3 ms·
> Write Informative Introductions > Nowadays reading a mathematics paper from top to bottom is a rare event. If we wish our paper to be read, we had better pro
by teddyh 2y ago
> Write Informative Introductions
> Nowadays reading a mathematics paper from top to bottom is a rare event. If we wish our paper to be read, we had better provide our prospective readers with strong motivation to do so.
True.
> A lengthy introduction, summarizing the history of the subject, giving everybody his due, and perhaps enticingly outlining the content of the paper in a discursive manner, will go some of the way towards getting us a couple of readers.
That does not sound like a very good way to accomplish this.
I would instead recommend the approach explained here:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIzMaLkCaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIzMaLkCaM>
(It’s Larry McEnerney’s lecture The Craft of Writing Effectively)
- crazygringo 2y agoI suppose it depends on whether you're looking for readers outside of your sub-sub-field, or readers within it. If you're looking for readers outside your sub-sub-field, then it definitely sounds like a good way to me.
- teddyh 2y agoNo, I think that’s a common fallacy. The lecture I linked uses the example of someone writing a paper to get grants, etc. This is not ”outside your field”. Other academicians in your field are regular people too, and all readers (who are not your immediate teachers) will benefit from the techniques described.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]