Scientific writing 3.0: A reader and writer's guide - Jean-Luc Lebrun, Justin Lebrun 2021

Purpose and qualities of conclusions
Conclusions: the smile of your paper
Paper structure and purpose

Purpose of the conclusions for the reader

· They bring better closure to what the introduction announces, by contrasting pre-contribution to post-contribution. What was unproven, unverified, unexplained, unknown, partial, or limited is now proven, verified, explained, known, complete, or general.

· They allow readers to understand the contribution better and in greater detail than in the abstract to evaluate its usefulness.

· They tell the readers that follow-on papers may be expected from the same author.

Purpose of the conclusions for the writer

· They place a particular emphasis on what the contribution allows others to do, immediately or potentially.

· They propose new research directions to prevent duplication of effort, to encourage collaboration, to point to unexplored fields, or to claim anteriority for novel ideas.

Qualities of conclusions