1. Introduction
The introduction should describe the broader impact issue to set the stage for the reader, and link to the SDG you chose. The link to the SDG does not need to be made explicitly.
To help you illustrate the broader issue, include the answers to the following questions: Why is the topic relevant? Why is it important? Why do you want to talk about it? And more importantly, what is the current, metric-based, situation?
More concretely, you should strive to include:
1/ Some background with statistics to illustrate the issue
Example: "Accounting for about 22-46% of visible litter, cigarette butts are among the most widely littered trash globally1."
2/ One sentence or two on why it matters. In other words, how does this tie into a larger problem (associated with one SDG, which you do not need to precise)
Example: "Discarded cigarette butts are carried down the streets to drains, rivers and finally dumped in the ocean and its beaches2."
3/ A sentence to disclose what you will talk about, i.e. the core impact described
Example: "In 2019, nearly 4,211,962 cigarette butts were collected in the US alone as part of the ocean trash3;p15."
Let’s look at two other examples to best understand the format of a great introduction.
Example 1
1/ Background with relevant statistics:
"Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women1causing 627,000 deaths in 20182."
2/ One or two sentences on the problem, why it matters and its impact:
"In 2018, there were an estimated 2 million cases of breast cancer in the world, which is almost 23% of all cancers1. In the treatment of breast cancer, clinical trials are advised3."
3/ A sentence to clarify what your analysis will focus on
"A Clinical trial is a research study to test new approaches to treatment3. It is to test whether the treatment and drugs are safe and effective for the patient3."
Example 2
1/ Background with relevant statistics:
"Energy production accounts for 72.0% of carbon emissions worldwide, by far the most significant source compared to other sectors1."
2/ One or two sentences on the problem, why it matters and its impact:
"To reach the Paris agreement goal of keeping a global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius, the transition towards renewable energy plays a significant role."
3/ A sentence to clarify what your analysis will focus on
"For this transition to happen in time, reliable and stable investment is necessary from both private and institutional sources."