The quality of the introduction is of great importance for any piece of academic writing just as for any piece of writing in general. In his book Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Creswell offers a variety of practical information on how to achieve great results in the art of composing effective introductions. In the following paper, one of the examples of introductions will be evaluated on the basis of the principles that Creswell sets forth in his book. Overall, the introduction of the article under consideration can be evaluated as well-crafted, well-grounded, and fully meeting its purpose.
To see the way the knowledge from Creswell’s book regarding composing effective introductions can be applied in practice, the introduction of the article “Immigrant Teachers: Stories of Self and Place” by Elbaz‐Luwisch will be evaluated. The issues that are raised in the article are approached in detail and explained in a skilled way that establishes a significant need for the study of the question under consideration. Besides, to establish the problem, the literature regarding the issue under consideration is actively addressed and well-incorporated into the text of the introduction. In addition, the writer identifies the gap that exists in the literature regarding the studying question. She shows that many theorists, belonging to different schools of interpretation of the issue under consideration, fail to cover such important moments as the way the concept of ‘place’ affects teachers’ professionalism. Also, the theorists of education fail to have a more delicate approach when it comes to cultural and individual matters; for this reason, their findings do not seem sufficient, and do not offer a deep understanding regarding the matters that affect teachers’ proficiency in regard to the place they work at (Elbaz‐Luwisch, 2004). For this reason, the author comes to a conclusion that in her research she will put more effort into studying the concept of ‘place’ connected with teacher proficiency from the angle of individual occurrences that took place in teachers’ lives. With regards to the audience that is targeted in the introduction of the article, it should be stated that it is the audience that consists of educators and the agents of governmental educational establishments that are responsible for improving teachers’ accomplishments at their working places. The audience is effectively addressed which is seen in the design of the introduction, the crafting strategies, and the word use peculiar for addressing this type of readers.
Next, speaking about the purpose statement of the article under consideration, it should be, first of all, said that the study in this article is of a mixed design which is seen in the fact that the author both examines the course of literature with the individual examples of teachers, and also addresses a number of surveys and quantitative investigations in the field of educational quality that were held in previous years. The purpose statement of the article is the necessity to identify the way the concept of ‘place’ and teacher proficiency are related, and how understanding the connection between them may help governmental specialists improve the quality of teaching in their countries. Evaluating the way this purpose statement is presented, it should be said that it is in full accord with Creswell’s principles because it is placed early at the beginning of the introduction, features the words that are to be used in mixed type purpose statements, and discusses a rationale for combining both types of studying methods (Creswell, 2009).
In conclusion, Elbaz‐Luwisch’s article introduction can be evaluated as well-crafted due to the fact that it both meets the purposes described by Creswell and features a remarkable measure of coherence and cohesiveness that makes it easy to read and comprehend.
References
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Elbaz‐Luwisch, F. (2004). Immigrant teachers: stories of self and place. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 17 (3), 387-414.