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How to Write a Conclusion for Academic Paper: Expert Tips and Examples
October 14, 2022
If you're looking for help on how to craft a captivating discussion in an academic report, you've come to the right place. Writing a discussion section in a report can be challenging, especially when keeping the reader engaged.
Whether you're a student, researcher, or professional, these tips will help you take your report to the next level. So, let's get started!
There are multiple conventions to write the discussion portion, but you should center your work on the basic widely accepted framework:
- Summary: A concise summary of your primary outcomes.
- Interpretations: What do your findings conclude?
- Implications: Why do your outcomes matter?
- Limitations: What are your results not able to tell the reader?
- Recommendations: Routes for more research or analysis
What makes a discussion effective?
You've already presented the purpose of your research and given a thorough explanation of the technique, in the methodology and other sections, so when the time to write a discussion comes, you've already done the groundwork.
The discussion educates readers on the study's broader implications in light of the findings.
When submitting to a publication that chooses papers based on novelty or prospective effect, it can be difficult to highlight implications without overstating the findings. The discussion section concludes what your results imply, irrespective of the journal you submit to.
A good discussion section contextualizes your findings. It should contain the following:
- The results of your study,
- An examination of related academic work, and
- A comparison of your findings with your original theory.
How to craft a captivating discussion in an academic report.
The following tips will help you craft an engaging discussion emphasizing the importance of your report.
1. Summarize your research
Reiterate your research question at the beginning of this section and briefly summarize your key results. Instead of just restating all the information you have previously provided, try to give a concise summary of the overall finding that directly addresses your primary research question. There should only be one paragraph in this.
The distinctions between a discussion part and a results section are difficult for many students to understand. The key is to provide your results in your conclusion section and analyze them subjectively in your discussion. To keep your paper crisp, try not to combine the components of these two sections.
2. Share your opinions
Share your perspective about your findings with your readers. You might have a clear relation of results with research question but your readers might need a road signs to connect the dots.
Arrange your discussion around major elements, hypotheses, or research topics. You can alternatively start by emphasizing the most important or unexpected findings.
3. Discuss the implications of the research
Demonstrate how your results fit our current understanding, what fresh insights they add, and what implications they have for theory or practice. The reader should be notified of the precise contribution that your study has made and why they should care.
4. Understand the limitations
Even the most thorough research has limitations in scope and methodology. It's crucial to acknowledge these to establish your trustworthiness. Limitations aim to depict what can accurately and cannot be inferred from your study.
Limitations may result from the general study design, particular methodological decisions, or unexpected challenges that surfaced throughout the research process.
5. Share your recommendations
You can offer suggestions for practical applications or more studies based on the discussion of your findings. The suggestions are occasionally reserved till the end.
The constraints might immediately result in recommendations for more study. Don't just say that additional research should be done; provide specific suggestions for how future work may expand on the subjects that your current study was unable to cover.
Do’s and Don'ts while writing your discussion.
While the parts mentioned above can aid in your brainstorming and help you organize your discussion, authors make several frequent mistakes when experiencing problems with their papers. It could be challenging to strike the right balance while writing a discussion between summarising your findings, giving appropriate context for your research, and avoiding presenting new material. Remember that your article should deliver the results with confidence and sincerity!
Do’s:
- Start by clearly stating the significant findings. It will support the reader's primary takeaway and lay the groundwork for the remaining discussion.
- Describe why the reader should care about your study's findings. Discuss the implications of your results in light of prior literature highlighting both the research's advantages and disadvantages.
- Indicate if the findings support or refute your theory. What may be the causes if your theory was found to be incorrect?
- Introduce fresh or broader approaches to considering the research subject. List the possible next actions for pursuing any unanswered questions.
- When addressing a current or persistent issue, like global warming, go over the various repercussions of finding a solution.
- Be succinct. Including irrelevant stuff might overshadow the primary conclusions.
Don’ts:
- Add new arguments or supporting information that was not previously mentioned. Introduce pertinent data and supporting arguments in the paper's main body.
- Don't weaken your authority by adding statements that doubt your technique or execution, even if your study has serious shortcomings.
- Don't be afraid to mention limitations or negative outcomes. Readers will fully grasp the provided study if limits and bad outcomes are highlighted. Potential drawbacks include potential sources of bias, dangers to internal or external validity, difficulties putting an intervention into action, and other problems arising from the nature of the study design.
- Do not repeat your findings in whole sentences. Use "bridge phrases" that connect the result to the interpretation if you need to remind the reader of the finding to be addressed.
- The discussion of your work can also contain recommendations for more research, but do not repeat them there.
- Do not add new results to the discussion. Be careful not to mistake a finding's repetition for an interpretation.
Conclusion
You should have a second person read your work to make sure it makes sense; if not, it probably has to be revised. To summarise, remember that the main purpose of writing a scientific discussion is to highlight your findings. So, take the time to ensure it is comprehensive, concise, and relevant.
You can consider the following resources from Premier Dissertation to learn more about report writing.
- How to write an abstract for a report
- How to Write an Academic Report: A Guide for Students
- Conclude your Report with Confidence: A Guide on How to Write a Conclusion for a Report
- A step-by-step guide on how to write a great lab report
- How To Write A Report Introduction: A step-by-step guide
