All good things must come to an end, and at this point we will wrap up the scientific writing series with how to put together a solid discussion. The discussion is the last piece a reader will explore in your manuscript, and this will create the lasting impression that your reader walks away with. The discussion should tie together all the parts of the manuscript by answering the main question of the paper, explaining the supporting results, and indicating how these new findings fill a gap of knowledge in the field.
The content of the discussion needs to address various questions from the reader regarding the main claim, evidence, and implications of the findings. As a writer your argument in support of your findings to address these questions should include:
- Claims supported by evidence
- Warrants and qualifications to explain why your evidence is relevant and supports your claims
- Restatements and reinforcements of your initial findings
- Highlights of the importance and implications of your findings
Organization is key to establishing an effective and persuasive argument for the reader. The sections of the discussion can be organized as follows:
- The beginning
- State your claim and evidence to support your claim
- The claim should be a powerful idea and can be signaled with phrases such as “this study shows” and “our results indicate”.
- The evidence will support the claim using the results and findings of the study. It can be signaled with phrases such as “in particular” and “we found that”,
- Focus only on results that are critical for your argument.
- The middle
- Provide warrants and qualifications for the answer.
- Warrants examine the validity of the answer and explain how the findings fit in the larger literature.
- Qualifications address conflicting results, discrepancies, unexpected findings, and weaknesses.
- The end
- Readdress and reinforce the findings and explain why they are important in the field.
The overall length of the discussion can vary, but it is not the length that is important; it is the final message. The fat lady at the end needs to sing in key and not out of tune. Staying focused and taking the time to produce a clear argument will achieve this goal.
The information in this post was originally presented by Erika Shor, PhD (es783@rutgers.edu) in the Scientific Writing Workshop at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.