Overview

Flowchart showing this is the fourth section of the report body: 1. Introduction. What is this document about? 2. Methods. What did you do? 3. Results. What did you see or determine? 4. Conclusions. What does it mean? 5. Recommendations. What should we do?
The Sections of the Body of the Recommendation Report

The Conclusions section tells your readers what your research data means. You discuss the implications of your findings and explain how your interpretation can influence how to proceed based on your research.

Where You Can Find Help

From Howdy or Hello? Technical and Professional Communication

From LinkedIn Learning

From Technical Communication

How You Do It

  1. Obtain and review copies of the drafts of your group’s Methods and Results sections before beginning this section. The interpretation in this section should directly connect to the information in the two previous sections of the report.
  2. Add the heading for your Conclusions section:
    1. Add the word Conclusions as the heading at the top of the page and center the line.
    2. Format the word so that it is clearly the heading for the page. You can use the built-in headings in your word processor.
    3. Skip a blank line.
  3. Begin your Conclusions section with a short paragraph that provides an advance organizer for the rest of the section. See the example opening in the first paragraph of the Conclusions section in the Sample Recommendation Report for help.
  4. For each task identified in your Methods and Results sections, add a matching subsection in your Conclusions section with details on the implications of your research. Follow these guidelines for each subsection:

    Tips for Writing Subheadings

    Task Heading
    • Copy the subsection headings from the Methods & Results Sections to your Conclusions section. The subsection headings should match in all three sections.
    • If desired, drop the Task and number labels from your subheading, retaining only the brief statement of the task. Ideally your subheading should be approximately 1 line or less in length.
    • Format your subheading so that it is different from the paragraphs in the body and matches other subheadings in the report. You can use the built-in headings in your word processor. See the first task in the Conclusions section in the Sample Recommendation Report for an example.
    Task Details
    Provide relevant details under each heading, including the following information:
    • Explain the implications of your research, referring to your research to support your implications.
    • Focus this section on your conclusions only. Save your recommendations for the Recommendations section.
    • Add in-text citations for outside sources that you mention (for instance, books, websites, or videos) as you explain your findings, following these guidelines:
      • Make sure that any information you quote from your primary or secondary research is enclosed in quotation marks.
      • Follow the documentation style your group has agreed upon.
      • See the Documentation and Citations for Your Projects page for help.
    • Review the information in your subsection, and chunk the information into short paragraphs. The exact number of paragraphs in each of subsections will depend upon the specific details of your research process. See the section on “Chunking” on the Document Design: More Design Principles page.
    • You can also use bulleted lists if appropriate. See Bulleted and Numbered Lists for additional help.
    • See the Conclusions section in the Sample Recommendation Report for help.
  5. Compare the subheadings for the tasks listed elsewhere in the document. Ensure that they all use the same phrasing.
  6. Review your Conclusions section to make sure that you have included everything that answers the question, “What did it [your methods and results] mean?”
  7. Share your draft with your group and make additional revisions as necessary to connect with the other sections of your report.