8.3 Common Discussion blunders to avoid
| Discussion blunder | How to avoid it |
| Not focusing on the take-home message of the paper in the Discussion section. | Focus on the take-home message. Some ways to do this are listed below. |
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- In the first paragraph of your Discussion section, mention aspects of your take-home message. I (Amanda) usually do this towards the end of this first paragraph of the Discussion.
- In the first sentence of middle paragraphs of your Discussion section, mention aspects of your take-home message. This way, readers who only skim through your paper still have a chance of ‘getting’ your paper’s take-home message, because skim-reading often entails glancing at only the first sentence of paragraphs.
- Throughout your Discussion section, prioritize discussion of the results that contribute to your take-home message. This means, for example, you should write earlier and more abundantly about these results compared to others.
- Also throughout your Discussion section, when writing about your take-home message, use consistent terminology that reflects the terminology you use when writing about your take-home message in other parts of your paper (e.g., in the Abstract and Results section). In this way, you ‘drum in’ your take-home message by repetition.
- In the last paragraph of your Discussion (which may be under a separate sub-heading of ‘Conclusion’, depending on your target journal), again mention aspects of your take-home message.