IMRaD essays
The IMRaD structure is common in many academic fields. The acronym IMRaD stands for Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion, and these are also the generic headings for the different parts of IMRaD-structured texts.
To get an idea of how IMRAD structure works, the set of questions outlined below can help you structure your IMRaD essay: the different sections in texts with an IMRaD structure take one of these question words as their starting point. If you are a student, make sure you check with any guidelines you have received from your teacher.
IMRaD as a set of questions
| Section heading | Questions to ask | Content of section |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction |
| Introduce your study and to the reader. Include research question and thesis statement. |
| Method |
| Describe the method used and the experiments etc. carried out. |
| Results |
| Present your results. |
| Discussion |
| Discuss the implications of your study and e.g., further use of the results. |
The following video provides more input on IMRaD:
Instructional video from the free online MOOC "Writing in English at University" which was developed at Lund University in 2016.
Read about IMRaD in research writing
On the following AWELU page, which is geared towards research writing, more IMRaD-related information is provided: