English 10

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English – Grade 10 Quarter 4 – Module 12: Writing the Introduction and Research
Questions

First Edition, 2020

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Published and printed by the Department of Education-Schools Division of Pasig City

Development Team of the Self-Learning Module

Writer: Joanna Paula A. Francisco

Editor:
Reviewers: Ma. Nonela B. Castillo, Eleanor A. Sarao, Rowena D. Roxas Illustrator:
Layout Artist:
Management Team: Ma. Evalou Concepcion A. Agustin
OIC-Schools Division Superintendent
Carolina T. Rivera, CESE
OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Manuel A. Laguerta EdD
Chief Curriculum Implementation Division
Victor M. Javena, EdD
Chief - School Governance and Operations Division
Education Program Supervisors

Librada L. Agon EdD (EPP/TLE/TVL/TVE)

Liza A. Alvarez (Science/STEM/SSP)
Bernard R. Balitao (AP/HUMSS)
Joselito E. Calios (English/SPFL/GAS)
Norlyn D. Conde EdD (MAPEH/SPA/SPS/HOPE/A&D/Sports)
Wilma Q. Del Rosario (LRMS/ADM)
Ma. Teresita E. Herrera EdD (Filipino/GAS/Piling Larang)
Perlita M. Ignacio PhD (EsP)
Dulce O. Santos PhD (Kindergarten/MTB-MLE)
Teresita P. Tagulao EdD (Mathematics/ABM)

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 English 10
Quarter 4
Self -Learning Module 12
Writing the Introduction
and Research Questions

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Introductory Message

For the Facilitator:

Welcome to the English Self-Learning Module on Writing the Introduction and

Research Questions!

This Self-Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed and

reviewed by educators from the Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its
Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A.
Agustin, in partnership with the City Government of Pasig through its mayor,
Honorable Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum using the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) in
developing this instructional resource.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs, namely: Communication,
Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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 For the Learner:

Welcome to the English Self-Learning Module on Writing the Introduction and

Research Questions!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectations - This points to the set of knowledge and skills that

you will learn after completing the module.

Pretest - This measures your prior knowledge about the lesson at

hand.

Recap - This part of the module provides a review of concepts and

skills that you already know about a previous lesson.

Lesson - This section discusses the topic in the module.

Activities - This is a set of activities that you need to perform.

Wrap-Up - This section summarizes the concepts and application of

the lesson.

Valuing - This part integrates a desirable moral value in the lesson.

Posttest – This measure how much you have learned from the entire
module.

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 EXPECTATIONS

This is your self-instructional learner module in English 10. All the activities
provided in this lesson will help you learn and understand: Writing the
Introduction and Research Questions.
Upon completion of the module, you will be able to:
1. determine the essential parts of a research;
2. know tips on how to write a research question;
3. compose research questions on a relevant social issue.

PRETEST

Write True if the statement is correct and False if the statement is not correct. Write
your answer on the blank before each sentence.
______________ 1. When you write a research paper, your goal is to give information.
______________ 2. A brief background provides an overview of the scope
of the research.
______________ 3. A history book is a primary source of information.
______________ 4. A good research question is not essential in writing a
research paper.
______________ 5. Research questions or objectives are tools to guide readers
in knowing the direction of the research.

RECAP
Write your idea or thoughts about each statement on writing a research title.

1. Keep it short and simple.

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. Avoid any jargon or abbreviations.

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__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Use keywords that closely relate to the content of your title.

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. Never include a period at the end—your title is not a sentence.

__________________________________________________________________________________

LESSON

The introduction serves the purpose of leading the reader from a general
subject area to a particular field of research. It establishes the context of the research
being conducted by summarizing current understanding and background
information about the topic, stating the purpose of the work in the form of the
hypothesis, question, or research problem, briefly explaining your rationale,
methodological approach, highlighting the potential outcomes your study can reveal,
and describing the remaining structure of the paper.
A well-written introduction is important because, quite simply, you never get
a second chance to make a good first impression. The opening paragraph of your
paper will provide your readers with their initial impressions about the logic of your
argument, your writing style, the overall quality of your research, and, ultimately,
the validity of your findings and conclusions. A vague, disorganized, or error-filled
introduction will create a negative impression, whereas, a concise, engaging, and
well-written introduction will start your readers off thinking highly of your analytical
skills, your writing style, and your research approach.
Every research paper needs context so that readers can understand why you
have created it. This is exactly what you can do in your research paper introduction.
Of course, this can mean that your introduction is the hardest part of paper to write
first. So, it is essential that you take your time and make sure that you get it right.
The introduction of writing is going to set out your rationale, which is what a
research will be based around. Your readers will be able to tell right from the
beginning what they are going to be reading about and even whether it interests
them.

Essential Parts of the Introduction

1. Provide Background Information

The topic is basically the fundament of any writing you prepare. Regarding, from
which angle you look at your topic, it will reflect different aspects. It’s better to begin
with outlining your topic. There is no secret on how to start a research paper intro:

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you should just state your topic and add some connected with topic issues that
bothers you a lot. This is a perfect strategy to intrigue the reader.
It is recommended to start with general info and then narrowing down to some
concrete aspects. Try not to deepen into a state of things in the beginning, but explain
your view on the topic. If you are going to use some difficult expressions in the central
part of an essay, make them clear to any reader and point out their connection with
your topic.

Below are some examples:

• A paper on organic matter in soil can begin thus: ‘Sustainable crop production
is a function of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil, which,
in turn, are markedly affected by the organic matter in soil.’
• A paper that discusses the possible beneficial role of bacteria in treating
cancer can begin as follows: ‘The role of bacteria as anticancer agent was
recognized almost hundred years back.’
• A paper on lithium batteries can introduce the study with the following
sentence: ‘The rapid growth of lithium ion batteries and their new uses, such
as powering electric cars and storing electricity for grid supply, demands more
reliable methods to understand and predict battery performance and life.’

At the same time, the introductory statement should not be too broad: note that
in the examples above, the Introduction did not begin by talking about agriculture,
cancer, or batteries in general, but by mentioning organic matter in soil, the role of
bacteria, and lithium ion batteries.
Once the first sentence has introduced the broad field, the next sentence can point
to the specific area within that broad field. As you may have noticed, the papers in
the examples mentioned above introduced the subfield by mentioning 1) remission
of some types cancer following accidental infection by Streptococcus pyogenes, 2)
organic matter in soil as a source of nutrients for plants and of energy for
microorganisms, and 3) imaging techniques to visualize the 3-dimensional structure
of the materials and components of batteries on nanoscale.

2. Objectives of the Study

Thesis statement marks the conclusive part of the introduction for research
paper or research summary and transition to the actual research. This sentence
supports all the things you have written before and collects all your ideas in a logical
and concise saying. If your subject is too complicated, you should make thesis
statement comprehensible with it. The thesis is what runs through your complete
essay, that’s why the intro where a thesis is stated sets the tone for the entire paper.

Your thesis should:

• Give general info on topic

• Be engaging and precise
• Reflect the significance of raised issue

Here are two more examples:

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 • ‘We aimed to assess the effectiveness of four disinfection strategies on
hospital-wide incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms and Clostridium
difficile’
• ‘We aimed (1) to assess the epidemiological changes before and after the
upsurge of scarlet fever in China in 2011; (2) to explore the reasons for the
upsurge and the epidemiological factors that contributed to it; and (3) to
assess how these factors could be managed to prevent future epidemics.’

3. Significance of the Study

As you can see from the above examples, the authors are moving toward
presenting the specific topic of their research. So now in the following part, you can
bring in some statistics to show the importance of the topic or the seriousness of the
problem.
Here are some examples:
• A paper on controlling malaria by preventive measures, can mention the
number of people affected, the number of person-hours lost, or the cost of
treating the disease.
• A paper on developing crops that require little water can mention the
frequency of severe droughts or the decrease in crop production because of
droughts.
• A paper on more efficient methods of public transport can mention the extent
of air pollution due to exhausts from cars and two-wheelers or the shrinking
ratio between the number of automobiles and road length.
Another way to emphasize the importance of the research topic is to highlight the
possible benefits from solving the problem or from finding an answer to the question:
possible savings, greater production, longer-lasting devices, and so on. This approach
emphasizes the positive.

4. Literature Review
As mentioned earlier, a formal review of literature is out of place in the Introduction
section of a research paper; however, it is appropriate to indicate any earlier relevant
research and clarify how your research differs from those attempts. The differences
can be simple: you may have repeated the same set of experiments but with a
different organism, or elaborated (involving perhaps more sophisticated or advanced
analytical instruments) the study with a much larger and diverse sample, or a widely
different geographical setting.
Here are two examples:
• ‘Although these studies were valuable, they were undertaken when the draft
genome sequence had not been available and therefore provide little
information on the evolutionary and regulatory mechanisms.’
• ‘Plant response is altered by insect colonization and behaviour but these
aspects have been studied mostly in sole crops, whereas the present paper
examines the relationship between crops and their pests in an intercropping
system.’

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Example of an Introduction in Research Paper

Sometimes, it is best to view an example of an introduction in a research paper in

order to understand it better.
Did you know that there are currently over 2.3 million Americans incarcerated for their
crimes? While it is widely believed that prison should be the punishment for crime,
statistics find that 77 percent of prisoners will re-offend once they are released. This
suggests that prison is not working to reduce recidivism. My research paper aims to
demonstrate that prison does not work as a way to prevent crime and that alternatives
should be considered, such as restorative justice and other community sentencing.

Tips on How to Write an Introduction

Define and Explain Concepts

Is writing including concepts that are going to be complicated for the average reader
to understand? If the answer to this question is yes, this means that you should take
the time to explain them as best as you can in your introduction. This includes any
jargon or terms that you think will be important to know before reading your findings
and analysis.
Start with a Quotation
You want to capture your reader’s attention right from the beginning. If you are not
sure how to do that effectively, think about including a quotation that captures the
heart of topic. This will be particularly true if your essay is for social subjects, such
as English, History, and humanities. This is going to help create a picture in the
reader’s head, and they will remember this when they are reading your work.
Depending on the subject of your paper, this could also include a striking statistic.

Communicate your Structure

Readers need to know not only why you are conducting a particular research topic,
but also how you intend to do this. This means that your introduction should set out
the structure that will be followed in your article. This will allow a reader to easily
navigate between different parts and make sure that it all makes sense. All papers
should be organized to ensure that the reader understands everything that is going
on and to make your findings valuable.

What is a Research Question?

A research question is the question around which you center your research. It should
be:

• clear: it provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily understand
its purpose without needing additional explanation.

• focused: it is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space

the writing task allows.

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 • concise: it is expressed in the fewest possible words.

• complex: it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no,” but rather requires
synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an
answer.

•arguable: its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted
facts.
A good research question is essential to guide your research paper, project or thesis.
It pinpoints exactly what you want to find out and gives your work a clear focus and
purpose. All research questions should be:

How to write a research question

The process of developing your research question follows several steps:

• Choose a broad topic

• Do some preliminary reading to find out about topical debates and issues
• Narrow down a specific niche that you want to focus on
• Identify a practical or theoretical research problem that you will address.

What makes a strong research question?

Writing questions isn’t a difficult task in itself, but it can be hard to work out if you
have a good research question. Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s
important to spend some time refining them. The criteria below can help you evaluate
the strength of your research question.

Focused and researchable

Your central research question should follow from your research problem to keep
your work focused. If you have multiple questions, they should all clearly relate to
this central aim.

You must be able to find an answer by collecting quantitative and/or qualitative data,
or by reading scholarly sources on the topic to develop an argument. If such data is
impossible to access, you will have to rethink your question and ask something more
concrete.

• Is X or Y a better policy?
• How effective are X and Y policies at reducing rates of Z?

Feasible and specific

Make sure you have enough time and resources to do the research required to answer
the question. If you think you might struggle to gain access to enough data, consider
narrowing down the question to be more specific.
All the terms you use in the research question should have clear meanings. Avoid vague
language and broad ideas, and be clear about what, who, where and when
your question addresses.

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 • What effect does social media have on people’s minds?
• What effect does daily use of Twitter have on the attention span of under16s?

Complex and arguable

Closed yes/no questions are too simple to work as good research questions — they
don’t provide enough scope for investigation and discussion. The question should
aim to contribute to an existing debate — ideally one that is current in your field or
in society at large. It should produce knowledge that future researchers or
practitioners can build on.

• Has there been an increase in homelessness in the UK in the past ten years?
• How have economic and political factors affected patterns of homelessness in
the UK over the past ten years?

Relevant and original

The research question should be developed based on initial reading around your
topic, and it should focus on addressing a problem or gap in the existing knowledge.
The question should aim to contribute to an existing debate — ideally one that is
current in your field or in society at large. It should produce knowledge that future
researchers or practitioners can build on.

How to Develop a Questionnaire for Research

1. Choose an interesting general topic. Most professional researchers focus on

topics they are genuinely interested in studying. Writers should choose a broad
topic about which they genuinely would like to know more. An example of a
general topic might be “Slavery in the American South” or “Films of the 1930s.”
2. Do some preliminary research on your general topic. Do a few quick
searches in current periodicals and journals on your topic to see what’s already
been done and to help you narrow your focus. What issues are scholars and
researchers discussing, when it comes to your topic? What questions occur to
you as you read these articles?
3. Consider your audience. For most college papers, your audience will be
academic, but always keep your audience in mind when narrowing your topic
and developing your question. Would that particular audience be interested in
the question you are developing?
4. Start asking questions. Taking into consideration all of the above, start asking
yourself open-ended “how” and “why” questions about your general topic. For
example, “Why were slave narratives effective tools in working toward the
abolishment of slavery?” or “How did the films of the 1930s reflect or respond to
the conditions of the Great Depression?”
5. Evaluate your question. After you’ve put a question or even a couple of
questions down on paper, evaluate these questions to determine whether they
would be effective research questions or whether they need more revising and
refining.
o Is your research question clear? With so much research available on any given
topic, research questions must be as clear as possible in order to be effective in

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 helping the writer direct his or her research. o Is your research question focused?
Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space
available.
o Is your research question complex? Research questions should not be
answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” or by easily-found facts. They should,
instead, require both research and analysis on the part of the writer. They often
begin with “How” or “Why.”

6. Begin your research. After you’ve come up with a question, think about the
possible paths your research could take. What sources should you consult as
you seek answers to your question? What research process will ensure that you
find a variety of perspectives and responses to your question?

Sample Research Questions

Unclear: How should social networking sites address the harm they cause? Clear:
What action should social networking sites like My Space and Facebook take to protect
users’ personal information and privacy?

Unfocused: What is the effect on the environment from global warming?

Focused: What is the most significant effect of glacial melting on the lives of penguins
in Antartica?

Too simple: How are doctors addressing diabetes in the U.S.?

Appropriately Complex: What main environmental, behavioral, and genetic factors
predict whether Americans will develop diabetes, and how can these commonalities be
used to aid the medical community in prevention of the disease?

Guided Practice

Write the letter of the correct answer on the space provided.

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______1. Choose the research question that is most feasible in a limited time frame.

A. How can drunk driving be prevented?

B. What effect do different laws have on the number of people who drive after

drinking alcohol?

C. How effective is the government at preventing alcohol-related car

fatalities?

______2. Choose the most original research question.

A. What are the main themes of Shakespeare's Othello?

B. How is race represented in Shakespeare’s Othello?

C. How have modern adaptations of Othello dealt with the theme of racism

through casting, staging and allusion to contemporary events?

______3. Choose the most researchable question.

A. Does the government has a better healthcare system?

B. How does the government compare in health outcomes and patient

satisfaction among low-income people with chronic illnesses?

C. Should the government provide a free healthcare to the poor people?

______4. Choose a well-defined research question.

A. What effect does social media have on people’s minds?

B. What effect does daily use of Facebook have on the attention span of the

children below 15 years old?

C. How does social media affect the people?

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______ 5. Choose a specific and original research question.

A. What are the advantages and disadvantages of cell phone use in schools?

B. How does restricting cell phone use in school affect student social
interaction?

C. Why social media affects the study habits of the youth?

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1
Research Paper Outline Worksheet. Write your answers on the spaces
provided. Choose your own topic about social issues.
1. Introduction (introduces topic in interesting way; introduces key ideas
to help explain your argument)

Thesis Statement: (your argument & road map)

2. Background Paragraph: (information to help reader understand the

broad context of your topic.)

3.Subtopic

Evidence:
A.________________________________________________________________________________
B.________________________________________________________________________________
C. ________________________________________________________________________________

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Activity 2
Develop a research question. Write your answer on the spaces provided.
Choose your own topic about social issue.
1.DEFINE THE TOPIC AREA
In a sentence or two, describe your broad topic or area of research.
(Example: “Smoking cessation.”)

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM

In a sentence or two, describe a problem that would be addressed in your
topic or area of research. (Example: “Smokers often relapse because of
complex physical and psychological factors.”)

___________________________________________________________________________________

3. CREATE THE RESEARCH QUESTION

Write as many questions as you can think of that relate to your research topic
or problem. Try starting questions with what, why, when, where, who, and
how; in general, avoid questions that will result in only “yes” or “no” answers.
Draft a primary question: Do you see one main question emerging from the
list above? If not, try doing some additional reading or thinking, or talk to your
supervisor or instructor (Example: How do the physiological and psychological
effects of smoking make it difficult for young adults to quit smoking?)

Activity 3

Choose a social issue below and be able to write your own research questions.
Apply the tips on how to write good research questions. Refer to the rubric to
guide you in doing the task. Do this activity on a sheet of paper.

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 A. Poverty

B. Bullying
C. Poor Leadership
D. Covid 19 Virus
E. Social Media
RUBRIC:
Catchy questions 40%
Well - organized 30%
Well - written 30%
Total 100%

WRAP-UP

Now that you have completed the activities, what have you learned or realized
from this lesson?

Directions: Put the following steps of writing the introduction in correct order.
Write 1 to 5 on the spaces provided.

______ Discuss the relevance of the study to your intended audience

______ Provide an overview of the scope of the research
______ Cite previous studies done on the chosen topic
______ Write a thesis statement or a thesis question
______ Organizing notes and making a final outline

VALUING

Directions: Write an introduction for a research report that you would like to
carry through. Be sure that it has the necessary parts and information. you
can use an extra sheet of paper.

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__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

POSTTEST

Answer the questions correctly. Write the letter of the answer on the space
before the number.

_______ 1. The basic purpose of a research paper is to _____.

A. explain
B. narrate
C. inform
D. illustrate

________ 2. The first step in writing a research paper is to _____.

A. narrow your subject to refine your topic
B. choose a subject
C. develop a research question
D. find sources

_________3. A good research topic is one that is _____.

A. general or vague
B. easy, uncomplicated
C. of interest to the researcher
D. Only A and B

_________4. The thesis statement for a research paper _____.

A. helps organize the information you have collected.
B. helps you emphasize certain aspects of your topic.
C. states the main idea of your topic.
D. all of the above

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________ 5. What purposes are accomplished by the introduction of a research
paper?
A. It provides background information and key terms.
B. It grabs the reader's attention.
C. It presents the main idea, or thesis statement.
D. all of the above

KEY TO CORRECTION

References
https://edubirdie.com/blog/research-paper-introduction
https://penmypaper.com/blog/research-paper-introduction-exampl
https://library.wlu.ca/sites/default/files/pdfs/tutorials/researchquestionw
orksheet.pdf https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-questions/
https://www.editage.com/insights/4-step-approach-to-writing-theintroduction-
section- https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185916

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