Lecture Notes on Writing Results and Discussion Section

Introduction

• Presenter: Julia Diederer, Teacher at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University.
• Focus: General rules for writing the Results and Discussion section in lab reports, theses, or internship reports.

Report Structure

• The Results and Discussion section comes after Materials and Methods and before the Conclusion.
• Often divided into subsections which:
  • Begin with a short introduction.
  • Present results using figures or tables.
  • Discuss results in context of the experiment and existing literature.

Presenting Results

• Always introduce tables/figures with text before showing them.
• Short introduction should:
  • Describe the experiments and starting materials.
  • Highlight key results and refer to figures/tables by number.
• Combine results of different analyses when possible to avoid redundancy.

Rules for Tables

• Caption is placed above the table.
• Caption should clearly explain the table content.
• Include only relevant results (e.g., average and standard deviation, not raw data).
• Explain superscripts below the table.
• Avoid calculations and excessive significant figures in tables.
• Combine similar tables to save space and improve readability.

Rules for Figures

• Include pictures, graphs, and structures as figures.
• Caption is placed below the figure.
• Caption should provide enough detail to understand the figure.
• Graphs:
  • Use scatter plots, properly label axes with variable names and units.
  • Show replicates, use legends for multiple curves.
  • Prefer symbols to colors for distinguishing lines in graphs.

Writing the Discussion

• Discuss whether results were expected and compare with literature.
• Provide scientific explanations for results.
• Link results from different analyses when possible.
  • Example: Discussing ascorbic acid in orange juice relative to other studies.

General Writing Tips

• Avoid redundancy in word choice (e.g., "repeat again" vs. "repeat").
• Eliminate unnecessary sentences (e.g., "experiments were not performed just for fun").
• Review and tighten your writing.

Conclusion

• Rules given are general; always check specific course or teacher requirements.
• Writing is a skill improved through practice.

Good Luck!

• Practice is key to mastering the writing of the Results and Discussion section.