Zinātniskā raksta nobeiguma daļa: saturs, struktūra, valoda

Abstract

The content and structure of the conclusion part of the scientific article and the linguistic means for writing this part of the text in the Latvian language of science are still uncharted topics, unlike the introductory part of the scientific text. The analysis of the conclusion part’s content of Latvian scientific articles shows that many authors lack understanding of creating a good conclusion for their papers in various fields of science. The present study aims to explore and describe the conclusion part of the scientific article, paying attention to its content and structure and providing recommendations for the final part of the article, following a specific scheme. Scientific articles in the Latvian language published after 2010 have been selected to achieve the aim. Their conclusions – a separate part of the text, a paragraph, or a couple of last sentences, which can be considered the final part of the article – have been examined. When reviewing the material to be analysed, content analysis was performed that let detect 1) the most common structure of the conclusion part – a text similar to the summary or numbered statements; 2) the most common shortcomings of the conclusion part of the scientific article – the conclusion is too short, formal, or too detailed, similar to the narration of the article’s content; high degree of generalization; the application of new aspects and problems that have not been mentioned in the body of text; use of citations. One of the options that authors could use to finalise their scientific article is to follow a five-step formula: 1. Restate your research topic in one sentence. 2. Restate the thesis in one sentence. 3. Summarise the main points in some sentences. 4. State the significance or results in a couple of sentences. 5. Conclude your thoughts by inviting readers to action or putting forward an idea that makes them think more about the topic. Authors of scientific articles should get acquainted with the advice of academic writing professionals on how to create the conclusion part of a scientific text. There are various tips for writing a good conclusion on university homepages and academic writing sites.