both.” (J. Raleigh Nelson, Writing the Technical Report, 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1952, p. 36) This gives us a vivid illustration of the function an introduction performs. Generally speaking, the successful introduction of a paper should have the following four functions to facilitate the communication process. 1.1 Introducing the Subject When retrieving information, a reader always first skims the title, the abstract and the introduction of a paper to determine whether or not the document is worth reading. The author is here to supply sufficient background information to relieve the readers who are not well-informed in this field of troubles in understanding and evaluating the results of the given study without referring to previous publications on the topic. Since the topic in