Writing an introductory chapter for an applied ethics textbook?

A grad student writes in:

I’ve been asked to write an introductory chapter in an applied ethics textbook and I wanted to know if anyone had advice for how to write one of these. Of course, there are tons of introductory handbooks and textbooks out there I could look at, but I was just wondering if the cocooner’s had some suggestions on a good template, amount and level of content to include and good general practice for this sort of assignment.

I'm not sure that I have any good tips here. Do any readers have any helpful tips or good examples of a textbook introduction they admire?

Comments

[ECR]

I personally like writing introductions that present the relevant views and arguments available as clearly as possible, then make clear the stance the author has on these debates. This could amount to introducing a new line of argumentation, answering criticism, developing one's favorite view in new ways, or finding further uses for it. This way the author also makes an original contribution as opposed to simply summarizing the state of the art. How deep one can go into this will depend on the editors and the aims of the volume.