Goals, Strategies, and Language Use in Discussion/Conclusions

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As a reminder, there are different tools for each section of the research article, and all these tools can be categorized into three sets: Goals, Strategies, and Language Use. Goals are used to communicate your overall argumentative intent. Strategies are used to achieve your goals, and Language Use connects the Goals and Strategies in meaningful ways to enable explicit and cohesive expression of ideas.

1. There are three overarching Goals of a Discussion/Conclusion section. What do you think they are?
2. What common Language Use expressions (e.g., The study suggests that…) have you used in Discussion/Conclusion sections? What do those expressions intend to communicate?

Communicative Goals in Discussion/Conclusions

Remember that Goals are used to communicate the overall argumentative intent of a section. In the D/C section, the intent is to deepen knowledge and contribute to the field. Researchers can achieve this intent by using three main Goals. The first Goal, Re-establish the Territory, helps to ground the research discussion by bringing in relevant background information from the Introduction, Methods, and/or Results that may be necessary to better contextualize the Discussion. The second Goal, Frame Principal Findings, is the heart of the D/C section, hence its figurative red color. Here, we discuss the results and establish their meaning based on existing knowledge in the field. This Goal is also devoted to the need for updating current literature by supporting or countering previous research using evidence from the present study. Finally, the last Goal is to Establish Additional Territory by expanding the principal findings to broader contexts, applications, and other follow-up actions.

Goal One: Re-establish the Territory

Discussion sections often begin by reintroducing relevant background information to Re-establish the Territory. This goal, represented by the color BLUE in our annotation framework, is used to contextualize the argumentation that follows. The information provided may or may not have been introduced earlier in the paper, but it is quite common to pull relevant information from the Introduction, Methods, or Results. Restating background information can help to emphasize the paper’s central message(s) and provide a cohesive tie from the beginning to the end of the manuscript. This information can be theoretical and/or empirical and may also contain a recapitulation of study-specific details and statements of principal findings. In manuscripts where Conclusions are separate from Discussions, this goal is used to wrap up the paper by summarizing main points to provide background for conclusive remarks.

Goal Two: Frame Principal Findings

The second Goal of the D/C section is to Frame Principal Findings. The intent of this is similar to that of commenting in the Results section, if commenting exists at all in the Results. Commentary in the D/C section differs, however, in that it approaches the findings from a broader perspective that extends meaning beyond individual results. In the D/C section, the meaning of results is established based on existing knowledge in the field. The existing knowledge should help to determine logical reasoning, explanations, interpretations, and relevant deliberations that go beyond the ‘‘objective’’ results and/or beyond the framework of the study.

Goal Three: Establishing Additional Territory

The final Goal of the D/C section, and perhaps of the whole manuscript, is to Establish Additional Territory. Remember that our Goal in the Introduction section was to Establish a Territory to which our research seeks to contribute (see Chapter 2). The D/C section is an opportunity to show where the field is going by expanding this territory into new directions for the future. Thus, this goal is used to expand beyond the principal findings and/or beyond the study specifics to the broader context of the discipline. We may draw conclusions, evaluate the study, highlight the significance of the study, and/or recommend follow-up actions. For documents in which the conclusion is presented separately from discussion, the conclusion section tends to be used mostly for this goal of Establishing Additional Territory.

The metaphoric use of colors in the D/C section can help you visualize the argument structure of published models. Note that the BLUE in the D/C section resembles the blue sky, spanning all relevant information to foreground the section content. The RED is the heart of the D/C where the principal results are fully discussed in relation to existing knowledge in the field. The GREEN highlights current and future growth and development in the field and on the topic. 

Writing Strategies for Achieving Goals in Discussion/Conclusions

The next sections introduce the eight Strategies for achieving the three Goals of Discussion/Conclusions. These Strategies will be useful for (1) analyzing model articles by visualizing how published authors achieve their communicative Goals and (2) facilitating your writing process by helping you utilize similar tools while maintaining your individual style and identity as a researcher. In this section, we will also provide examples of the Language Use for ensuring a cohesive connection between Goals and Strategies used to communicate your research with clarity.