Useful phrases for writing your discussion
Free PreviewIn this article are some useful phrases that can be used when writing your discussion or conclusion.
Useful vocabulary is highlighted in bold are explained at the bottom of each section.
Referring back to your work
We took a system of…
From a theoretical perspective, our study is among the first to…
The results cited in this survey/study/article show that…
Our study has shown that there are clear differences in/between…
The data presented in this study indicate that…
Useful vocabulary:
to cite (meaning: to talk about something as an explanation for something or as proof of something – usually to support your statements)
- Pronunciation: This verb is pronounced as follows – /saɪt/
- This verb is often used with the following nouns: case, example, evidence, reason, statistics, influence, reason, source
E.g. They cited our examples as the basis of their study.
Pointing out limitations to your work/findings
This work only focused on…
We did not comment particularly on the impact of…
A caveat to our results is that…
However, findings should be interpreted in light of the following caveats:…
Our predictions rest on the assumption that…
Our analysis is dependent on…
Useful vocabulary:
a caveat (a warning that a statement or agreement has limits)
- Pronunciation: this word has three syllables and is pronounce as follows: /ˈkæviæt/
- g. He agreed to help me with the caveat that I named him as a contributor.
Highlighting something specific
It is worth pointing out/noting/highlighting that…
The results of this study can also be discussed in relation to…
Prominent theoretical models of X argue that…
Based on our model and its assumptions,…
Useful vocabulary:
prominent (meaning: well-known and important OR easy to see)
- This adjective is often used with these nouns: feature, factor, issue, theme, part, role, figure, leader, member, name
- g. He was a prominent member of the scientific community.
Talking about future work
In the future, we plan/aim/intend to…
It may also be important in future iterations of this work to…
There are a number of future research directions for this work.
In our future work, we will investigate different outcomes.
Our contribution provides a starting place for…
It is an open question whether or not…
Future research should go in three directions:
To advance our understanding of X, future research should…
Useful vocabulary:
an iteration (meaning: a new version of something OR when a mathematical or computer operation is repeated, beginning with the outcome of the last operation)
- Pronunciation: The first sound in this work is /ɪ /, so it is pronounced as follows – /ɪtəˈreɪʃən/
- g. Further iterations are necessary to refine the product.
Examples of this language in use
The extract below includes sections from different parts of the same article and shows how some of this language can be used.
Discussion
Based on our model and its assumptions, regions of the southern United States, including Houston and Los Angeles, could be at increased risk of dengue as temperature rises. However, our models also show that some regions, such as Phoenix, may have reduced risk if temperatures become too hot to sustain an outbreak. Of the cities explored, Houston has the largest risk, and generally temperatures between 27–31°C see the largest outbreaks in our analysis. There has already been limited dengue transmission in Houston and Florida [38, 52, 53]. As temperatures increase we can expect most cities in the southern United States to have a higher risk for dengue. However, this is not limitless, and as temperatures increase above 31°C, outbreaks get smaller and at 35°C there are no outbreaks. A caveat to our results is that mosquito population dynamics also depend on water availability for their life cycle, and adult lifespans also depend on humidity. So, for example, desert regions such as Phoenix may have less potential due to low humidity. Additionally, human infrastructure and behavior impacts the size and duration of dengue outbreaks. In regions with screens, air conditioning, good sanitation and water infrastructure, and access to mosquito repellent, the potential for outbreaks is decreased.
…
Our sensitivity analysis is dependent on the parameter ranges we select which, while based on values from the literature, could be inaccurate. Similarly, we choose from a uniform range across the parameters, while some parameter combinations may be more or less likely than others. In the future, we plan to incorporate humidity and/or precipitation into the models and expand temperature dependence to other parameters. It may also be important in future iterations of this work to incorporate environmental dependent parameters as distributional forms within the model, and to validate against human case counts and mosquito data across a range of temperature and humidity profiles. Our contribution provides a starting place for better capturing the impacts of temperature on multiple parameters and disease dynamics, in addition to static quantities such as the basic reproduction number.
This extract is taken from: Changing temperature profiles and the risk of dengue outbreaks, Trejo I, Barnard M, Spencer JA, Keithley J, Martinez KM, et al. (2023) Changing temperature profiles and the risk of dengue outbreaks. PLOS Climate 2(2): e0000115. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000115
Test your knowldege
Try the short multiple-choice quiz below, and if you have time, using the phrases above, make sentences that are relevant to your own studies or work.