Foreword

Common card · No. 449462

A foreword is a short piece of writing that appears at the beginning of a book or another literary work. A foreword is generally written by someone other than the author and frequently offers commentary on the story or some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the primary author of the work. In some cases, a new preface is prepended (appearing before an existing foreword) in later editions of a book, which may explain revisions or differences from earlier ones. When written by the author, such an introductory piece may describe the writing process and context behind the work and may include acknowledgements. However, unlike a preface, a foreword is conventionally signed and is usually attributed to a contributor distinct from the main author. Information essential to understanding the main text is generally presented in a set of explanatory notes, or perhaps in an introduction, rather than in the foreword or the preface. As part of the front matter, the foreword appears before...

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