How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Conclusions
How to write the discussion
Preparing the text

Some journals require or allow papers to end with a conclusions section rather than providing conclusions at the end of the discussion. Such a section (or the conclusion of a discussion) commonly consists of a single paragraph recapping what was done, then what was found, and finally what the findings imply. Although a conclusions paragraph appears last, some readers read it first. Whenever they read it, they should easily come away with the paper’s take-home message.

Speaking of reading the conclusions first: In writing or revising your scientific paper, be aware that, quite likely, the sections will be read in different orders by different people or in different circumstances. (Have you ever jumped straight to the methods section? Begun by looking at the tables and figures? Or maybe started by skimming the discussion?) Each part should therefore be clear in and of itself. Such clarity can require some redundancy from part to part. But it can help greatly in communicating your research to readers—which, after all, is why you are writing and publishing a scientific paper.