background info in essay example

Background Information

Definition of background information, types of background information, examples of background information in literature, example #1:  politics and english language (by george orwell).

“ Now , it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language.”

Example #2: I Twitter, Therefore I am (by Peggy Orenstein)

“I came late to Twitter. I might have skipped the phenomenon altogether, but I have a book coming out this winter , and publishers, scrambling to promote 360,000- character tomes in a 140-character world, push authors to rally their “tweeps” to the cause. Leaving aside the question of whether that actually boosts sales, I felt pressure to produce. I quickly mastered the Twitterati’s unnatural self-consciousness: processing my experience instantaneously, packaging life as I lived it.”

Example #3: Is Google Making Us Stupid (by Nicholas Carr)

“For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind. The advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many, and they’ve been widely described and duly applauded.”

Function of Background Information

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, background information essay examples: what to include.

I'm working on a background information essay for my college application, but I'm struggling with what kind of information I should be including. Does anyone have any suggestions or examples of what would make a compelling essay? Thanks!

Hi there! Writing about your background in a college essay can be a great opportunity to showcase your unique experiences and perspectives. The key is to make sure your essay is both engaging and meaningful. Here are some suggestions on what to include in your background information essay:

1. Significant life events or challenges: Discuss events that shaped your values, outlook on life, or personal development. This could be a childhood memory, a family tradition, or a personal challenge you've overcome.

2. Your passions and interests: Show your genuine interests and how they have influenced you. Explain why these activities matter to you and how you plan to continue pursuing them in college.

3. Cultural identity: Share your cultural background and the impact it has had on your experiences, beliefs, and decisions.

4. A unique quality, talent, or perspective: Highlight any special skills or unique perspectives that set you apart from other students.

When writing your essay, remember to keep the focus on how these elements have shaped you as a person and why they're significant to your college application. Your storytelling and reflections should provide valuable insights to help the admissions committee understand who you are beyond your academic achievements. Good luck!

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Understanding the Background in an Essay: Context and Significance

Table of contents, defining the background, the importance of context, establishing relevance, creating engagement, conclusion: framing the narrative.

• Smith, John. "The Art of Effective Background Writing." Journal of Academic Writing, vol. 25, no. 2, 2018, pp. 87-104.
• Jones, Emily. "Context Matters: The Role of Background Information in Comprehension." Reading Research Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3, 2006, pp. 386-401.
• Johnson, Robert. "Crafting Engaging Backgrounds: Techniques for Captivating Readers." Writing Techniques Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 4, 2020, pp. 55-67.
• Thompson, Laura. "The Significance of Context in Essay Writing." Academic Insights, vol. 12, no. 1, 2019, pp. 23-38.
• Williams, David. "The Power of Relevance: Creating Lasting Impressions Through Effective Backgrounds." Rhetoric and Composition Journal, vol. 30, no. 2, 2015, pp. 120-135.

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• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples

How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on February 4, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay . It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect.

The main goals of an introduction are to:

• Catch your reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Present your thesis statement —the central point of your essay.

This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

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Table of contents

Step 1: hook your reader, step 2: give background information, step 3: present your thesis statement, step 4: map your essay’s structure, step 5: check and revise, more examples of essay introductions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.

Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.

Avoid long, dense sentences—start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

The hook should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of the topic you’re writing about and why it’s interesting. Avoid overly broad claims or plain statements of fact.

Examples: Writing a good hook

Take a look at these examples of weak hooks and learn how to improve them.

• Braille was an extremely important invention.
• The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

The first sentence is a dry fact; the second sentence is more interesting, making a bold claim about exactly  why the topic is important.

• The internet is defined as “a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities.”
• The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education.

Avoid using a dictionary definition as your hook, especially if it’s an obvious term that everyone knows. The improved example here is still broad, but it gives us a much clearer sense of what the essay will be about.

• Mary Shelley’s  Frankenstein is a famous book from the nineteenth century.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement.

Instead of just stating a fact that the reader already knows, the improved hook here tells us about the mainstream interpretation of the book, implying that this essay will offer a different interpretation.

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Next, give your reader the context they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:

• Historical, geographical, or social context
• An outline of the debate you’re addressing
• A summary of relevant theories or research about the topic
• Definitions of key terms

The information here should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument. Don’t give too much detail—you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.

How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our Braille example, we take a few sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:

Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. This is your thesis statement —a sentence or two that sums up your overall argument.

This is the most important part of your introduction. A  good thesis isn’t just a statement of fact, but a claim that requires evidence and explanation.

The goal is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.

As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more.

For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.

When you’ve finished writing the essay body and conclusion , you should return to the introduction and check that it matches the content of the essay.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

To polish your writing, you can use something like a paraphrasing tool .

You can use the checklist below to make sure your introduction does everything it’s supposed to.

Checklist: Essay introduction

My first sentence is engaging and relevant.

I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.

I have defined any important terms.

My thesis statement clearly presents my main point or argument.

Everything in the introduction is relevant to the main body of the essay.

You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.

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• Literary analysis

This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

This introduction to a short expository essay leads into the topic (the invention of the printing press) and states the main point the essay will explain (the effect of this invention on European society).

In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.

This introduction to a literary analysis essay , about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction . It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.

To write a good hook, avoid overly broad statements or long, dense sentences. Try to start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

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Background information identifies and describes the history and nature of a well-defined research problem with reference to contextualizing existing literature. The background information should indicate the root of the problem being studied, appropriate context of the problem in relation to theory, research, and/or practice , its scope, and the extent to which previous studies have successfully investigated the problem, noting, in particular, where gaps exist that your study attempts to address. Background information does not replace the literature review section of a research paper; it is intended to place the research problem within a specific context and an established plan for its solution.

Fitterling, Lori. Researching and Writing an Effective Background Section of a Research Paper. Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences; Creating a Research Paper: How to Write the Background to a Study. DurousseauElectricalInstitute.com; Background Information: Definition of Background Information. Literary Devices Definition and Examples of Literary Terms.

Importance of Having Enough Background Information

Background information expands upon the key points stated in the beginning of your introduction but is not intended to be the main focus of the paper. It generally supports the question, what is the most important information the reader needs to understand before continuing to read the paper? Sufficient background information helps the reader determine if you have a basic understanding of the research problem being investigated and promotes confidence in the overall quality of your analysis and findings. This information provides the reader with the essential context needed to conceptualize the research problem and its significance before moving on to a more thorough analysis of prior research.

Forms of contextualization included in background information can include describing one or more of the following:

• Cultural -- placed within the learned behavior of a specific group or groups of people.
• Economic -- of or relating to systems of production and management of material wealth and/or business activities.
• Gender -- located within the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with being self-identified as male, female, or other form of  gender expression.
• Historical -- the time in which something takes place or was created and how the condition of time influences how you interpret it.
• Interdisciplinary -- explanation of theories, concepts, ideas, or methodologies borrowed from other disciplines applied to the research problem rooted in a discipline other than the discipline where your paper resides.
• Philosophical -- clarification of the essential nature of being or of phenomena as it relates to the research problem.
• Physical/Spatial -- reflects the meaning of space around something and how that influences how it is understood.
• Political -- concerns the environment in which something is produced indicating it's public purpose or agenda.
• Social -- the environment of people that surrounds something's creation or intended audience, reflecting how the people associated with something use and interpret it.
• Temporal -- reflects issues or events of, relating to, or limited by time. Concerns past, present, or future contextualization and not just a historical past.

Background information can also include summaries of important research studies . This can be a particularly important element of providing background information if an innovative or groundbreaking study about the research problem laid a foundation for further research or there was a key study that is essential to understanding your arguments. The priority is to summarize for the reader what is known about the research problem before you conduct the analysis of prior research. This is accomplished with a general summary of the foundational research literature [with citations] that document findings that inform your study's overall aims and objectives.

NOTE: Research studies cited as part of the background information of your introduction should not include very specific, lengthy explanations. This should be discussed in greater detail in your literature review section. If you find a study requiring lengthy explanation, consider moving it to the literature review section.

ANOTHER NOTE: In some cases, your paper's introduction only needs to introduce the research problem, explain its significance, and then describe a road map for how you are going to address the problem; the background information basically forms the introduction part of your literature review. That said, while providing background information is not required, including it in the introduction is a way to highlight important contextual information that could otherwise be hidden or overlooked by the reader if placed in the literature review section.

YET ANOTHER NOTE: In some research studies, the background information is described in a separate section after the introduction and before the literature review. This is most often done if the topic is especially complex or requires a lot of context in order to fully grasp the significance of the research problem. Most college-level research papers do not require this unless required by your professor. However, if you find yourself needing to write more than a couple of pages [double-spaced lines] to provide the background information, it can be written as a separate section to ensure the introduction is not too lengthy.

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider? Anonymous. Harvard University; Hopkins, Will G. How to Write a Research Paper. SPORTSCIENCE, Perspectives/Research Resources. Department of Physiology and School of Physical Education, University of Otago, 1999; Green, L. H. How to Write the Background/Introduction Section. Physics 499 Powerpoint slides. University of Illinois; Pyrczak, Fred. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 8th edition. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2014; Stevens, Kathleen C. “Can We Improve Reading by Teaching Background Information?.” Journal of Reading 25 (January 1982): 326-329; Woodall, W. Gill. Writing the Background and Significance Section. Senior Research Scientist and Professor of Communication. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions. University of New Mexico.

Structure and Writing Style

Providing background information in the introduction of a research paper serves as a bridge that links the reader to the research problem . Precisely how long and in-depth this bridge should be is largely dependent upon how much information you think the reader will need to know in order to fully understand the problem being discussed and to appreciate why the issues you are investigating are important.

From another perspective, the length and detail of background information also depends on the degree to which you need to demonstrate to your professor how much you understand the research problem. Keep this in mind because providing pertinent background information can be an effective way to demonstrate that you have a clear grasp of key issues, debates, and concepts related to your overall study.

The structure and writing style of your background information can vary depending upon the complexity of your research and/or the nature of the assignment. However, in most cases it should be limited to only one to two paragraphs in your introduction.

Given this, here are some questions to consider while writing this part of your introduction :

• Are there concepts, terms, theories, or ideas that may be unfamiliar to the reader and, thus, require additional explanation?
• Are there historical elements that need to be explored in order to provide needed context, to highlight specific people, issues, or events, or to lay a foundation for understanding the emergence of a current issue or event?
• Are there theories, concepts, or ideas borrowed from other disciplines or academic traditions that may be unfamiliar to the reader and therefore require further explanation?
• Is there a key study or small set of studies that set the stage for understanding the topic and frames why it is important to conduct further research on the topic?
• Y our study uses a method of analysis never applied before;
• Your study investigates a very esoteric or complex research problem;
• Your study introduces new or unique variables that need to be taken into account ; or,
• Your study relies upon analyzing unique texts or documents, such as, archival materials or primary documents like diaries or personal letters that do not represent the established body of source literature on the topic?

Almost all introductions to a research problem require some contextualizing, but the scope and breadth of background information varies depending on your assumption about the reader's level of prior knowledge . However, despite this assessment, background information should be brief and succinct and sets the stage for the elaboration of critical points or in-depth discussion of key issues in the literature review section of your paper.

Writing Tip

Background Information vs. the Literature Review

Incorporating background information into the introduction is intended to provide the reader with critical information about the topic being studied, such as, highlighting and expanding upon foundational studies conducted in the past, describing important historical events that inform why and in what ways the research problem exists, defining key components of your study [concepts, people, places, phenomena] and/or placing the research problem within a particular context. Although introductory background information can often blend into the literature review portion of the paper, essential background information should not be considered a substitute for a comprehensive review and synthesis of relevant research literature.

Hart, Cris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998; Pyrczak, Fred. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 8th edition. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2014.

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What Is Background Information: Everything You Need to Know to Do It Right

Table of Contents

Every research paper should include a section explaining why you approached this subject and what aspect of the topic you focus on. This section is the so-called background of your paper – a broader context within which you position your arguments and analysis.

Still, many inexperienced students face questions like, “What is the background information? How do I develop the background section competently and professionally?”

We’ve decided to help you out and provide guidance on all steps of the background writing process. In this article, we’ll provide you with:

• A workable background paper example.
• Explanations of how to compose a background paragraph.
• An in-depth overview of what a background for a paper is and how to develop it.
• Instructions on writing the background and significance chapter for larger academic works.

Stay tuned and read on to develop an effective research paper that will surely impress your supervisor.

How to Write Background Information

So, what is background information, and how to present it clearly and logically so that your audience grasps the subject well?

A study background is a part of your introduction in which you will explain what topic you’re examining, what place it takes within the broader area of research, what is known about it, and what is yet to be explained and researched.

To achieve the purpose of this section in a research paper, you need to discuss the historical information about your subject, mention what is known about its primary variables, processes, and relationships, and explain what scholars point out as interesting gaps today.

Let’s consider an example. Suppose you want to study how students’ exposure to child abuse affects their academic performance at school. In that case, you first need to present a socio-demographic profile of academic attainment, underline the problem of student underachievement at school, and outline the major factors contributing to under-achievement and dropouts, including child abuse.

After that, you should give relevant statistics on child abuse globally and in the country you’re researching, pointing out the adverse effects of abuse on the child’s later life. This background is enough to proceed to your topic, where you will explain that the link between abuse and underachievement is mostly under-researched and poorly explained.

Thesis Background Explained

What is background information, and where to place it in the research paper? In a nutshell, it should be the first section of your academic document preceding the formulation of your problem statement and the purpose of a research paper. Thus, when you compose the thesis of your background section, you should focus on the key subject of your inquiry. Continuing with the example we discussed above, we would suggest a thesis as follows:

“ Thousands of children are exposed to child abuse, which causes long-lasting physical and psychological effects on them, including low self-esteem and inability to study well. Because of the common neglect to the relationship between abuse and underachievement, a huge percentage of students lose essential educational opportunities and fail to build careers and stay economically independent in later lives. Thus, the present study attempts to expose the relationship between the discussed variables and develop workable recommendations to support abuse victims in their educational efforts .”

What Is a Background Section of a Research Paper

The background section is typically marked as such in longer papers. Yet, if the assignment is short, you should include the background section in the introductory paragraph. Here, you should talk about the subject of your assignment in general.

For example, you can identify some key statistics to outline the magnitude of the problem or talk about seminal research in the area to show what was and wasn’t researched. It’s also helpful to include main theories and concepts that you will explore or that explain and inform your subject. Keep in mind that this section should spark the reader’s interest and explain the basics of your topic.

Steps to Writing Background Information

To compose a viable background section, you should first answer the following questions:

• What do I know about the subject in broader terms, i.e., what academic discipline does it belong to, what are the major facts and arguments of authoritative people on it?
• What is known and not known on m topic, i.e., what are the well-known gaps that nobody has addressed yet?
• How does my research paper address those gaps, and what academic/practical value can my findings bring?
• What is my reasoning for choosing this topic (i.e., the rationale for the study), and what suggestions do I have about it?

Main Do’s & Don’ts

Now that we’re familiar with the background section’s ins and outs, it’s time to examine what common mistakes students make in the process of writing this part. Besides, we uncover the pro tips for enhancing your section and improving its impact on the audience.

• Students often state the background too briefly, in a couple of sentences, or write lengthy sections occupying a significant portion of their papers.
• The worst mistake is to be ambiguous and pose fuzzy claims in the background, thus confusing the readers about the overall subject of your inquiry.
• Never go off-topic in the background section, as your audience should understand the subject you’re exploring. No unrelated information should be used in this part (or elsewhere).
• Avoid jumping from one subject to another one. Consistency and logic in your arguments make your text readable and understandable.
• Don’t speak about the subject in a way that laypersons won’t understand. The meaning of background is precisely to inform the readers about the subject in simple words and enhance their further interpretation of information.
• Don’t present any analysis or interpretations in this section. It serves to set the context for your analysis that will follow in the body of the paper.
• Avoid a limited scope of the topic’s presentation, as the readers should embrace the subject well before proceeding to your analysis.
• Never submit the assignment to your tutor or publishing organization without checking the formatting requirements. Such guidelines usually contain information about how you should write and format the background. If you violate those instructions, the paper will be rejected.

By avoiding these mistakes, you’re sure to arrive at a much better background section with logical information. This may be achieved if you follow the pro tips from our experts outlined below.

• The core function of your background is to present your topic in context, so you should do everything possible to explain your topic’s significance and relevance in the background section.
• Mention all significant developments and findings on your subject to give credit to the achievements that have already been made. At the same time, this presentation will set an excellent basis for a transition to gaps in research.
• After you’ve presented the achievements, make a logical transition to missing data and gaps in the present-day research on your subject to build the case for your research paper.
• Present all data chronologically to show how your discipline/subject progressed in time, what was unknown, how it was examined, and what’s next for research in your area.
• Make sure you talk about your academic contribution explicitly. This section will emphasize the value of your study and will serve as a good rationale for writing it.

Research Background Example

Now, to make sure that you understand the whole task and perform it ideally for any future assignment, we’ve prepared a handy example of a background of the study in a research paper for your guidance. Take it as a loose set of provisions that you can easily apply to various topics and assignment types.

“ Diabetes is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the USA, with over 34 million having this diagnosis and over 7 million more living with an undiagnosed condition. The disease is getting younger year by year, with children becoming the worst-exposed population group in terms of new diabetes diagnoses. The primary cause of such disproportionate effect of diabetes on children has been identified in the combination of genetic and environmental factors. Thus, children whose parents are obese and who consume sugar-rich and fatty products at schools and at home on a daily basis are at a 5 times higher risk of getting a diabetes diagnosis in secondary school. The problem has been identified on a national level, but there is still little effort to curb fast-food selling practices in the U.S. schools. Thus, this paper is dedicated to the analysis of existing nutritional policies in public schools and presentation of recommendations for dietary adaptations for high-risk schoolers .”

Have More Questions?

If you’re stuck with the research paper at its very beginning and still can’t figure out what is background information and where to take it, our experts are at your service 24/7. We have a star team of competent experts who can compose any research paper for you from scratch, keeping the content in line with the top academic standards of content quality.

So, there is no more need to spend sleepless nights with books; you can study better with our competent assistance without spending extra effort on your home tasks.

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What is a Background in an Essay: Introducing Information

Writing A Background in an Essay

Background in an essay refers to material provided in a nonfiction essay. It can also be defined as work that explains the context of the issue you will explore in the essay.

This information is connected to the hook or opening statement, and then to the thesis statement, which you will write last at the end of the introduction.

People Also Read: Write an Essay on Someone Who Inspires You: Parent or Famous

What is Background Information in an Essay

The background information is the supporting points you employ to demonstrate your argument or viewpoint. It is the grounds on which you base your point of view to prove your argument. background information is found in the introduction, just after the opening statement or the hook.

The amount and type of background material depend on the goal and topic of your essay.

You may need to provide definitions or an overview of the problem you discuss in the essay.

The background information in an essay will depend on the topic.

The background information in an essay on a scientific test may include test parameters, test objectives, test site conditions, sample kinds, sample size, and other background material.

If your essay is about COVID 19, your background information may touch on diverse points. These may include what kind of virus it is, its origins, and how many countries it has affected.

It may also include how many people have contracted it, and how it is transmitted from one person to another, among other things.

People Also Read: Essay Writing Titles: Being Creative Without Topic Generators

How to Write Background Information in an Essay                          

The key to writing background information in an essay is to master the art of the introduction. Grabbing the reader’s attention at the beginning allows you to include the information they need to comprehend your work.

The first paragraph/section of an essay is the introduction, and it is critical to creating an excellent paper. The introduction helps you begin the essay by grabbing the reader’s attention.

Then, you provide background information plus map out the core topic, direction, and objective of your essay.

Usually, an excellent introduction starts with a discussion around the essay’s topic. After that, you move on to the specific ideas you will explore in the body.

How do you Write the Introduction and include background information in an Essay?

Use an effective hook to make a solid first impression. This piques the curiosity and attention of readers, encouraging them to keep reading.

Provide background information about the main topic of the essay. It establishes a general framework for the paper by providing readers with the information they require before reading it.

It should start with broad concepts and then narrow down to the thesis (a single-focused idea).

Conclude with a concise thesis statement that indicates your motivation for writing, expresses the main idea/argument, and gives the body of the work a direction or outline.

The hook is the tool that captures attention and makes the readers want to keep reading. You can shape it as a question, an interesting fact or statistic, a quotation, or a story.

You can also use any other intriguing idea that piques readers’ curiosity and encourages them to continue reading.

Regardless of which option you choose, ensure the hook links to the essay’s topic in some way.

The background information sets the stage for the essay by offering a high-level summary of the topic. It introduces the broad topic(s) and eases the reader into the subject with general information.

Also, it may comprise concepts, facts, history, definitions, and other material that helps comprehend the specific information offered in the body.

It is critical to understand your audience and evaluate what readers may or may not know about the topic to provide relevant background information.

Besides, it enables you to offer readers the information they require before continuing to read the essay. So, presenting background information in the introduction acts as a link that connects the reader to the issue.

The length and depth of this bridge depend on how much information you believe the reader will need to comprehend the topic and realize why the difficulties you are looking at are essential.

Your thesis statement highlights the key idea or main argument and your motivation for writing the essay. You can also use it to outline the supporting ideas you explore in the body. It is usually the final sentence of the introduction.

People Also Read: Write an Essay about Family: From Introduction to Conclusion

Examples of Background Information in an Essay

1.”gettysburg address” abraham lincoln.

The hook in Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” was that the founding fathers believed that all men are created equal. Then he gave some background on the current state of the Civil War:

Now we are in the midst of a major civil war, which will determine whether that nation or any other nation so conceived and dedicated, can last for a long time.

And we have met on one of the war’s most important battlegrounds.

We’ve decided to devote a piece of the field as the last resting place for those who gave their life here so that this country could live. It is entirely appropriate for us to do so.

2. “Goodbye to All That” by Joan Didion

Notice how the introduction hooks your attention and then swiftly offers you some background information about Joan Didion’s life in this personal essay by Joan Didion:

The origins of things are easy to perceive, but the endings are more difficult to see. I can pinpoint when New York began for me now, with a clarity that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

But I can’t pinpoint when it ended or cut through the ambiguities and second starts and broken resolves to the precise point on the page where the heroine is no longer as optimistic as she once was.

I was twenty when I first saw New York. It was summer, and I got off a DC-7 at the old Idlewild temporary terminal in a new dress.

It had seemed very smart in Sacramento but had already seemed less smart, even in the old Idle wild temporary terminal.

The warm air smelled of mildew, and some instinct, programmed by all the movies I’d ever seen and all the songs I’d ever heard sung and all the stories I’d ever read about New York.

When not handling complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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Background Information Examples

Background information is information given in a non-fiction essay/text that the reader needs in order to understand the overall theme of the text or point the writer is attempting to make.

Background information is often provided after the hook , or opening statement that is used to grab the reader's attention. The type and amount of background information provided by the writer will depend on the purpose and topic of the essay. The writer may need to provide some definitions, or perhaps an overview of the problem being addressed in the essay.

In his inaugural speech at Rice University, John F. Kennedy spoke about the space race and going to the moon. This is just some of the background information he included in his speech about the pace of progress and human history:

No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man¹s recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than two years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power.

As he began his "I have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. provided some historical context for the fight for freedom:

Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree is a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free.

Abraham Lincoln began "The Gettysburg Address" with the hook that the founding fathers espoused that all men are created equal. Then he provided this background information about the current context of the Civil War:

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

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Background Information

Chapter 1: What is introductory background information?

Chapter 2: Which background elements are important?

Chapter 3: How can I write background information effectively?

Once you’ve completed all three chapters about background information , you might also wish to download our beginner, intermediate and advanced worksheets to test your progress or print for your students. These professional PDF worksheets can be easily accessed for only a few Academic Marks .

Our background information  academic reader (including all three chapters about this topic) can be accessed here at the click of a button.

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Organizing Academic Research Papers: Background Information

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Executive Summary
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• How to Manage Group Projects
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Essays
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Acknowledgements

Background information identifies and describes the history and nature of a well-defined research problem with reference to the existing literature. Background information in your Introduction should indicate the root of the problem being studied, its scope, and the extent to which previous studies have successfully investigated the problem, noting, in particular, where gaps exist that your study attempts to address.  Introductory background information differs from a literature review in that it places the research problem in proper context rather than thoroughly examining pertinent literature.

Importance of Having Enough Background Information

Background information expands upon the key points stated in your introduction but is not the main focus of the paper. Sufficient background information helps your reader determine if you have a basic understanding of the research problem being investigated and promotes confidence in the overall quality of your analysis and findings.

Background information provides the reader with the essential context needed to understand the research problem . Depending on the topic being studied, forms of contextualization may include:

• Cultural -- the issue placed within the learned behavior of specific groups of people.
• Economic -- of or relating to systems of production and management of material wealth and/or business activities.
• Historical -- the time in which something takes place or was created and how that influences how you interpret it.
• Philosophical -- clarification of the essential nature of being or of phenomena as it relates to the research problem.
• Physical/Spatial -- reflects the space around something and how that influences how you see it.
• Political -- concerns the environment in which something is produced indicating it's public purpose or agenda.
• Social -- the environment of people that surrounds something's creation or intended audience, reflecting how the people around something use and interpret it.
• Temporal -- reflects issues or events of, relating to, or limited by time.

Background information can also include summaries of important, relevant research studies . The key is to summarize for the reader what is known about the specific research problem before you conducted your analysis. This is accomplished with a general review of the foundational research literature (with citations) that report findings that inform your study's aims and objectives.

NOTE : Research studies cited as part of the background information of your introduction should not include very specific, lengthy explanations. This should be discussed in greater detail in your literature review section.

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider? Anonymous. Harvard University; Hopkins, Will G. How to Write a Research Paper . SPORTSCIENCE, Perspectives/Research Resources. Department of Physiology and School of Physical Education, University of Otago, 1999; Green, L. H. How to Write the Background/Introduction Section. Physics 499 Powerpoint slides. University of Illinois; Woodall, W. Gill. Writing the Background and Significance Section. Senior Research Scientist and Professor of Communication. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions. University of New Mexico.  

Structure and Writing Style

Providing background information in the Introduction of a research paper serves as a bridge that links the reader to the topic of your study . But precisely how long and in-depth this bridge should be is largely dependent upon how much information you think the reader will need in order to understand the research problem being discussed and to appreciate why the issues you are investigating are important.

From another perspective, the length and detail of background information also depends on the degree to which you need to demonstrate to your professor how much you understand the topic. Keep this in mind because providing succinct background information can be an effective way to show that you have a clear grasp of key issues and concepts underpinning your overall study. Don't try to show off, though!

Given that the structure and writing style of your background information can vary depending upon the complexity of your research and/or the nature of the assignment, here are some questions to consider while writing :

• Are there concepts, terms, theories, or ideas that may be unfamiliar to the reader and, thus, require additional explanation?
• Are there historical elements that need to be explored in order to add needed context, to highlight specific people, issues, or events, or to lay a foundation for understanding the emergence of a current issue or event?
• Is the research study unusual in some way that requires additional explanation, such as, a) your study uses a method never applied before to the research problem you are investigating; b) your study investigates a very esoteric or complex research problem; or, c) your study relies upon analyzing unique texts or documents, such as archival materials or primary documents like diaries or personal letters, that do not represent the established body of source literature on the topic.

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider? Anonymous. Harvard University; Hopkins, Will G. How to Write a Research Paper . SPORTSCIENCE, Perspectives/Research Resources. Department of Physiology and School of Physical Education, University of Otago, 1999; Green, L. H. How to Write the Background/Introduction Section. Physics 499 Powerpoint slides. University of Illinois; Woodall, W. Gill. Writing the Background and Significance Section. Senior Research Scientist and Professor of Communication. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions. University of New Mexico.

Writing Tip

Background Information vs. the Literature Review

Incorporating background information into the Introduction is intended to provide the reader with critical information about the topic being studied, such as highlighting and expanding upon foundational studies conducted in the past, important historical events that inform why and in what ways the research problem exists, or defining key components of your study [concepts, people, places, things]. Although in social sciences research introductory background information can often blend into the literature review portion of the paper, basic background information should not be considered a substitute for a comprehensive review and synthesis of relevant research literature.

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The Research Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

• Introduction
• Select Topic
• Identify Keywords
• Background Information
• Develop Research Questions
• Refine Topic
• Search Strategy
• Evaluate Sources
• Primary & Secondary Sources
• Types of Periodicals
• Organize / Take Notes
• Writing & Grammar Resources
• Annotated Bibliography
• Literature Review
• Citation Styles
• Paraphrasing
• Privacy / Confidentiality
• How to Read Research Article
• ChatGPT and the Research Process

If you can't find an encyclopedia, dictionary or textbook article on your topic, try using broader   keywords   or ask a reference librarian   for help. For example, if your topic is "global warming," consider searching for an encyclopedia on the environment.

Using Wikipedia for Research

Finding Background Information

Once you have identified keywords, the next step is to find background information on your topic.

Background information serves many purposes:

• If you are unfamiliar with the topic, it provides a good overview of the subject matter.
• It helps you to identify important facts related to your topic such as terminology, dates, events, history, and relevant names or organizations.
• It can help you refine your topic.
• Background research might lead you to bibliographies that you can use to find additional sources of information.

Sources of Background Information

Background information can be found in:

• dictionaries
• general encyclopedias
• subject-specific encyclopedias  
• article databases
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• Next: Develop Research Questions >>
• Last Updated: Jul 8, 2024 3:22 PM
• URL: https://westlibrary.txwes.edu/research/process

Topic Guide - Developing Your Research Study

• Purpose of Guide
• Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• APA 7th Edition
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information

Importance of Having Enough Background Information

Structure and writing style, writing tip.

• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• 10. Proofreading Your Paper
• Writing Concisely
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Study
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Bibliography

Background information identifies and describes the history and nature of a well-defined research problem with reference to the existing literature. The background information should indicate the root of the problem being studied, appropriate context of the problem in relation to theory, research, and/or practice , its scope, and the extent to which previous studies have successfully investigated the problem, noting, in particular, where gaps exist that your study attempts to address. Background information does not replace the literature review section of a research paper; it is intended to place the research problem in a proper context.

Background information expands upon the key points stated in the beginning of your introduction but is not intended to be the main focus of the paper. It generally supports the question, what did we know about this topic before I did this study? Sufficient background information helps your reader determine if you have a basic understanding of the research problem being investigated and promotes confidence in the overall quality of your analysis and findings. This information provides the reader with the essential context needed to understand the research problem and its significance before moving on to the literature review.

Depending on the problem being studied, forms of contextualization may include one or more of the following:

• Cultural -- placed within the learned behavior of specific groups of people.
• Economic -- of or relating to systems of production and management of material wealth and/or business activities.
• Gender -- located within the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with being male or female.
• Historical -- the time in which something takes place or was created and how that influences how you interpret it.
• Interdisciplinary -- explanation of theories, concepts, ideas, or methodologies borrowed from other disciplines applied to the research problem rooted in another discipline.
• Philosophical -- clarification of the essential nature of being or of phenomena as it relates to the research problem.
• Physical/Spatial -- reflects the space around something and how that influences how you see it.
• Political -- concerns the environment in which something is produced indicating it's public purpose or agenda.
• Social -- the environment of people that surrounds something's creation or intended audience, reflecting how the people around something use and interpret it.
• Temporal -- reflects issues or events of, relating to, or limited by time.

Background information can also include summaries of important, relevant research studies . This is particularly important if there is an essential or groundbreaking study about the research problem or a key study that refutes or supports your thesis. The key is to summarize for the reader what is known about the specific research problem before you conduct the analysis. This is accomplished with a general review of the foundational research literature [with citations] that document findings informing your study's aims and objectives.

NOTE : Research studies cited as part of the background information of your introduction should not include very specific, lengthy explanations. This should be discussed in greater detail in your literature review section.

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider? Anonymous. Harvard University; Hopkins, Will G. How to Write a Research Paper . SPORTSCIENCE, Perspectives/Research Resources. Department of Physiology and School of Physical Education, University of Otago, 1999; Green, L. H. How to Write the Background/Introduction Section . Physics 499 Powerpoint slides. University of Illinois; Woodall, W. Gill. Writing the Background and Significance Section . Senior Research Scientist and Professor of Communication. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions. University of New Mexico.  

Providing background information in the introduction of a research paper serves as a bridge that links the reader to the topic of your study . Precisely how long and in-depth this bridge should be is largely dependent upon how much information you think the reader will need to know in order to fully understand the topic being discussed and to appreciate why the issues you are investigating are important.

From another perspective, the length and detail of background information also depends on the degree to which you need to demonstrate to your professor how much you understand the research problem. Keep this in mind because providing pertinent background information can be an effective way to demonstrate that you have a clear grasp of key issues and concepts underpinning your overall study. Don't try to show off, though! And, avoid stating the obvious.

The structure and writing style of your background information can vary depending upon the complexity of your research and/or the nature of the assignment. Given this, here are some questions to consider while writing this part of your introduction :

• Are there concepts, terms, theories, or ideas that may be unfamiliar to the reader and, thus, require additional explanation?
• Are there historical elements that need to be explored in order to provide needed context, to highlight specific people, issues, or events, or to lay a foundation for understanding the emergence of a current issue or event?
• Are there theories, concepts, or ideas borrowed from other disciplines or academic traditions that may be unfamiliar to the reader and therefore require further explanation?
• Is the research study unusual in a way that requires additional explanation, such as, 1) your study uses a method of analysis never applied before; 2) your study investigates a very esoteric or complex research problem; 3) your study introduces new or unique variables that need to be taken into account ; or, 4) your study relies upon analyzing unique texts or documents, such as, archival materials or primary documents like diaries or personal letters that do not represent the established body of source literature on the topic?

Almost all introductions to a research problem require some contextualizing, but the scope and breadth of background information varies depending on your assumption about the reader's level of prior knowledge . Despite this assessment, however, background information should be brief and succinct; save any elaboration of critical points or in-depth discussion of key issues for the literature review section of your paper.

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider? Anonymous. Harvard University; Hopkins, Will G. How to Write a Research Paper . SPORTSCIENCE, Perspectives/Research Resources. Department of Physiology and School of Physical Education, University of Otago, 1999; Green, L. H. How to Write the Background/Introduction Section . Physics 499 Powerpoint slides. University of Illinois; Woodall, W. Gill. Writing the Background and Significance Section . Senior Research Scientist and Professor of Communication. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions. University of New Mexico.

Background Information vs. the Literature Review

Incorporating background information into the introduction is intended to provide the reader with critical information about the topic being studied, such as, highlighting and expanding upon foundational studies conducted in the past, describing important historical events that inform why and in what ways the research problem exists, or defining key components of your study [concepts, people, places, phenomena]. Although introductory background information can often blend into the literature review portion of the paper in social sciences research , basic background information should not be considered a substitute for a comprehensive review and synthesis of relevant research literature.

Hart, Cris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.

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• Next: The Research Problem/Question >>
• Last Updated: Mar 22, 2022 8:49 AM
• URL: https://leeuniversity.libguides.com/research_study_guide

Extended Essay Guide: The Introduction

• Purpose of Guide
• Writing Your Research Question
• Finding Resources
• Research Plan Ouline
• Drafting Your Paper
• The Introduction
• The Conclusion
• Citations/Bibliography
• Proofreading Your Paper
• IB Assessment Criteria/Subject Specific Guides/Exemplars/Etc

Extended Essay Introduction

The goal of the introduction is to introduce the topic and provide enough information about it in order to enable the reader to comprehend the significance of your research question. The research question must be clearly and precisely stated in the introduction.  The research question is the central question you are trying to answer through your research and writing of the extended essay. This question, if properly composed, will both enable you to maintain your focus on a topic of narrow and limited scope while also help you to maintain the purpose and orientation of your entire investigation. Your extended essay will be assessed in part according to the extent to which the essay appropriately addresses and develops your specific research question. The readers will also evaluate your success in collecting information relevant to the research question. Establish the significance of the research question and explain why it is worthy of study.  Briefly and concisely preview your body by providing a plan of investigation (game plan) for the rest of the paper. The game plan briefly explains how you intend to answer the research question.

Introduction Checklist

____ Does your introduction include some background information and place the topic in an appropriate context

_____ Is your research question clearly and exactly focused, and stated (in bold)?

_____ Does your introduction explain the significance and context of your topic? (This topic is an important because…)

_____ Does your introduction explain why your topic is worthy of investigation and still have contemporary relevance? (This topic is worthy of investigation because…)

_____ Does your introduction explain how the research question relates to existing knowledge?

_____ Do you avoid writing lengthy, irrelevant background material?

_____ Do you give the game plan for the rest of the essay?

• _____ Is it clear where your intro ends?

EE Introduction

Background information.

Background information identifies and describes the history and nature of your research question with reference to the existing literature. Background information expands upon the key points stated in the beginning of your introduction but is not intended to be the main focus of the paper.  Sufficient background information helps your reader determine if you have a basic understanding of the research question being investigated and promotes confidence in the overall quality of your analysis and conclusion. This information provides the reader with the essential context needed to understand the research question and its significance.

Websites to help:

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider?

How to Write a Research Paper . 

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• Next: The Conclusion >>
• Last Updated: Nov 15, 2016 1:55 PM
• URL: https://baltimorecitycollege.libguides.com/eeguide

University of Houston Libraries

History research guide.

• History Research Home
• Background Information
• Historical Scholarship
• Legal and Policy Research
• Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
• Citing Archival Materials This link opens in a new window
• Getting Help

What is background information?

Common examples of background information sources are dictionaries, encyclopedias, and bibliographies. You may find these sources either as individual books or ebooks by searching our library catalog, or through a library database.

Background information usually adds one or more of the following benefits to your research process:

• introduces you to important terms or concepts,
• points toward other works on your research topic,
• describes common ideas other scholars already have about the subject.

For best results, seek background information early in the research process. That way, you can use what you learn about foundational concepts to make changes to your research question or plan for next steps.

How do I find background information?

Background information sources may contain information on many topics from multiple disciplines. You're probably already familiar with one source for general background information, Wikipedia.

To find this type of background information through UH Libraries, try searching the database below with keywords related to your research question.

Some background information sources are less general and instead cover a variety of topics related to a specific person or time period . These types of background information sources tend to be more detailed than the general sources described above.

History is one subject area in which these types of background sources are especially common. You may find databases, books, and ebooks dedicated to background information on highly specific topics, such as the online encyclopedia Handbook of Texas Online .

To look for books or ebooks of background information on your topic, try searching keywords associated with your research topic in the library's catalog , specifying the search term as a subject, rather than title.

How do I know if it's background information?

However, you may find that sources of background information, even certain encyclopedias and dictionaries, don't look like that at all. This is especially true in disciplines like History, in which highly specific encyclopedias such as Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era may be relatively short when compared to broad, multi-subject books.

Instead of relying on the external appearance of your sources to determine what kind of source you are using, it's helpful to know a few traits that distinguish many sources of background information from peer-reviewed, scholarly books:

• Sections of text cover specific people, places, events, or subjects and have a narrow focus
• Text sections have simple titles, usually only the name of the person, place, event, or subject covered
• Entries are organized alphabetically, sometimes within thematic parts
• Entries do not attempt to make an original argument or interpret a lot of primary sources about the subject, but instead summarize important, broad points

If you have any questions about background information, please reach out to a librarian!

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• Next: Historical Scholarship >>
• Last Updated: Aug 12, 2023 9:01 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uh.edu/history

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Background Information

• Purpose of Guide
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• The Research Problem/Question
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Evaluating Sources
• Reading Research Effectively
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Is it Peer-Reviewed?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism [linked guide]
• Annotated Bibliography
• Grading Someone Else's Paper

Background information identifies and describes the history and nature of a well-defined research problem with reference to the existing literature. The background information should indicate the root of the problem being studied, appropriate context of the problem in relation to theory, research, and/or practice , its scope, and the extent to which previous studies have successfully investigated the problem, noting, in particular, where gaps exist that your study attempts to address.

Structure and Writing Style

Providing background information in the introduction of a research paper serves as a bridge that links the reader to the topic of your study . Precisely how long and in-depth this bridge should be is largely dependent upon how much information you think the reader will need to know in order to fully understand the topic being discussed and to appreciate why the issues you are investigating are important.

From another perspective, the length and detail of background information also depends on the degree to which you need to demonstrate to your professor how much you understand the research problem. Keep this in mind because providing pertinent background information can be an effective way to demonstrate that you have a clear grasp of key issues and concepts underpinning your overall study. Don't try to show off, though! And, avoid stating the obvious.

The structure and writing style of your background information can vary depending upon the complexity of your research and/or the nature of the assignment. Given this, here are some questions to consider while writing this part of your introduction :

• Are there concepts, terms, theories, or ideas that may be unfamiliar to the reader and, thus, require additional explanation?
• Are there historical elements that need to be explored in order to provide needed context, to highlight specific people, issues, or events, or to lay a foundation for understanding the emergence of a current issue or event?
• Are there theories, concepts, or ideas borrowed from other disciplines or academic traditions that may be unfamiliar to the reader and therefore require further explanation?
• Is the research study unusual in a way that requires additional explanation, such as, 1) your study uses a method of analysis never applied before; 2) your study investigates a very esoteric or complex research problem; or, 3) your study relies upon analyzing unique texts or documents, such as, archival materials or primary documents like diaries or personal letters that do not represent the established body of source literature on the topic.

Almost all introductions to a research problem require some contextualizing, but the scope and breadth of background information varies depending on your assumption about the reader's level of prior knowledge . Despite this assessment, however, background information should be brief and succinct; save any elaboration of critical points or in-depth discussion of key issues for the literature review section of your paper.

Background of the Problem Section: What do you Need to Consider? Anonymous. Harvard University; Hopkins, Will G. How to Write a Research Paper . SPORTSCIENCE, Perspectives/Research Resources. Department of Physiology and School of Physical Education, University of Otago, 1999; Green, L. H. How to Write the Background/Introduction Section . Physics 499 Powerpoint slides. University of Illinois; Woodall, W. Gill. Writing the Background and Significance Section . Senior Research Scientist and Professor of Communication. Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions. University of New Mexico.

Writing Tip

Background Information vs. the Literature Review

Incorporating background information into the introduction is intended to provide the reader with critical information about the topic being studied, such as, highlighting and expanding upon foundational studies conducted in the past, describing important historical events that inform why and in what ways the research problem exists, or defining key components of your study [concepts, people, places, things]. Although in  social sciences research introductory background information can often blend into the literature review portion of the paper, basic background information should not be considered a substitute for a comprehensive review and synthesis of relevant research literature.

Hart, Cris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.

• << Previous: The C.A.R.S. Model
• Next: Theoretical Framework >>
• Last Updated: Sep 8, 2023 12:19 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.txstate.edu/socialscienceresearch

Research Process :: Step by Step

• Introduction
• Select Topic
• Identify Keywords
• Background Information
• Develop Research Questions
• Refine Topic
• Search Strategy
• Popular Databases
• Evaluate Sources
• Types of Periodicals
• Reading Scholarly Articles
• Primary & Secondary Sources
• Organize / Take Notes
• Writing & Grammar Resources
• Annotated Bibliography
• Literature Review
• Citation Styles
• Paraphrasing
• Privacy / Confidentiality
• Research Process
• Selecting Your Topic
• Identifying Keywords
• Gathering Background Info
• Evaluating Sources
• Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new window Gale Ebooks (formerly named Gale Virtual Library or GVRL) provides a wealth of full-text reference and general subject books in a wide variety of subjects. more... less... Sources offered in the GVRL include multi-volume encyclopedias, biographical collections, business plan handbooks, company histories, consumer health references and history compilations. A wide variety of subjects are covered including arts, biography, business, education, environment, history, law, medicine, multicultural, religion and science.
• Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window Developed cooperatively with scholars and librarians worldwide, Oxford Bibliographies offers exclusive, authoritative research guides across a variety of subject areas. Combining the best features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this cutting-edge resource directs researchers to the best available scholarship across a wide variety of subjects.

If you can't find an encyclopedia, dictionary or textbook article on your topic, try using broader  keywords  or ask a librarian  for help. For example, if your topic is "global warming," con sider searching for an encyclopedia on the environment.

Finding background information

Once you have identified keywords, the next step is to find background information on your topic.

Background information serves many purposes:

• If you are unfamiliar with the topic, it provides a good overview of the subject matter.
• It helps you to identify important facts related to your topic such as terminology, dates, events, history, and relevant names or organizations.
• It can help you refine your topic.
• Background research might lead you to bibliographies that you can use to find additional sources of information.

Background information can be found in:

• dictionaries
• general encyclopedias
• subject-specific encyclopedias  
• article databases

These sources are often listed on the "Find Resources" tab of our research by subject guides. You can browse a complete list of the Library's guides by visiting the "Research by Subject" homepage.

• << Previous: Identify Keywords
• Next: Develop Research Questions >>
• Last Updated: Jun 13, 2024 4:27 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uta.edu/researchprocess

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Home — Essay Samples — History — French Revolution — The Similarities Between Hamilton and Jefferson During Their Rivalry

The Similarities Between Hamilton and Jefferson During Their Rivalry

• Categories: French Revolution

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Published: Aug 1, 2024

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Hamilton and jefferson: background and ideologies, similarities in economic policies, similarities in foreign policy.

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Using Machine Learning to Identify a Suitable Patient Population for Anakinra for the Treatment of COVID-19 Under the Emergency Use Authorization

FDA recognizes the increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) throughout the drug development life cycle and its potential to accelerate this process. For example, AI/ML approaches can be applied to clinical trial patient selection strategies during drug development to predict a patient’s clinical outcome after receiving the investigational treatment based on baseline characteristics (e.g., demographic information, clinical data, vital signs, labs, medical imaging data, and genomic data). These predictive models can identify patients more likely to have worse prognoses or patients more likely to benefit from a treatment, ultimately helping to demonstrate the effectiveness of a drug.

On November 8, 2022, FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for anakinra (Kineret) for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults with pneumonia requiring supplemental oxygen (low- or high-flow oxygen) who are at risk of progressing to severe respiratory failure (SRF) and likely to have an elevated plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR). Anakinra is the first interleukin-1 inhibitor authorized to treat COVID-19.

The clinical efficacy and safety data used to support the issuance of an EUA for anakinra were primarily based on the SAVEMORE trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at 37 sites in two countries. The SAVEMORE trial enrolled adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who were at risk of progressing to SRF, defined as a respiratory ratio (partial oxygen pressure/fraction of inspired oxygen) below 150 mmHg, necessitating high-flow oxygen, noninvasive ventilation, or mechanical ventilation. Patients enrolled in the trial were required to have a suPAR level ≥ 6 ng/mL assessed by a test available in the two countries where SAVEMORE was conducted. suPAR is a blood protein that rises in patients with COVID-19 and has been proposed as a predictor of disease severity and outcomes.

However, an approved suPAR commercial test is not available in the U.S., which created a challenge during CDER’s review of the EUA application when identifying the patient population most likely to benefit from anakinra. To ensure patients’ timely access to this treatment, the CDER review team used AI/ML to facilitate the identification of patients who could receive the drug under the EUA 1 . The goal was to develop a scoring rule that would ensure a high proportion of patients meeting the criteria would have a suPAR ≥ 6 ng/mL. This was the first time that CDER used AI/ML for a regulatory decision, in this case to identify a population for a drug therapy.

Developing and Validating the Scoring Rule

The CDER review team developed the scoring rule using data from the SAVEMORE trial. The team used two AI/ML algorithms (elastic net regression and artificial neural network) independently to predict whether a patient in the SAVEMORE trial had suPAR ≥ 6 ng/mL based on baseline characteristics. The elastic net regression was used to select contributing features (clinical characteristics and common laboratory tests), and a neural network-based model was applied to independently select features and the related cutoff values. This approach was taken to ensure that patients identified by the scoring rule more closely aligned with those in the SAVEMORE trial. A final scoring rule was developed and externally validated using data from the SAVE trial, a prospective, open-label, single-arm, interventional study in which patients with lower respiratory tract infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 and having suPAR ≥ 6 ng/mL were treated with anakinra at 100 mg once daily for 10 days.

The CDER team conducted additional exploratory analyses using data from the SAVEMORE trial to evaluate whether the scoring rule could help identify patients at risk for progressing to SRF, and to evaluate the efficacy of anakinra in patients likely to have suPAR levels ≥ 6 ng/mL and worse outcomes (positive for the scoring rule) and patients who were likely to have suPAR levels < 6 ng/mL and better outcomes (negative for the scoring role).

Based on exploration of the 30 available baseline variables in the SAVEMORE trial, the CDER review team identified eight criteria for the clinical scoring rule. Patients meeting at least three criteria in Table 1 were considered likely to have suPAR ≥ 6 ng/mL at baseline. Both the elastic net regression model and neural network-based model selected the same criteria independently. In both datasets, the scoring rule showed a low false-positive rate and overall was considered appropriate to identify patients likely to have an elevated suPAR.

Table 1: Eight Criteria in the Scoring Rule to Identify Patients with suPAR Levels of 6ng/ml or Higher

suPAR, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor; WHO, World Health Organization

The CDER team also conducted exploratory efficacy analyses in the SAVEMORE trial to measure illness severity and all-cause mortality by day 28 and all-cause mortality by day 60, comparing anakinra to placebo in the subgroups of patients defined by the scoring rule status. In both the score-positive and score-negative subgroups, participants treated with anakinra had lower odds for more severe disease at day 28 and day 60 compared with those who received placebo.

Based on these exploratory analyses, patients in the SAVEMORE trial who were score-positive appeared to benefit from treatment with anakinra consistent with the overall studied population. It was unclear if patients who were negative for the scoring rule would also benefit. This means identifying patients using the scoring rule to treat with anakinra could potentially exclude patients who might also benefit from anakinra treatment. However, the scoring rule also identifies patients who have a higher risk of progressing to SRF.

In this case, the CDER review team combined the predictive ability of AI/ML with appropriate validation processes to develop a method to identify the patient population who will likely benefit from anakinra treatment under this EUA. These findings show that identifying patients using the scoring rule can increase the probability that these patients will experience the benefits seen in the SAVEMORE trial.

As a result, a patient identification method was developed and described in section 1.1 (Patient Population Identification) of the Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: Emergency Use Authorization for anakinra .

One limitation to this approach is the exploratory nature of the development of the scoring rule and its low sensitivity, meaning that some patients who may benefit from treatment with anakinra will not be identified by this scoring rule.

The CDER review team expects the scoring rule to be easy to understand and implement by healthcare providers. Similar approaches could potentially be applied in other situations during drug development, for example, to help with clinical trial patient selection strategies.

As this research shows, AI/ML can be powerful tools to facilitate drug development and regulatory decision-making.

1 Liu, Q, Nair, R, Huang, R, Zhu, H, Anderson, A., Belen, O, Tran, V, Chiu, R, Higgins, K, Chen, J, He, L, Doddapaneni, S, Huang, SM, Nikolov, NP, & Zineh, I, 2024, Using Machine Learning to Determine a Suitable Patient Population for Anakinra for the Treatment of COVID-19 Under the Emergency Use Authorization. , Clin Pharmacol Ther, 115(4): 890–895. doi.org/10.1002/cpt.3191

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Recommendations for night mode compatibility on Wikimedia wikis

Allowing users to switch between standard and night mode is a feature adopted across many websites, mobile devices, etc. It gives the user more control to make reading more comfortable. It is being added to our software as part of the Reading/Web/Accessibility for reading project.

Across Wikimedia wikis, there are efforts underway to introduce night mode in the user's preferences on the desktop and mobile sites. The Wikipedia apps for iOS and Android have already had these options for some time.

A significant road block to implementing night mode is how templates are constructed and styled. Another challenge is the usage of explicit colors, specified as inline CSS styles across various articles.

We can resolve these issues by raising awareness of night mode among editors, especially template editors. This is because templates can be included in many articles, and thus have a great impact for night mode compatibility.

The following are general recommendations and guidelines for editors to keep in mind when composing articles and templates.

How do I use different themes on MediaWiki?

For now, you can append ?minervanightmode=1 to the end of any URL to see how the content currently behaves in the night theme. You can also use https://test.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileOptions to enable night mode on our test wiki. We will update this instruction as the feature develops.

Recommendations

Use recommended html markup to describe your templates.

Night mode will ship with styles that automatically fix known-universal problems with templates. This is important for projects with fewer technical editors. It will be possible to opt out of these styles by adding the notheme class to respective element or globally ( phab:T358071 ). Projects that do not make use of these classes will likely get the feature later than others.

More information: Use standardized class names in HTML markup for components in templates across projects

Use accessible colors which pass WCAG AA checks

Many of the colors used in day mode have historically been inaccessible. When selecting colors for night mode, please be sure to check existing colors with the WebAIM contrast checker . Please consider modifying luminance to make the colors pass. Consider installing a browser extension such as the WCAG Color Contrast tool ( Chrome , or Firefox ) to get more awareness around the color contrasting issues on your wiki.

Bad example

Good example

Target night mode using standard media query as well as HTML classes

A standard readable skin-theme-clientpref-night class will be applied to the HTML element when dark mode has been enabled. However, styles that target night mode should also target prefers-color-scheme as certain users may have opted in via their operating system and subscribed to those styles via skin-theme-clientpref-os . Targeting prefers-color-scheme will style content appropriately for both sets of users.

Template:Example/styles.css

Avoid static values for inline background and text colors

Numerous templates and articles make use of explicit inline colors, when they are not actually necessary. When building new templates, or reviewing existing templates, consider removing inline colors for the background or text. This will allow the current skin to apply its styles to all the elements automatically.

If you are browsing an article in night mode, and notice an element that seems to be clashing (e.g. a bright white table background), it is very likely due to an inline color specified for that element. Consider reviewing the article or template that is outputting that element, and removing the inline color.

If you believe that a certain element should have a specific color, consider looking for an appropriate CSS class (provided by the skin) that can be applied to the element, which would give it a more distinguishing color. If such a CSS class is not available, consider contacting the skin developers with a request to create a new CSS class.

Where you want to style things, it is recommended you use a stylesheet (see Help:TemplateStyles for more information) or a CSS variable .

Template:Example

Always define color when defining background

When defining a background color, it may be tempting not to define the color if it is the same as the article text color. However, when different themes e.g. night mode are applied, this could have unintended consequences (e.g. white text on a yellow background). It is thus recommended that you always define the two together. A lint rule is provided to support editors to identify pages and templates with this issue.

Even if using CSS variables, it is important to explicitly define the color alongside the background to avoid assumptions about the context in which it is being used. For example, a template may be embedded inside another template / table that defines its own backgrounds or colors or there may be global styles applying to the page that may inadvertently impact your own content.

Use CSS variables or CSS design tokens with fallback for background and text where possible

CSS variables can only be defined inside gadgets and site CSS e.g. MediaWiki:Common.css.

When using inline styles to modify text or background, let's use a CSS design token that is supported by the skin. A list of design tokens can be found in the Codex documentation . When using the CSS variables for Codex design tokens, always provide a fallback value for skins where CSS variables are not supported.

You can also define your own CSS variables inside a gadget (for example, the default hidden night mode gadget on English Wikivoyage ).

In this example, the color-subtle design token is used, with #54595d only used as a fallback when CSS variables are not available in the skin. This gives skins with night mode the information needed to adjust the content to a suitable color.

Overriding night mode styles / disabling the night mode theme

In the current implementation of the Page Content Service (the service used by mobile apps to display articles), night mode works by overriding the colors of most elements with night styles, using the !important CSS property. This is precisely because of the large numbers of templates and elements that specify inline styles. In the web version, this also happens to a lesser extent (primarily on elements relating to infoboxes, navboxes and other common templates).

There may be cases where the color removal is unwarranted or where editors may disagree with the choice made. In such cases, you can include the notheme class in the element's style, which will prevent its color from being overridden (i.e. themed). This will result in the content being styled across themes (e.g. night/light/sepia) in exactly the same way.

In this example, the theme will be overridden inside Wikimedia apps and any colors will be inverted in night mode on desktop or mobile web:

In this example, the template has explicitly requested not to be overridden inside Wikimedia apps and the colors won't be inverted elsewhere:

Apply filters to dark images with transparent background

Certain images (for example, signatures in infoboxes) tend to be black content with transparent backgrounds. In night mode, this results in unreadable SVGs because the black content will be on a dark background. To fix this, you can use a CSS invert filter (using the skin-invert or skin-invert-image class). When the thumbnail is accompanied by a caption you should use the skin-invert-image class to avoid inverting the caption as well. To invert all images in a gallery you can add the skin-invert class to the ‎< gallery > tag.

In this example this can result in a black inked signature on a black background

Here the colors are inverted so the signature becomes white.

For templates with no option to specify the class , you can use a <div> tag to wrap around the template and apply the class there. For example:

When skin-invert does not work

Certain images will not be easily invertible in night mode without losing important information (for instance, images with a dark base accompanied by bright colors). In these cases, the best option to preserve the image's original colors is probably to provide a light-colored background rather than invert the image, so that it can be seen in both day and night modes.

Avoid using background: none or background: transparent

Most of the time these are unnecessary, and worse still these will interfere with automatic fixes in place for night mode for your project. These should be removed or moved to TemplateStyles if absolutely necessary to avoid color contrasting issues in the night theme.

The background rule is unnecessary.

Acceptable example

If the background is necessary, define color: inherit as well.

Advice for editors building alternative themes

More generally, we want to encourage editors to think of templates and articles as being agnostic with respect to theming and styles. In addition to night mode, there can be any number of potential color themes, and indeed the Wikipedia mobile apps (via the Page Content Service) already offer a "sepia" theme, as well as a "black" theme intended for power-saving OLED screens.

To invert or not to invert?

An invert using CSS filters provides a quick way to convert content designed in a light theme into a darker theme. While we cannot recommend this approach for all content , it is still a useful tool that can often be utilized safely and cheaply. The Wikipedia night mode gadget uses the invert CSS filter property to style content. You can prevent an element from having colors inverted by adding the mw-no-invert class. You can also use the skin-invert class to request that the content is inverted by the software when available.

Consider patterns rather than background colors

Colorblind readers can have difficulties telling apart and recognizing small colored items. In articles, consider using patterns rather than, or in addition to, color where appropriate. Ideally, where the pattern is separate from the text. Consider using monochrome CSS Background Patterns and reading about how Trello introduced a colorblind friendly mode.

Consider globally setting link color inside tables with background

It is quite common for editors to create tables with background colors defined on rows or columns. If the table contains links this can be problematic, as often the color choices will be tailored towards accessibility in the standard theme, or will not consider accessibility at all.

For example the links in this table are accessible in light theme but not the dark theme:

Instead of blue links inside these tables, it might be better to create black links with underlines (to distinguish them from other text).

More information in https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T360844

Disabled text does not necessarily need to meet color contrast guidelines

From https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/non-text-contrast.html

User Interface Components that are not available for user interaction (e.g., a disabled control in HTML) are not required to meet contrast requirements. An inactive user interface component is visible but not currently operable. An example would be a submit button at the bottom of a form that is visible but cannot be activated until all the required fields in the form are completed.

The page looks fine to me, despite not following these rules, why?

To reduce the amount of initial work that is required for wikis to adopt night mode, various generalized solutions may have been applied for the time being to pages to help them comply with night mode. These styles will eventually be removed, when wikis have adapted to the new theme.

These are listed here:

• WikimediaMessages SiteAdminHelper - the site admin helper ships various styles that improve night mode support - this includes disabling/updating backgrounds and borders in elements with the class .navbox, .infobox, .quotebox, .side-box, .metadata, .navigation-box, and all elements on the main page. It also enforces black text color on any element which defines an inline style with a background rule. Note, while this fixes the large majority of issues, this also causes breakage to some elements, in particular any style attribute that sets background: inherit and background: transparent.
• MediaWiki:Vector-2022.css / MediaWiki:Minerva.css rules - some wikis may have adopted generalized rules that change links to black underlined text to any table element that have inline styles that apply backgrounds. For example English Wikipedia .
• A local solution may have already been applied to the template you are looking at. Be sure to inspect the element and look at any associated styles provided by template styles that may be applying specific rules when the night theme classes are detected on the HTML element.

The following tickets explain fixes for various namespaces/templates and types of pages that were applied to a single project. They may be useful to other projects with similar templates or outdated copies of those templates.

Please be sure to read the associated discussion – and ask questions if you have any so other projects can benefit from sharing expertise.

General issues

• Links inside table rows with background colors: phab:T360844
• Tables with alternating row colors T358003
• Portal:Current events T357717

Templates / modules

• Template:Color T360683
• Module:Track listing T357730
• Module:Citation https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T359894
• Template:No_article_text https://test.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3ANo_article_text&diff=596846&oldid=494808
• Module:Message_box https://test.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Module%3AMessage_box&diff=596845&oldid=579405
• Template:PD-self https://test.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-self
• Template:Key press

Please review the following messages on your wiki:

• MediaWiki:Newarticletext
• MediaWiki:Uploadtext
• MediaWiki:Protect-text
• MediaWiki:Recentchangestext
• MediaWiki:Sitenotice

• Toggle limited content width

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Landslides in Southern India Kill More Than 100 People

Rescue workers struggled to reach isolated villages in the state of Kerala, where torrential rains have washed away terrain. The death toll was expected to rise.

By Sameer Yasir and Anupreeta Das

Reporting from New Delhi

At least 108 people were killed and dozens more injured in the southern Indian state of Kerala after days of heavy rainfall set off multiple landslides in a hilly region, in what government officials called one of its worst natural disasters.

The landslides in the district of Wayanad — a region whose natural, rugged beauty draws millions of tourists every year — uprooted trees, knocked down communication lines, submerged roads and washed away a bridge. Rescue operations were hindered by the region’s terrain, which made it harder to reach hundreds of residents in the areas that were hit the hardest.

“This is one of the worst natural calamities Kerala has ever witnessed,” said Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, in a statement. Mr. Vijayan said the damage to homes and livelihoods was “immense,” adding that his government had set up relief camps for thousands of people affected.

The death toll rose throughout the day as rescue workers recovered more bodies from under debris, and the number was expected to rise as the search continued, according to government officials. More than 125 people were injured.

“We are fighting nature at its worst,” said Akhilesh Kumar, an official with India’s National Disaster Response Forces who was overseeing the rescue operation along with the Indian Army and firefighters.

In his statement, Mr. Vijayan said the government was sending tankers of drinking water and rations and setting up temporary hospitals. He said there were efforts underway to identify the dead even as search teams looked for other victims of the catastrophe.

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