Chapter 10 Summary

The concluding chapter is the last chapter in the main body of the report before the reference list. The title and content may vary depending on the project type and audience. The chapter is usually called “Summary,” “Conclusions,” or “Conclusions and Recommendations.”

A technical report may conclude with a summary chapter if its purpose is to document empirical observations or straightforward research findings such as the results of a field demonstration or a laboratory test series. A summary typically reviews the research results in more detail than the abstract.

A chapter of conclusions differs from a summary chapter in that it presents or reviews the author’s technical interpretation of the research results. Conclusions concisely help the reader to understand how the research objective was met and what the results mean in terms of the Army problem described in the background section. Conclusions should be included for every secondary objective stated in the introductory chapter.

Most reports will include recommendations for the project sponsor. Recommendations generally will pertain to (1) how the research product or results should be used to address the problem defined in the first chapter or (2) what the sponsor may do to transition a technology product into advanced development, field demonstration, or commercialization.

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