How To Write An Introduction

Here’s some seasoned advice to young scholars on how to write an introduction.

1. Write the book first. You don’t know what the book is about until you finish it, and you can’t introduce what you don’t know. This may seem backwards, but it is inevitable, because a thing is what it is at the end. If you need justification, you can call it an eschatological ontology.

2. Your book won’t be comprehensive, complete, or entirely convincing even to you. Get used to disappointment.

3. Use the introduction to preempt critical reviews by highlighting gaps and weaknesses in the book. Your introduction should make you appear honest and humble. It’s best if you are honest and humble, but that’s not essential.

4. Write the introduction to explain how the gaps and flaws in the book were all part of a consciously chosen, rigorous and deliberate method. Make it look like you did it on purpose.

5. Don’t forget acknowledgements, which provide an opportunity to share blame.