The introduction to an essay is very important. It is the FIRST paragraph that the marker reads and should 'grab' the reader. Introduction paragraphs are usually about 5% of your essay word count. ... Note that most introductions generally only include references if definitions are taken from an information source.

Can you cite a source in the introduction?

The APA guidelines do not require or prohibit citations in an introduction or conclusion. ... The choice of using a citation in the introduction or conclusion is up to the writer. If using an interesting statistic to grab the reader's attention, be sure to cite it.

Why do you need to include citations in the introduction?

The purpose of these citations is to let your reader know from where a specific piece of information came. If you do not include in-text citations, your readers will be more likely to distrust your credibility as an author and you are in danger of plagiarizing.