How to Write a Recommendations Section for Your Research Paper (2026 Guide)

You've finished your research, analyzed the data, and written your discussion. Now you need to write the recommendations section—and you're not sure where to start.

The recommendations section is where you tell readers what should happen next based on your findings. It's your chance to provide clear, actionable guidance that can make a real difference.

In this guide, you'll learn exactly how to write a recommendations section that's practical, well-organized, and directly connected to your research.

---

What Is a Recommendations Section?

A recommendations section provides specific suggestions for action based on your research findings. It answers the question: "So what should we do about this?"

Unlike your discussion section (which explains what your findings mean), the recommendations section tells stakeholders, policymakers, or future researchers what steps to take.

Key characteristics of strong recommendations:

• Directly tied to your findings
• Specific and actionable
• Realistic and feasible
• Prioritized by importance
• Targeted to the right audience

---

Where Does the Recommendations Section Go?

The placement depends on your paper type and field:

| Paper Type | Location | |------------|----------| | Research paper | After the discussion, before conclusion | | Thesis/Dissertation | Separate chapter after discussion | | Policy brief | Main focus of the document | | Business report | Executive summary + detailed section | | Journal article | Often combined with discussion |

Some professors prefer recommendations within the conclusion. Always check your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor.

---

How to Write Recommendations: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Review Your Key Findings

Before writing recommendations, list your main findings:

1. What did your research discover?
2. What problems or gaps did you identify?
3. What patterns or trends emerged?

Each recommendation should directly address one or more of these findings.

Example finding: "65% of students reported difficulty managing citations in research papers."

Corresponding recommendation: "Universities should provide mandatory citation management workshops during the first year."

Step 2: Identify Your Audience

Different audiences need different recommendations:

• Researchers: Future study directions, methodology improvements
• Practitioners: Practical implementation steps
• Policymakers: Policy changes, resource allocation
• Organizations: Strategic decisions, process improvements

Tailor your language and specificity to your audience.

Step 3: Make Each Recommendation Specific and Actionable

Weak recommendation: "More research should be done on this topic."

Strong recommendation: "Future studies should examine the relationship between AI writing tools and student learning outcomes using a longitudinal design spanning at least one academic year."

The SMART framework helps:

• Specific: What exactly should be done?
• Measurable: How will success be measured?
• Achievable: Is this realistic?
• Relevant: Does it address the findings?
• Time-bound: When should it happen?

Step 4: Prioritize Your Recommendations

If you have multiple recommendations, organize them by:

Option 1: Priority level

• High priority (immediate action needed)
• Medium priority (important but not urgent)
• Low priority (nice to have)

Option 2: Audience

• Recommendations for policymakers
• Recommendations for practitioners
• Recommendations for researchers

Option 3: Timeline

• Short-term (0-6 months)
• Medium-term (6-18 months)
• Long-term (18+ months)

Step 5: Connect Each Recommendation to Evidence

Every recommendation should trace back to your findings:

Structure: "Based on [finding], we recommend [action] because [rationale]."

Example: "Based on the finding that 78% of participants struggled with APA formatting, we recommend that writing centers offer dedicated citation workshops. This would address the most common source of point deductions in academic papers."

---

Recommendations Section Structure

Here's a template you can follow:

## Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are proposed:

### For [Audience 1]

1. **[Recommendation 1]**
   [Explanation and rationale - 2-3 sentences]

2. **[Recommendation 2]**
   [Explanation and rationale - 2-3 sentences]

### For [Audience 2]

3. **[Recommendation 3]**
   [Explanation and rationale - 2-3 sentences]

### For Future Research

4. **[Recommendation 4]**
   [Explanation and rationale - 2-3 sentences]

---

Examples of Good vs. Bad Recommendations

Example 1: Educational Research

❌ Bad: "Schools should improve writing instruction."

✅ Good: "Based on our finding that explicit instruction in argumentation improved essay quality by 34%, we recommend that high schools integrate a minimum of 10 hours of dedicated argumentation instruction into their English curriculum each semester."

Example 2: Business Research

❌ Bad: "Companies should use more technology."

✅ Good: "Given that remote teams using asynchronous video tools reported 27% higher satisfaction scores, we recommend that organizations with distributed teams implement asynchronous video messaging platforms and establish clear protocols for their use within 90 days."

Example 3: Health Research

❌ Bad: "More public health campaigns are needed."

✅ Good: "Since our study found that social media campaigns reached 3.4 times more young adults than traditional media, we recommend that public health departments allocate at least 40% of their awareness campaign budgets to targeted social media advertising on platforms where young adults are most active."

---

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Making Recommendations Not Supported by Your Data

Your recommendations must flow from your findings. Don't recommend things your research didn't actually investigate.

2. Being Too Vague

"Improve training" tells readers nothing. What kind of training? For whom? How often? How long?

3. Overreaching

Don't claim your single study should change national policy. Be appropriately humble about your study's scope and limitations.

4. Ignoring Feasibility

Recommending that every school hire five additional teachers sounds nice but isn't realistic. Consider budgets, resources, and practical constraints.

5. Forgetting to Prioritize

A long list of recommendations without any prioritization overwhelms readers. Help them know where to start.

---

Recommendations Section Length

| Paper Type | Typical Length | |------------|----------------| | Undergraduate research paper | 200-400 words | | Master's thesis | 500-1,000 words | | PhD dissertation | 1,000-2,500 words | | Policy report | Varies widely | | Journal article | 150-300 words |

Quality matters more than length. Three excellent recommendations beat ten vague ones.

---

Words and Phrases to Use

Starting phrases:

• Based on these findings, we recommend...
• This study suggests that...
• It is recommended that...
• The following actions are proposed...
• Stakeholders should consider...

Connecting to evidence:

• Given that [finding]...
• As this study demonstrated...
• In light of these results...
• Building on the observation that...

Indicating priority:

• Most importantly...
• As a first step...
• A critical action would be...
• Additionally...
• Furthermore...

---

Frequently Asked Questions

How many recommendations should I include?

For most undergraduate papers, 3-5 recommendations is appropriate. For theses and dissertations, you might have 6-10. Quality beats quantity—focus on your most important, actionable suggestions.

Can I include recommendations for future research?

Yes, this is common and expected. Suggest specific research questions or methodological approaches that could build on your work. But don't make ALL your recommendations about future research—include practical recommendations too.

Should recommendations be numbered or bulleted?

Numbered lists work better for recommendations because they imply priority and make it easy for readers to reference specific items. Use "Recommendation 1" or "First" rather than random bullets.

What's the difference between recommendations and implications?

Implications describe what your findings mean; recommendations describe what should be done about it. "This suggests students struggle with citations" is an implication. "Universities should offer citation workshops" is a recommendation.

Do I need to cite sources in my recommendations section?

You don't need citations for your own recommendations, but you might cite sources that support the feasibility of your suggestions or provide context for similar successful interventions.

---

Key Takeaways

1. Every recommendation must connect to your findings—no random suggestions
2. Be specific and actionable—use the SMART framework
3. Know your audience and tailor recommendations accordingly
4. Prioritize your recommendations so readers know where to start
5. Stay within your study's scope—don't overreach
6. Quality over quantity—fewer strong recommendations beat many weak ones

---

Write your research paper faster with GenPaper

GenPaper uses AI to help you write papers with real, verified citations. No more manual formatting or citation errors.

Try GenPaper Free →