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Mini-Module: Reports

Mini-module: Reports

7. Conclusions and recommendations

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7. Conclusions and recommendations

Normally, reports have some kind of conclusion, and some reports should make recommendations. Find out about these by watching the video below. 

Conclusions and recommendations

Video activity

(There is a transcript below the video.)

Transcript

00:10: Welcome to this ELC self-study video. Today we will be looking at how to write conclusions

00:15: and recommendations for a report. Now comes the part where we demonstrate our

00:20: insight. We need to show our lecturer that we understand

00:23: the information we have gathered. The Conclusion and Recommendations sections

00:27: are where we show our own interpretation of the material.

00:30: The Conclusion section shows our summary and interpretation of the information.

00:36: The Recommendations section shows what needs to be done as a result.

00:41: The first part we'll look at is the Conclusion section.

00:44: This is where we'll outline everything that the data has told us.

00:49: What does the data tell us about our topic? For example, our previous example showed that

00:55: people who know the consequences of recycling are more likely to do it.

00:59: Therefore, our conclusion could be that

01:07: This will also help to focus our conclusions

01:09: on the issues raised in the first parts of the report.

01:13: We can use the conclusion to address each issue and bring the whole report together.

01:19: Remember we don't put any new information in the Conclusion, we're just summarising

01:24: and interpreting the information we already have.

01:27: We need to show how the information we've presented affects the aims from our Introduction.

01:34: During this part, we can use a wide variety of language styles.

01:39: This is one of the parts where we really put our own mark on our work.

01:43: We still need to keep to an academic style, but we can give it our own voice.

01:48: Next, we come to the Recommendations section. This does exactly what it says, this is where

01:54: we tell the reader what we recommend. Not only what does the data tell us but what

02:00: doesn't it tell us? For example,

02:20: This would show the reader that we understand the information that has been given to us.

02:25: Also that we know our work is not perfect and can help to inspire future researchers

02:29: to find out more. There's always more to learn.

02:34: It's also a good idea to get together with some classmates and check each other's work.

02:39: Since we are the ones who wrote the assignment, we may not notice our own mistakes.

02:43: It will be much easier for our classmates to spot them, so it's always a good idea to

02:48: get someone else to check your work before you submit it.

02:51: Proofreading someone else's work is a really great way to learn.

02:55: Explaining things to someone else is also one of the best ways to remember something

02:59: later on. So, it's also one of the best ways to study

03:02: for exams! And that's it!