• What is the introduction of a project?
• How is the introduction of a project done?
• Common mistakes to avoid in an introduction
• Examples of project introduction
• Scope and limitations of a project

We explain what the introduction of a project is and how to do it. Common mistakes to avoid and some examples.

In the introduction of a project, the topic to be covered is anticipated.

What is the introduction of a project?

The term introduction comes from the verb Introduce, which means that, within a set, the section that bears that name will be in charge of introducing or introducing the reader to the subject and objective of draft. This section can exist with the names of preface, preliminary or prologue, although they are not exactly synonyms.

In all cases its function is to offer the reader all that information, concepts, data contextual, clarifying or general framework of the issue that may be necessary to enter the subject matter on the right foot. In other words, we are talking about the reader's first contact with the written work, so it will be their starting point in the matter.

Any introduction must conform to the spirit of the research that precedes and of which it is part, that is, it must be at the same time the initial moment of the text (be it book, rehearsal, monograph, etc.) and a separate chapter. In it, the rest of the work is discussed, relevant information is advanced, possible weaknesses are noted, or the problems are simply explained. motivations behind the project.

Therefore, there is no single or universal set of points or themes that correspond to all introductions, and no single way of approaching them. They can be written from the author's perspective, even in the first person singular (I) or plural (we), or adhere to a more detached and formal tone, in the impersonal third person (“it was done”, “it was tried”) .

How is the introduction of a project done?

Ideally when writing an introduction is to ask yourself questions about the project, and then try to answer them in the most didactic way possible. For example:

• In which context does the project appear? In which tradition do you sign up?
• What motivates you? Where did the idea come from?
• What previous experiences were there, if any?
• What objectives does the project propose and why are they important?
• How important is the project theme in today's world?

Once the appropriate questions have been formulated, the next step will be to organize them from the most general to the most specific, or according to a criterion that is attractive to us and that allows us to compose a useful text for the reader.

The challenge will be to make a fluid text, that does not advance to the stumbling blocks, nor is it schematic. It is not a bad idea to help yourself with subtitles that divide you into the main topics to be discussed: "background", "objectives", "importance of the research", and so on.

One last thing to consider is that the introduction of a project is always the last thing to be written, since it is necessary to have an overview of the project, from the beginning to the end.

Common mistakes to avoid in an introduction

Some of the most common mistakes made when making an introduction are:

• Start with school phrases. Starting with “This work is intended to…”, or some other similar formulas, will give your writing the appearance of an elementary school work. A good introduction will certainly touch on the subject of the project's mission, but it will do so by having something more to say about it. Plus, it's a tremendously boring start.
• Wandering too much. It's okay to offer some contextual information, show the broader perspectives, and shed data from the past. But not for pages and pages, risking boring or distracting the reader, who will no longer know if he is reading your project, or Wikipedia. Get to the point.
• Have nothing to say. The opposite of the above: it is not normal for an introduction to occupy only half a page, as that suggests that you have nothing to say. The same happens if your three pages repeat the same thing over and over again, using different words. Find something to say: maybe you should change your perspective, or give yourself some time to think, or maybe you should go over a bit of the context of which your project is part.

Examples of project introduction

Below we will offer some introduction possibilities, which could be developed and adapted to the nature of various projects:

• Starting from the etymology of a keyword in the title of the project, to offer the reader a history of the topic that covers the main antecedents of the project, and ends by explaining its motivation.
• Explain the main challenge of the area of interest of the project, detailing previous attempts to address it and the failures they presented. Then explain how this inspired the authors of the project to propose a new path.
• Remember an anecdote of a personality recognized worldwide or at least in the specific area of ​​the project's theme, and then use part of that anecdote as a justification of the project's objectives, trying to pay tribute to the person remembered.
• List the previous unsuccessful experiences, detailing what went wrong and why, and then tell a funny or interesting anecdote thanks to which the researchers turned on the light, and can now try again free of errors.
• Starting from a complex but central technical concept in the subject of the project, to offer the reader a new way of understanding it, which will serve as the spirit for the rest of the research. The unexpected results of the project are then explained in detail.

Scope and limitations of a project

It is usual to talk about the scope and limitations of a project, either within the introduction or as a separate section. In any case, when talking about the scope of the project, we will only explain how far we want to go with it, that is, how far we will go in a subject that we know is more vast and complicated than what we plan to tackle.

For example, if the project is about removing fossil fuels, a titanic task as we well know, it is logical to explain that we will content ourselves with exploring one of the many possible ways to do it.

By explaining the scope we can also explain the limitations of the project: budgetary, from weather, complexity, etc. We are not all-powerful, nor does anyone expect us to be, so it is worth explaining what exactly we intend to do and within what limits.