- •1. Establishing why your topic (X) is important
- •2. Outlining the past-present history of the study of X (no direct references to the literature)
- •3. Outlining the possible future of X
- •4. Indicating the gap in knowledge and possible limitations
- •5. Stating the aim of your paper and its contribution
- •6. Explaining the key terminology in your field
- •7. Explaining how you will use terminology and acronyms in your paper
- •10. Reviewing past literature
- •11. Reviewing subsequent and more recent literature
- •8. Giving the structure of paper - what is and is not included
- •9. Giving general panorama of past-to-present literature
- •12. Reporting what specific authors of have said
- •13. Mentioning positive aspects of others’ work
- •14. Highlighting limitations of previous studies - authors not mentioned by name
- •15. Highlighting limitations of previous studies - authors mentioned by name
- •16. Using the opinions of others to justify your criticism of someone’s work
- •17. Describing purpose of testing / methods used
- •18. Outlining similarities with other authors’ models, systems etc.
- •19. Describing the apparatus and materials used and their source
- •20. Reporting software used
- •21. Reporting customizations performed
- •22. Formulating equations, theories and theorems
- •23. Explaining why you chose your specific method, model, equipment, sample etc.
- •24. Explaining the preparation of samples, solutions etc.
- •25. Outlining selection procedure for samples, surveys etc.
- •26. Indicating the time frame (past tenses)
- •27. Indicating the time frame in a general process (present tenses)
- •28. Indicating that care must be taken
- •29. Describing benefits of your method, equipment etc.
- •30. Outlining alternative approaches
- •31. Explaining how you got your results
- •32. Reporting results from questionnaires and interviews
- •33. Stating what you found
- •34. Stating what you did not find
- •35. Highlighting significant results and achievements
- •36. Stating that your results confirm previous evidence
- •37. Stating that your results are in contrast with previous evidence
- •38. Stating and justifying the acceptability of your results
- •39. Expressing caution regarding the interpretation of results
- •40. Outlining undesired or unexpected results
- •41. Admitting limitations
- •42. Explaining and justifying undesired or unexpected results
- •43. Minimizing undesired or unexpected results
- •44. Expressing opinions and probabilities
- •45. Announcing your conclusions and summarizing content
- •46. Restating the results (Conclusions section)
- •47. Highlighting achievements (Conclusions section)
- •48. Highlighting limitations (Conclusions section)
- •49. Outlining possible applications and implications of your work
- •50. Future work already underway or planned by the authors
- •51. Future work proposed for third parties to carry out
- •52. Acknowledgements
- •53. Referring to tables and figures, and to their implications
- •54. Making transitions, focusing on a new topic
- •55. Referring backwards and forwards in the paper
- •56. Referring back to your research aim
- •57. Referring outside the paper
49. Outlining possible applications and implications of your work
This study is the first step / has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of …
These observations have several / three main / many implications for research into …
This work has revealed / shown / highlighted / demonstrated / proved that …
The present findings might help to solve / have important implications for solving / suggest several courses of action in order to solve this problem.
X is suitable for / has the potential to …
Our method / technique / approach / procedure could be applied to …
One possible / potential / promising application of our technique would be …
Results so far have been very promising / encouraging and …
This approach has the potential / requirements / characteristics / features to …
This could eventually / conceivably / potentially / hypothetically lead to …
Our data suggest that X could be used / exploited / taken advantage of / made use of in order to …
In our view these results are / constitute / represent an excellent initial step toward …
We believe / are confident that our results may improve knowledge about …
These early successes may hope to resolve / tackle / solve / deal with …
Another / An additional / A further important implication is …
Our research could help / be a useful aid for / possibly support decision makers because …
We think that our findings could / might be useful for …
We hope that our research will be helpful / useful / beneficial / constructive / valuable in solving the difficulty of … At the same time / In addition / Further / Furthermore we believe that …
Our research suggests that the policy makers should encourage / it is important for policy makers to encourage stakeholders to …
The findings of my research have serious / considerable / important managerial implications.
50. Future work already underway or planned by the authors
We are currently / now / in the process of investigating …
Research into solving this problem is already underway / in progress.
To further our research we plan / are planning / intend to …
Future work will concentrate on / focus on / explore / investigate / look into …
Further studies, which take X into account, will need to be undertaken / performed.
We hope that further tests will prove our theory / confirm our findings.
These topics are reserved for / deferred to future work.
51. Future work proposed for third parties to carry out
Further work needs to be done / carried out / performed to establish whether …
Further experimental investigations / tests / studies are needed to estimate …
More / Additional / Further work on X, would help us to do Y.
We hope / believe / are confident that our research will serve as a base for future studies on …
It is recommended / We recommend / We suggest / We propose that further research should be undertaken in the following areas:
More broadly / On a wider level, research is also needed to determine ….
This research has raised / given rise to / thrown up many questions in need of further investigation / study / examination.
This is an important / a fundamental / a vital issue for future research.
The design and development of Xs will challenge / be a challenge for us for years.
Future work should concentrate / focus on enhancing the quality of X.
Future studies should target / aim at / examine / deal with / address X.
Future studies on the current topic are therefore required / needed / recommended / suggested in order to establish / verify / validate / elucidate …
Our results are encouraging / promising and should be validated by a larger sample size.
These findings suggest the following directions / opportunities for future research: ….
An important issue / matter / question / problem to resolve for future studies is …
The prospect of being able to do X, serves as a continuous incentive for / stimulus for / impulse for / spur to future research.