What Is Background Information? Writing Instructions
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Writing an essay usually follows standard steps for all kinds of assignments. One of these steps is the presentation of background information about your topic. Yet, the concept may look unclear for newbie writers. What is background information in an essay? Where should it be placed, and what length of this part is acceptable in various essay types? The subject becomes even more challenging when you’re learning how to write a short essay – an assignment that also requires a background part but reserves a small word count for it.
Experts of GradeMiners are examining all aspects of background composition in this article. Read on to understand what does background information mean, to identify types of background data you may include in the essay, and to spot the main do’s and don’ts of the writing process.
What Is Background Information?
The first step you start with when starting an essay is getting an answer to the question, “What is background information?” Let’s clarify this point before proceeding to more concrete writing steps.
In simple words, the background information meaning is the presentation of your topic to the audience in a manner that informs people who know nothing about the subject. For example, if you’re writing an argumentative essay about school uniforms in the USA, you should first provide background for the subject – describe the school uniform policy in different US states and name its specifics and rationale. Once you give that context, your readers will be much better positioned to understand why you consider school uniforms a research-worthy problem.
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.
Types of Background Information
When seeking an answer to the question, “What is background information in an essay?” you may come across the typology of background data. Here are the variants of information you should cover at the beginning of your academic paper so that it indeed gives you the proper context and simplifies the understanding of further content for your readers.
You can use background data of six types to introduce the readers to your topic:
- Defining the main subject.
- Describing the subject or phenomenon in detail.
- Classifying the topic.
- Defining the process that one should execute to reach a particular goal or outcome.
- Framing an argument in favor of your point.
- Persuading the readers to take your side.
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.
Don’ts
- 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.
Do’s
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.
Background Information Example
It’s hard to get a firm grasp of what is background information without studying concrete examples. Here is a sample background paragraph that illustrates how you can introduce the concept of poverty in the discussion of effective strategies for addressing poverty in Africa.
Despite a variety of humanitarian aid and regional support programs directed at the alleviation of poverty in Africa, this continent remains one of the poorest regions in the world. The concept of poverty may differ across regions and countries, as for Europeans, an inability to go on an annual vacation or buy a new piece of clothing may also be a sign of poverty. In Africa, however, the poverty threshold is calculated in a different way, suggesting that extreme poverty may reach an unthinkable scale and severity.
The extreme poverty rate in Africa stands at $1.9 per day per household, equaling the unthinkable $57 per month. While it seems hard for a non-African to imagine how a person may survive on this sum of money, African states have over 35% of the population living below that threshold. According to the recent findings of Outreach International (2024) experts, 20 out of 28 African countries have over 30% of the population that does not reach that poverty threshold and is urged to survive with a lower monthly budget. This troubling statistic suggests that over one-third of Africans cannot afford the basic amenities and even sufficient daily supplies of food.
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.
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