Tip Number 4: Work on the Results section and write this after the Methods section.

The results section is also one of the easier part to write. I sometimes write the results section then complete the methods section. Or I move between the two sections writing results one day and the next day I complete a bit of the methods section. I find these two sections – methods and results, easier to write. Because I know what methods I used in the study or experiment and it is a matter of articulating the steps in a logical sequence and write them.

And the results section is pretty much the same. At the end of your study or experiment, you will know what the results were. And you would have written them down in a summary or in bullet points. If you have not analyzed your results and what you have is just a general overview of the results of your study or experiment then you are not ready to write. You would need to analyze the data, summarize in tables, graphs or bullet points. So that when you have a good grip of the results of your data then you are ready to write.

Start with with the main key finding in the results. Write that in the first paragraph. In the second paragraph write about the second main finding. And so on until you have described all the results finding that you would be discussing. Do not discuss any results in the results section (unless you are writing a smaller paper where results and discussion are combined into one section, e.g. a letter to editor).

Here you present any tables or graphs. Clearly label all tables and graphs. The title of the tables and graphs should be explanatory – meaning that the title should immediately inform the reader what the graph or table is about. Simple is best! Keep tables and graphs simple. Do not crowd a lot of information into a table or graph. Break up the information into bite size pieces – only the summary and key findings. If a table or graph is crowded with information then it will not be useful.

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Next tip will be on How to structure sentences.