92 Science Research Writing in this section. Almost everyone writes a Results section, so it is clear that some things cannot be achieved by just using tables, graphs or other images of your results. Th ey can be achieved only by using words. Th ere are many reasons for writing a Results section. In the fi rst place, some of your results may be more interesting or signifi cant than others, and it is diffi cult to communicate this in a table or graph. Also, it is essential to relate your results to the aim(s) of the research. Th irdly, in some cases you may want to off er background information to explain why a particular result occurred, or to compare your results with those of other researchers. In addition, your results may be problematic; perhaps some experiments were not fully successful and you want to suggest possible reasons for this. However, one of the most important reasons for writing a Results section rather than relying on graphs, tables and other images is that you must communicate your own understanding and interpretation of the results to your readers. Results do not speak for themselves; if they did, the tables or graphs of your results would be enough. Your readers do not have to agree with you but they need to know your opinion and understanding of your results. RESULTS (what you found/saw) ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION DISCUSSION/ CONCLUSION MATERIALS/ METHODS (what you did/used) central report section Fig. 1. Th e shape of a research article or thesis.
Results — Structure 93 So when we come to ask our three questions: • How do I start the Results section? What type of sentence should I begin with? • What type of information should be in this section and in what order? • How do I end this section? You already know that this section contains some comments on what you found or observed rather than just a description of your fi ndings and observations, and this helps to answer the second question. Read the Results section below. Th e title of the paper is: A modelling approach to traffi c management and CO exposure during peak hours. Don't worry if the subject matter is not familiar to you or if you have diffi culty understanding certain words, especially technical terms such as median exposure. Just try to get a general understanding at this stage and familiarise yourself with the type of language used. Results