Your introduction should be designed to interest your reader in your topic and proposal and provide some historical/cultural context for your project on  What is the purpose of college: finding a job or knowledge?

At the end of your introduction, include a tentative thesis to indicate to your reader that you are entering your project looking at your topic through a critical, analytic lens — your thesis should clearly state your intentions using a metadiscursive structure (i.e., “In this project, I will…” or “This research project will investigate …”).

A good formula for an introduction is context + problem/complication + proposed argument or research question. Each stage in this formula should be a few sentences long. Literature review Your literature review should summarize at least five scholarly articles relevant to your topic.

Discuss why the topic being reviewed is important and what other researchers have learned about the topic. Be sure to discuss why your proposed research will add to the body of knowledge about this topic.

Methodology In this section, you should discuss the methods you will use to conduct your research. Be specific and thorough. You should troubleshoot the research project, or weigh the benefits and drawbacks of certain types of sources (i.e., availability, bias, etc.). Make sure your reader understands how the methodology/sources you have chosen are appropriate to your specific topic.