Crafting compelling introductions is crucial for academic research papers. A well-structured introduction not only sets the stage for your research but also convinces readers of its significance and originality. The CARS (Create a Research Space) Model, developed by John Swales, provides a robust framework for constructing effective introductions. This model, widely used in academic writing, outlines a three-move structure to help researchers establish their work within the existing body of knowledge and highlight their unique contribution. Understanding and applying the CARS model can significantly enhance the clarity and impact of your research paper introductions.
Move 1: Establishing a Territory (The Situation)
The first move in the CARS model, “Establishing a Territory,” focuses on situating your research within a broader context. It aims to demonstrate the importance and relevance of your research area. This move typically involves two key strategies: first, highlighting the significance of the general research area, and second, reviewing existing literature to identify gaps or inadequacies in prior research.
To effectively establish a territory, consider these steps:
Step 1: Claiming Importance
Begin by emphasizing the significance of your research topic. Explain why this area of study is important, critical, interesting, problematic, or relevant. Provide evidence and arguments to support the value of investigating this topic.
Writing action: Describe the research problem and provide evidence to support why the topic is important to study.
Step 2: Making Topic Generalizations
Next, broaden the scope by making generalizations about the current state of knowledge, consensus, or practices within your research area. This helps to paint a picture of the existing landscape and sets the context for your specific research.
Writing action: Provide statements about the current state of knowledge, consensus, practice or description of phenomena.
Step 3: Reviewing Items of Previous Research
Conclude Move 1 by selectively reviewing key pieces of prior research. This is not intended to be an exhaustive literature review but rather a focused synthesis of studies that have touched upon your topic. The goal is to show how previous research has laid the groundwork while also hinting at areas that need further exploration.
Writing action: Synthesize prior research that further supports the need to study the research problem; this is not a literature review but more a reflection of key studies that have touched upon but perhaps not fully addressed the topic.
Move 2: Establishing a Niche (The Problem)
Once you have established the territory, Move 2, “Establishing a Niche,” narrows the focus to your specific research area. This move is about justifying your research by demonstrating its unique value and contribution. It involves creating a compelling argument for why your particular research is necessary and important. Establishing a niche can be achieved through several strategies:
Step 1a: Counter-claiming
One approach is to counter-claim, which involves challenging an existing viewpoint or perspective. Identify a gap in prior research or a weakness in the prevailing argument that your research will address.
Writing action: Introduce an opposing viewpoint or perspective or identify a gap in prior research that you believe has weakened or undermined the prevailing argument.
Step 1b: Indicating a Gap
Another common strategy is to explicitly indicate a gap in the existing literature. Highlight an area that has been understudied or overlooked by previous research. Position your research as filling this gap and contributing to a more complete understanding of the topic.
Writing action: Develop the research problem around a gap or understudied area of the literature.
Step 1c: Question-raising
Similar to identifying a gap, question-raising involves posing key questions that arise from the limitations or unanswered aspects of prior research. These questions should directly relate to the consequences of the gaps you have identified and should be the central focus of your study. For example, “While previous studies have examined the effects of social media on teenagers’ self-esteem, it remains unclear how different platforms contribute to these effects.”
Writing action: Similar to gap identification, this involves presenting key questions about the consequences of gaps in prior research that will be addressed by your study.
Step 1d: Continuing a Tradition
Finally, you can establish a niche by positioning your research as a continuation or extension of existing work. This approach involves building upon previous findings to expand knowledge, refine understanding, or address unanswered questions that naturally arise from prior research. Use connecting words like “hence,” “therefore,” “consequently,” or “thus” to signal this continuity. For example, “Building on the findings of Smith (2020) and Jones (2022), this study aims to investigate…”
Writing action: Extend prior research to expand upon or clarify a research problem. This is often signaled with logical connecting terminology, such as, “hence,” “therefore,” “consequently,” “thus” or language that indicates a need.
Move 3: Occupying the Niche (The Solution)
The final move, “Occupying the Niche,” is where you explicitly state how your research will contribute to the field. This is your opportunity to answer the “So What?” question and clearly articulate the value and novelty of your study. Move 3 involves outlining the purpose of your research, announcing your main findings, and indicating the structure of the rest of your paper.
Step 1a: Outlining Purposes
Clearly state the objectives of your study. Explain what you intend to achieve and what specific questions your research will answer. This section should directly address the niche you established in Move 2 and highlight the contribution you aim to make.
Writing action: Answering the “So What?” question. Explain in clear language the objectives of your study.
Step 1b: Announcing Present Research
Describe the nature of your study and what it will accomplish. Reiterate the purpose of your research in terms of its actions and outcomes. This further clarifies the “So What?” question and emphasizes the significance of your contribution.
Writing action: Describe the purpose of your study in terms of what the research is going to do or accomplish. In the social sciences, this also relates to answering the “So What?” question.
Step 2: Announcing Principal Findings
Provide a brief, general summary of your key findings. This gives the reader a preview of the results and reinforces the value of your research. This section should be concise and focus on the most significant outcomes of your study. Phrases like “The findings indicate…” or “The research suggests…” are commonly used.
Writing action: Present a brief, general summary of key findings written, such as, “The findings indicate a need for…,” or “The research suggests four approaches to….”
Step 3: Indicating Article Structure
Conclude your introduction by outlining the remaining structure of your paper. Briefly describe how the rest of the article is organized, guiding the reader through the subsequent sections. This provides a roadmap for the reader and helps them navigate the paper effectively.
Writing action: State how the remainder of your paper is organized.
By systematically following the three moves of the CARS model – Establishing a Territory, Establishing a Niche, and Occupying the Niche – you can construct compelling and effective introductions for your research papers. This framework ensures that your introduction not only provides context and background but also clearly articulates the significance and originality of your research, making it more engaging and impactful for your readers.
References
“Introductions.” The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.
Atai, Mahmood Reza. “Exploring Subdisciplinary Variations and Generic Structure of Applied Linguistics Research Article Introductions Using CARS Model.” The Journal of Applied Linguistics 2 (Fall 2009): 26-51.
Chanel, Dana. “Research Article Introductions in Cultural Studies: A Genre Analysis Explorationn of Rhetorical Structure.” The Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes 2 (2014): 1-20.
Coffin, Caroline and Rupert Wegerif. “How to Write a Standard Research Article.” Inspiring Academic Practice at the University of Exeter.
Kayfetz, Janet. “Academic Writing Workshop.” University of California, Santa Barbara, Fall 2009.
Pennington, Ken. “The Introduction Section: Creating a Research Space CARS Model.” Language Centre, Helsinki University of Technology, 2005.
Swales, John and Christine B. Feak. Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Skills and Tasks. 3rd edition. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2012.
Swales, John M. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Thomson, Pat and Barbara Kamler. Chapter 5: Beginning Work. In Writing for Peer Reviewed Journals: Strategies for Getting Published. (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 93-96.
