| Purpose | Summarize what the main contribution is, with appropriate mentionings of the method, result and assumptions (and possibly motivation, if this is important) |
| Format | Short, concise - it is different from the Abstract in that most will have read (most of) the paper when they read this section. |
| What to avoid | Repeating verbatim something that was said earlier. Being too wordy. Saying something new that should have been in a prior section. Not saying anything new (wrt the context, global conclusion, etc.). |
| Purpose | To help those who want to continue the work understand what you would do next |
| Format | A few sentences on what will be the follow-up to this study. It is customary to put mentionings of future work in the Conclusions section, not to have it be a separate section. |
| Typical format | - Restate the problem/challenge (1-2 sentences) - Restate what you did (1 sentence) - Draw up the main conclusion, refer to your results - Comment on the implications - Tell them what would be done next |
| Purpose | To thank people, funding agencies, etc. that should be acknowledged but are not appropriate to list as co-authors. |
| Format | Comes after Results, Conclusion. |