Why do examiners read the introduction twice, once at the start and again before they write their report? Because the thesis introduction makes the promises the rest of the thesis must keep. It names the problem, states the questions and says why the answers matter; the examiner then checks every later chapter against those promises. An introduction that is vague about the question makes the methodology look arbitrary and the discussion unfocused, even when both are competent. This guide explains what the chapter must do, a structure with word counts, how to write its hardest parts, and the mistakes that recur in examiners’ reports.
This article is part of our guide How to Write a Master’s Thesis by the Mastermind PhD team and relates to our Master’s Thesis support service. Sources last checked: November 2026.
What is the introduction chapter? The thesis introduction is the first chapter of the document, usually about 10% of the total length, that moves the reader from a broad context to a specific research problem, states the aim and the research questions or hypotheses, explains why the study matters, defines its scope, and outlines the chapters that follow. It is written in the thesis’s own voice rather than as a summary of the literature.
What must the thesis introduction chapter do?
A complete thesis introduction does eight jobs, usually in this order:
- Establish the context: what wider issue the study belongs to.
- Narrow to the specific topic and show it is current and important.
- State the problem: what is known, what is not, and why the gap matters.
- State the aim and the objectives.
- State the research questions or hypotheses.
- Explain the significance: who benefits from the answers.
- Define the scope and delimitations: what is deliberately left out.
- Outline the chapters.
Some programs add definitions of key terms or a short account of the researcher’s position (common in qualitative theses). Where the handbook prescribes no subsections, the eight above are safe.
How should the chapter be structured?
The most useful model is the Create a Research Space (CARS) model that John Swales derived from research article introductions. It has three moves: establishing a territory (showing the topic matters and summarizing what is known), establishing a niche (showing a gap, a contradiction or an unanswered question) and occupying the niche (announcing what this study does and how the text is organized). A thesis introduction is a longer version of the same three moves.
| Section | CARS move | Share of a 1,500-word introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Background and context | Establishing a territory | 400 words |
| Problem statement and gap | Establishing a niche | 300 words |
| Aim, objectives, research questions or hypotheses | Occupying the niche | 250 words |
| Significance | Occupying the niche | 200 words |
| Scope, delimitations and key terms | Occupying the niche | 200 words |
| Chapter outline | Occupying the niche | 150 words |
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How do you write the background without writing a literature review?
The background of a thesis introduction has one job: to bring a reader who knows nothing about your topic to the point where the problem statement makes sense. Work as a funnel. Start with the broad issue in two or three sentences supported by authoritative sources (an international report, a well-cited review). Narrow to the specific phenomenon and population, with recent evidence that the issue is present and consequential in your context. End with the sentence that hands over to the problem.
Three rules keep it from becoming chapter 2 in miniature: cite only what the reader needs to accept that the problem exists (typically five to ten sources); do not discuss individual studies’ methods or findings in detail; and do not introduce the theoretical framework beyond naming it.
How do you write the problem statement and the gap?
The problem statement is one paragraph that moves from evidence to the unanswered question. Compare two versions.
Weak: “Employee turnover is a major problem for organizations worldwide. Many studies have examined turnover, but more research is needed on this important topic.”
Strong (an invented example; the figures are illustrative): “Early turnover among junior software developers in Dutch scale-ups has been reported at 25 to 30% within the first year, and onboarding quality is the factor most often cited in exit interviews. Research on onboarding and retention has focused on large firms with on-site programs; whether structured remote onboarding is associated with lower turnover intention in small, fast-growing firms has not been tested. This study addresses that gap.”
In the thesis introduction, each of the first three sentences carries a citation. The strong version has a documented problem, a specific limitation of prior research and a sentence that announces the study; the gap is a statement about the literature, not a wish for more research.
How do you align the aim, objectives and research questions?
The aim is one sentence stating what the study will achieve. Objectives break it into two to four steps. Research questions put the objectives in answerable form, and hypotheses, where the design permits, predict the answer with a direction. Examiners check that these lines match one another and match the analysis in chapter 4.
| Objective | Research question | Hypothesis (quantitative designs) |
|---|---|---|
| To measure turnover intention among junior developers in Dutch scale-ups | What is the level of turnover intention among junior developers in Dutch scale-ups? | None (descriptive) |
| To examine the association between structured remote onboarding and turnover intention | Is structured remote onboarding associated with turnover intention? | H1: Higher onboarding structure is associated with lower turnover intention |
| To test whether perceived supervisor support moderates that association | Does perceived supervisor support moderate the association? | H2: The association is weaker when perceived supervisor support is high |
Write the questions so the answer is visible in advance (a level, an association, a difference, a moderation). Avoid “why” questions in quantitative designs that cannot establish causes, and avoid questions that contain their own answer.
How do you present significance, scope and delimitations?
Significance in a thesis introduction names beneficiaries. For theory: which model is tested or extended, and in which new setting. For practice: who could change what (HR managers designing onboarding for distributed teams). For policy or the discipline: which debate the results inform. One paragraph per beneficiary group is enough; a general claim that the topic is important is not.
Scope and delimitations state what the study deliberately excludes and why: the population (junior developers, not all employees), the geography (the Netherlands), the time frame (data collected in spring 2026), the variables (turnover intention rather than actual turnover). Delimitations are choices; limitations are weaknesses and belong in the discussion chapter. Mixing the two is one of the most frequent comments in examiner reports.
How do you write the chapter outline?
The outline closes the thesis introduction: one paragraph, one sentence per chapter, in the present tense: “Chapter 2 reviews research on onboarding, turnover intention and supervisor support and develops the conceptual framework. Chapter 3 describes the cross-sectional survey design, the sample of 212 developers and the analysis strategy. Chapter 4 reports the results for each research question. Chapter 5 discusses the findings against the literature, states the implications and limitations, and concludes.” A list of chapter titles with no content does not show the reader the argument’s route.
When should you write the thesis introduction, and in which tense?
Draft it early, because writing the problem statement and questions forces the decisions that shape the method. Rewrite it last, after the results exist, so that the questions match what was actually answered and the significance matches what was found.
Tense follows meaning: present tense for the thesis itself and for established knowledge (“this thesis examines”; “turnover intention predicts turnover”), past tense for what you did (“data were collected in March 2026”) and for specific studies (“Smith (2021) found”). Once the plan has become a completed study, the future tense of the proposal must go.
Which mistakes do examiners flag most often?
- Background that runs for pages and reads as the literature review.
- A problem statement without evidence, or a gap described only as “limited research”.
- Research questions that differ in wording between the introduction, the methodology and the discussion.
- Hypotheses stated for a design that cannot test them, or stated without direction when the literature supports one.
- Significance claimed in general terms with no named beneficiary.
- Limitations placed in the introduction instead of the discussion.
- A chapter outline that lists titles rather than content.
- Proposal language left in: “will”, “is expected to”, “the researcher hopes to”.
Reading the thesis introduction and the discussion side by side before submission catches most of these: every question asked in chapter 1 should be answered, in the same words, in the final chapter. A language or structure review at that stage checks consistency and clarity; the questions, claims and conclusions remain your own.
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Frequently asked questions
How long should the introduction chapter be?
About 10% of the thesis: 1,500 words in a 15,000-word dissertation, 2,000 to 2,500 in a 20,000- to 25,000-word thesis. Longer introductions usually contain literature review material that belongs in chapter 2.
Should the introduction include hypotheses?
Yes for quantitative designs that test relationships or differences; state them with a direction justified by the literature and repeat them exactly in the methodology and results chapters. Qualitative and descriptive studies state research questions only.
Can I cite sources in the introduction?
You should. The background and problem statement need evidence that the problem exists and that the gap is real, typically five to ten sources. The introduction should not review individual studies in depth; that is the literature review’s job.
Should the introduction state the main findings?
Practice varies. Many UK and European programs prefer the introduction to end with the chapter outline and leave the findings to the results; some US-style programs and most journal articles preview the main result. Follow your handbook and supervisor; the abstract remains the place where the findings are summarized.
What is the difference between the background and the literature review?
The background gives the reader just enough context, with authoritative sources, to understand why the problem matters. The literature review, in chapter 2, analyzes the prior research in detail, organizes it by theme, develops the theoretical framework and establishes the gap with precision.
Sources
- Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge University Press.
- Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills (3rd ed.). University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.2173936
- Murray, R. (2017). How to Write a Thesis (4th ed.). Open University Press.
- Evans, D., Gruba, P., & Zobel, J. (2014). How to Write a Better Thesis (3rd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04286-2
- Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., & FitzGerald, W. T. (2016). The Craft of Research (4th ed.). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226239873.001.0001
- Paltridge, B., & Starfield, S. (2020). Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: A Handbook for Students and Their Supervisors (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Sources last checked: November 2026. This article is general educational guidance and does not replace your university regulations or your supervisor’s instructions. How we prepare our content.