How To Write A Discussion For A Journal Paper . Respiratory care 49 (october 2004); In the discussion section, a good rule of thumb is to stick to the past tense for describing completed actions (e.g. 5+ Journal Writing Templates PDF Free & Premium Templates from www.template.net *presented on the most boring powerpoint slides ever. Explains how (and why) this work agrees or disagrees with other, similar work. The researcher needs to make an impression at the start of discussion section and this impression cannot be made through long wordy paragraphs.