Hints to Scientific Writing: Crafting the 'Introduction'

       This section puts the study in context for the reader.  Why is this important and what other work has been done on the subject?  Provide background information here.  Set-up the problem, what is known, and why the reader should find the subject of interest.  Include numerous literature citations here.  Outline your specific objectives here too.  The flow of the manuscript should be that of an inverted triangle.  That is, the paper should work from the general question to the specific question.  In this example we start with the general importance of information on the sociality of organisms, then we discuss mammals and then deer, finally ending with information on our very specific question on our very specific species.

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