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How To Write The Discussion Chapter

A Simple Explainer With Examples + Free Template

By: Jenna Crossley (PhD) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2021

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve reached the discussion chapter of your thesis or dissertation and are looking for a bit of guidance. Well, you’ve come to the right place ! In this post, we’ll unpack and demystify the typical discussion chapter in straightforward, easy to understand language, with loads of examples .

Overview: The Discussion Chapter

• What  the discussion chapter is
• What to include in your discussion
• How to write up your discussion
• A few tips and tricks to help you along the way
• Free discussion template

What (exactly) is the discussion chapter?

The discussion chapter is where you interpret and explain your results within your thesis or dissertation. This contrasts with the results chapter, where you merely present and describe the analysis findings (whether qualitative or quantitative ). In the discussion chapter, you elaborate on and evaluate your research findings, and discuss the significance and implications of your results .

In this chapter, you’ll situate your research findings in terms of your research questions or hypotheses and tie them back to previous studies and literature (which you would have covered in your literature review chapter). You’ll also have a look at how relevant and/or significant your findings are to your field of research, and you’ll argue for the conclusions that you draw from your analysis. Simply put, the discussion chapter is there for you to interact with and explain your research findings in a thorough and coherent manner.

What should I include in the discussion chapter?

First things first: in some studies, the results and discussion chapter are combined into one chapter .  This depends on the type of study you conducted (i.e., the nature of the study and methodology adopted), as well as the standards set by the university.  So, check in with your university regarding their norms and expectations before getting started. In this post, we’ll treat the two chapters as separate, as this is most common.

Basically, your discussion chapter should analyse , explore the meaning and identify the importance of the data you presented in your results chapter. In the discussion chapter, you’ll give your results some form of meaning by evaluating and interpreting them. This will help answer your research questions, achieve your research aims and support your overall conclusion (s). Therefore, you discussion chapter should focus on findings that are directly connected to your research aims and questions. Don’t waste precious time and word count on findings that are not central to the purpose of your research project.

As this chapter is a reflection of your results chapter, it’s vital that you don’t report any new findings . In other words, you can’t present claims here if you didn’t present the relevant data in the results chapter first.  So, make sure that for every discussion point you raise in this chapter, you’ve covered the respective data analysis in the results chapter. If you haven’t, you’ll need to go back and adjust your results chapter accordingly.

If you’re struggling to get started, try writing down a bullet point list everything you found in your results chapter. From this, you can make a list of everything you need to cover in your discussion chapter. Also, make sure you revisit your research questions or hypotheses and incorporate the relevant discussion to address these.  This will also help you to see how you can structure your chapter logically.

Need a helping hand?

How to write the discussion chapter

Now that you’ve got a clear idea of what the discussion chapter is and what it needs to include, let’s look at how you can go about structuring this critically important chapter. Broadly speaking, there are six core components that need to be included, and these can be treated as steps in the chapter writing process.

Step 1: Restate your research problem and research questions

The first step in writing up your discussion chapter is to remind your reader of your research problem , as well as your research aim(s) and research questions . If you have hypotheses, you can also briefly mention these. This “reminder” is very important because, after reading dozens of pages, the reader may have forgotten the original point of your research or been swayed in another direction. It’s also likely that some readers skip straight to your discussion chapter from the introduction chapter , so make sure that your research aims and research questions are clear.

Step 2: Summarise your key findings

Next, you’ll want to summarise your key findings from your results chapter. This may look different for qualitative and quantitative research , where qualitative research may report on themes and relationships, whereas quantitative research may touch on correlations and causal relationships. Regardless of the methodology, in this section you need to highlight the overall key findings in relation to your research questions.

Typically, this section only requires one or two paragraphs , depending on how many research questions you have. Aim to be concise here, as you will unpack these findings in more detail later in the chapter. For now, a few lines that directly address your research questions are all that you need.

Some examples of the kind of language you’d use here include:

• The data suggest that…
• The data support/oppose the theory that…
• The analysis identifies…

These are purely examples. What you present here will be completely dependent on your original research questions, so make sure that you are led by them .

Step 3: Interpret your results

Once you’ve restated your research problem and research question(s) and briefly presented your key findings, you can unpack your findings by interpreting your results. Remember: only include what you reported in your results section – don’t introduce new information.

From a structural perspective, it can be a wise approach to follow a similar structure in this chapter as you did in your results chapter. This would help improve readability and make it easier for your reader to follow your arguments. For example, if you structured you results discussion by qualitative themes, it may make sense to do the same here.

Alternatively, you may structure this chapter by research questions, or based on an overarching theoretical framework that your study revolved around. Every study is different, so you’ll need to assess what structure works best for you.

When interpreting your results, you’ll want to assess how your findings compare to those of the existing research (from your literature review chapter). Even if your findings contrast with the existing research, you need to include these in your discussion. In fact, those contrasts are often the most interesting findings . In this case, you’d want to think about why you didn’t find what you were expecting in your data and what the significance of this contrast is.

Here are a few questions to help guide your discussion:

• How do your results relate with those of previous studies ?
• If you get results that differ from those of previous studies, why may this be the case?
• What do your results contribute to your field of research?
• What other explanations could there be for your findings?

When interpreting your findings, be careful not to draw conclusions that aren’t substantiated . Every claim you make needs to be backed up with evidence or findings from the data (and that data needs to be presented in the previous chapter – results). This can look different for different studies; qualitative data may require quotes as evidence, whereas quantitative data would use statistical methods and tests. Whatever the case, every claim you make needs to be strongly backed up.

Step 4: Acknowledge the limitations of your study

The fourth step in writing up your discussion chapter is to acknowledge the limitations of the study. These limitations can cover any part of your study , from the scope or theoretical basis to the analysis method(s) or sample. For example, you may find that you collected data from a very small sample with unique characteristics, which would mean that you are unable to generalise your results to the broader population.

For some students, discussing the limitations of their work can feel a little bit self-defeating . This is a misconception, as a core indicator of high-quality research is its ability to accurately identify its weaknesses. In other words, accurately stating the limitations of your work is a strength, not a weakness . All that said, be careful not to undermine your own research. Tell the reader what limitations exist and what improvements could be made, but also remind them of the value of your study despite its limitations.

Step 5: Make recommendations for implementation and future research

Now that you’ve unpacked your findings and acknowledge the limitations thereof, the next thing you’ll need to do is reflect on your study in terms of two factors:

• The practical application of your findings
• Suggestions for future research

The first thing to discuss is how your findings can be used in the real world – in other words, what contribution can they make to the field or industry? Where are these contributions applicable, how and why? For example, if your research is on communication in health settings, in what ways can your findings be applied to the context of a hospital or medical clinic? Make sure that you spell this out for your reader in practical terms, but also be realistic and make sure that any applications are feasible.

The next discussion point is the opportunity for future research . In other words, how can other studies build on what you’ve found and also improve the findings by overcoming some of the limitations in your study (which you discussed a little earlier). In doing this, you’ll want to investigate whether your results fit in with findings of previous research, and if not, why this may be the case. For example, are there any factors that you didn’t consider in your study? What future research can be done to remedy this? When you write up your suggestions, make sure that you don’t just say that more research is needed on the topic, also comment on how the research can build on your study.

Step 6: Provide a concluding summary

Finally, you’ve reached your final stretch. In this section, you’ll want to provide a brief recap of the key findings – in other words, the findings that directly address your research questions . Basically, your conclusion should tell the reader what your study has found, and what they need to take away from reading your report.

When writing up your concluding summary, bear in mind that some readers may skip straight to this section from the beginning of the chapter.  So, make sure that this section flows well from and has a strong connection to the opening section of the chapter.

Tips and tricks for an A-grade discussion chapter

Now that you know what the discussion chapter is , what to include and exclude , and how to structure it , here are some tips and suggestions to help you craft a quality discussion chapter.

• When you write up your discussion chapter, make sure that you keep it consistent with your introduction chapter , as some readers will skip from the introduction chapter directly to the discussion chapter. Your discussion should use the same tense as your introduction, and it should also make use of the same key terms.
• Don’t make assumptions about your readers. As a writer, you have hands-on experience with the data and so it can be easy to present it in an over-simplified manner. Make sure that you spell out your findings and interpretations for the intelligent layman.
• Have a look at other theses and dissertations from your institution, especially the discussion sections. This will help you to understand the standards and conventions of your university, and you’ll also get a good idea of how others have structured their discussion chapters. You can also check out our chapter template .
• Avoid using absolute terms such as “These results prove that…”, rather make use of terms such as “suggest” or “indicate”, where you could say, “These results suggest that…” or “These results indicate…”. It is highly unlikely that a dissertation or thesis will scientifically prove something (due to a variety of resource constraints), so be humble in your language.
• Use well-structured and consistently formatted headings to ensure that your reader can easily navigate between sections, and so that your chapter flows logically and coherently.

If you have any questions or thoughts regarding this post, feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if you’re looking for one-on-one help with your discussion chapter (or thesis in general), consider booking a free consultation with one of our highly experienced Grad Coaches to discuss how we can help you.

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

38 Comments

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Me too! I was kinda lost on how to approach my discussion chapter. How helpful! Thanks a lot!

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Dear sir/madame

Thanks a lot for this helpful blog. Really, it supported me in writing my discussion chapter while I was totally unaware about its structure and method of writing.

With regards

Syed Firoz Ahmad PhD, Research Scholar

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Dear Sir/Madam,

Truly, your article was much benefited when i structured my discussion chapter.

Thank you very much!!!

This is helpful for me in writing my research discussion component. I have to copy this text on Microsoft word cause of my weakness that I cannot be able to read the text on screen a long time. So many thanks for this articles.

This was helpful

Thanks Jenna, well explained.

Thank you! This is super helpful.

Thanks very much. I have appreciated the six steps on writing the Discussion chapter which are (i) Restating the research problem and questions (ii) Summarising the key findings (iii) Interpreting the results linked to relating to previous results in positive and negative ways; explaining whay different or same and contribution to field of research and expalnation of findings (iv) Acknowledgeing limitations (v) Recommendations for implementation and future resaerch and finally (vi) Providing a conscluding summary

My two questions are: 1. On step 1 and 2 can it be the overall or you restate and sumamrise on each findings based on the reaerch question? 2. On 4 and 5 do you do the acknowlledgement , recommendations on each research finding or overall. This is not clear from your expalanattion.

Please respond.

This post is very useful. I’m wondering whether practical implications must be introduced in the Discussion section or in the Conclusion section?

This is very instructive and educative

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Thanks alot.., I have gained much

This piece is very helpful on how to go about my discussion section. I can always recommend GradCoach research guides for colleagues.

Many thanks for this resource. It has been very helpful to me. I was finding it hard to even write the first sentence. Much appreciated.

Thanks so much. Very helpful to know what is included in the discussion section

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Simplified explanation. Well done.

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Thanks for the support and guidance

This has been a great help to me and thank you do much

I second that “it is highly unlikely that a dissertation or thesis will scientifically prove something”; although, could you enlighten us on that comment and elaborate more please?

Sure, no problem.

Scientific proof is generally considered a very strong assertion that something is definitively and universally true. In most scientific disciplines, especially within the realms of natural and social sciences, absolute proof is very rare. Instead, researchers aim to provide evidence that supports or rejects hypotheses. This evidence increases or decreases the likelihood that a particular theory is correct, but it rarely proves something in the absolute sense.

Dissertations and theses, as substantial as they are, typically focus on exploring a specific question or problem within a larger field of study. They contribute to a broader conversation and body of knowledge. The aim is often to provide detailed insight, extend understanding, and suggest directions for further research rather than to offer definitive proof. These academic works are part of a cumulative process of knowledge building where each piece of research connects with others to gradually enhance our understanding of complex phenomena.

Furthermore, the rigorous nature of scientific inquiry involves continuous testing, validation, and potential refutation of ideas. What might be considered a “proof” at one point can later be challenged by new evidence or alternative interpretations. Therefore, the language of “proof” is cautiously used in academic circles to maintain scientific integrity and humility.

This was very helpful, thank you!

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• Dissertation
• How to Write a Results Section | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Results Section | Tips & Examples

Published on August 30, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023.

A results section is where you report the main findings of the data collection and analysis you conducted for your thesis or dissertation . You should report all relevant results concisely and objectively, in a logical order. Don’t include subjective interpretations of why you found these results or what they mean—any evaluation should be saved for the discussion section .

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Table of contents

How to write a results section, reporting quantitative research results, reporting qualitative research results, results vs. discussion vs. conclusion, checklist: research results, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about results sections.

When conducting research, it’s important to report the results of your study prior to discussing your interpretations of it. This gives your reader a clear idea of exactly what you found and keeps the data itself separate from your subjective analysis.

Here are a few best practices:

• Your results should always be written in the past tense.
• While the length of this section depends on how much data you collected and analyzed, it should be written as concisely as possible.
• Only include results that are directly relevant to answering your research questions . Avoid speculative or interpretative words like “appears” or “implies.”
• If you have other results you’d like to include, consider adding them to an appendix or footnotes.
• Always start out with your broadest results first, and then flow into your more granular (but still relevant) ones. Think of it like a shoe store: first discuss the shoes as a whole, then the sneakers, boots, sandals, etc.

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If you conducted quantitative research , you’ll likely be working with the results of some sort of statistical analysis .

Your results section should report the results of any statistical tests you used to compare groups or assess relationships between variables . It should also state whether or not each hypothesis was supported.

The most logical way to structure quantitative results is to frame them around your research questions or hypotheses. For each question or hypothesis, share:

• A reminder of the type of analysis you used (e.g., a two-sample t test or simple linear regression ). A more detailed description of your analysis should go in your methodology section.
• A concise summary of each relevant result, both positive and negative. This can include any relevant descriptive statistics (e.g., means and standard deviations ) as well as inferential statistics (e.g., t scores, degrees of freedom , and p values ). Remember, these numbers are often placed in parentheses.
• A brief statement of how each result relates to the question, or whether the hypothesis was supported. You can briefly mention any results that didn’t fit with your expectations and assumptions, but save any speculation on their meaning or consequences for your discussion  and conclusion.

A note on tables and figures

In quantitative research, it’s often helpful to include visual elements such as graphs, charts, and tables , but only if they are directly relevant to your results. Give these elements clear, descriptive titles and labels so that your reader can easily understand what is being shown. If you want to include any other visual elements that are more tangential in nature, consider adding a figure and table list .

As a rule of thumb:

• Tables are used to communicate exact values, giving a concise overview of various results
• Graphs and charts are used to visualize trends and relationships, giving an at-a-glance illustration of key findings

Don’t forget to also mention any tables and figures you used within the text of your results section. Summarize or elaborate on specific aspects you think your reader should know about rather than merely restating the same numbers already shown.

A two-sample t test was used to test the hypothesis that higher social distance from environmental problems would reduce the intent to donate to environmental organizations, with donation intention (recorded as a score from 1 to 10) as the outcome variable and social distance (categorized as either a low or high level of social distance) as the predictor variable.Social distance was found to be positively correlated with donation intention, t (98) = 12.19, p < .001, with the donation intention of the high social distance group 0.28 points higher, on average, than the low social distance group (see figure 1). This contradicts the initial hypothesis that social distance would decrease donation intention, and in fact suggests a small effect in the opposite direction.

Figure 1: Intention to donate to environmental organizations based on social distance from impact of environmental damage.

In qualitative research , your results might not all be directly related to specific hypotheses. In this case, you can structure your results section around key themes or topics that emerged from your analysis of the data.

For each theme, start with general observations about what the data showed. You can mention:

• Recurring points of agreement or disagreement
• Patterns and trends
• Particularly significant snippets from individual responses

Next, clarify and support these points with direct quotations. Be sure to report any relevant demographic information about participants. Further information (such as full transcripts , if appropriate) can be included in an appendix .

When asked about video games as a form of art, the respondents tended to believe that video games themselves are not an art form, but agreed that creativity is involved in their production. The criteria used to identify artistic video games included design, story, music, and creative teams.One respondent (male, 24) noted a difference in creativity between popular video game genres:

“I think that in role-playing games, there’s more attention to character design, to world design, because the whole story is important and more attention is paid to certain game elements […] so that perhaps you do need bigger teams of creative experts than in an average shooter or something.”

Responses suggest that video game consumers consider some types of games to have more artistic potential than others.

Your results section should objectively report your findings, presenting only brief observations in relation to each question, hypothesis, or theme.

It should not  speculate about the meaning of the results or attempt to answer your main research question . Detailed interpretation of your results is more suitable for your discussion section , while synthesis of your results into an overall answer to your main research question is best left for your conclusion .

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I have completed my data collection and analyzed the results.

I have included all results that are relevant to my research questions.

I have concisely and objectively reported each result, including relevant descriptive statistics and inferential statistics .

I have stated whether each hypothesis was supported or refuted.

I have used tables and figures to illustrate my results where appropriate.

All tables and figures are correctly labelled and referred to in the text.

There is no subjective interpretation or speculation on the meaning of the results.

You've finished writing up your results! Use the other checklists to further improve your thesis.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Research bias

• Survivorship bias
• Self-serving bias
• Availability heuristic
• Halo effect
• Hindsight bias
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• Generative AI
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• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

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The results chapter of a thesis or dissertation presents your research results concisely and objectively.

In quantitative research , for each question or hypothesis , state:

• The type of analysis used
• Relevant results in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics
• Whether or not the alternative hypothesis was supported

In qualitative research , for each question or theme, describe:

• Recurring patterns
• Significant or representative individual responses
• Relevant quotations from the data

Don’t interpret or speculate in the results chapter.

Results are usually written in the past tense , because they are describing the outcome of completed actions.

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

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Kamala Harris addresses flip-flopping, takes on Trump in CNN interview with Walz

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris defended her evolving positions on border security and climate policy on Thursday, while promising to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet, during her first sit-down interview since becoming Democrats' 2024 presidential nominee.

The interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash covered other notable ground, including how Harris learned via a Sunday phone call July 21 that President Joe Biden was going to end his reelection bid and endorse his vice president as his replacement . Harris had just finished eating pancakes with her young nieces and other family members visiting her in Washington when she answered Biden's call.

"I asked him, 'Are you sure?' And he said, 'Yes,'" Harris said in the interview recorded earlier in the afternoon during a campaign stop with her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a diner in Savannah, Georgia. 

More: In CNN interview excerpts, Harris says values have 'not changed' as policy stances shift

The Democratic presidential ticket interview − aired during primetime with multiple commercial breaks − came amid sustained criticism from Republican rival Donald Trump's campaign over Harris waiting five weeks to take formal interview questions from a reporter.

That long wait made for higher stakes than a typical candidate's conversation with a prominent journalist, particularly with Election Day now 67 days away.

Harris said she believes Americans are "ready for a new way forward," accusing Trump of pushing an agenda and fostering an environment over the past decade that is about "diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans" and dividing the nation.

"And I think people are ready to turn the page on that," Harris said.

Harris, who has surged in polls since entering the 2024 White House race, still has not held a press conference since she took the torch as the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out.

Walz joined Harris in the interview, a move that attracted more scrutiny from Republicans. Although a joint interview with a running mate follows precedent, Republican critics argued that her first interview as a candidate should have been solo.

More: Exclusive: Kamala Harris surges ahead of Donald Trump in latest poll taken after DNC

Day 1 priority? The middle class

Harris said her “day one” priorities would be to take actions to "support and strengthen the middle class."

She pointed to her recently announced plans to reduce costs of groceries through an anti-price gouging measure and expand the construction of affordable housing. She reiterated her campaign theme of igniting an “opportunity economy."

"It's going to be about, one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy," Harris said of her plans on the first day of her administration. "There are a number of things on day one."

Harris was asked whether "Bidenomics" − the onetime slogan of Biden's economic agenda − has been a success.

"I'll say that that's good work. There's more to do, but that's good work." Harris said, touting the Biden administration's efforts to expand domestic manufacturing and provide families with children tax credits to lower the poverty rate.

No regrets on defending Biden's fitness

Harris said she has no regrets about defending the mental fitness of the 81-year-old Biden, who dropped out of the election following a disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June that raised serious questions about his cognitive abilities.

"He is so smart and loyal to the American people," Harris said. "And I have spent hours upon hours with him being in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment and judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president."

Harris then made a dig at Trump: "By contrast, the former president has none of that."

'This war must end,' Harris says of Israel-Hamas

Harris, whose campaign rallies have increasingly faced interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters, reiterated her support for Israel in its war against Hamas and said she opposes withholding U.S. weapons from going to Israel.

"Let me be very clear. I'm unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel's defense and its ability to defend itself," Harris said, also adding that "far too many innocent Palestinian have been killed."

Like she has for weeks, Harris again stressed the Biden administration is working to finalize a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that would include the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza.

"We have got to get a deal done," Harris said. "This war must end."

Harris addresses flip-flopping on issues

Bash pressed Harris on her positions that have changed as a 2024 presidential candidate compared to her time as a U.S. senator of California and when she ran unsuccessfully in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

For example, Harris was a lead Senate sponsor of Green New Deal legislation but now has distanced herself from some of its most aggressive measures. She previously said she supports a ban on fracking to extract natural gas but now opposes such a ban.

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed," Harris told Bash.

More: Harris campaign defends having Walz join first interview, facing backlash

Regarding the Green New Deal, Harris said, "I have always believed – and I have worked on it – that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.”

Harris pointed to passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden's signature bills, which included incentives for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and other investments in clean energy.

“We have set goals for the United States of America and by extension, the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as an example. That value has not changed,” she said.

But when it comes to fracking, which environmentalists have long raised concerns about, Harris told Bash: "As president, I will not ban fracking."

On the border

Harris also denied that her position has changed on securing the southern border.

After opposing the construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border as a 2020 presidential candidate, Harris backed bipartisan border legislation pushed by the Biden administration that would have allocated unspent dollars to continue the construction of a border wall, among a host of other measures.

The bill, which Senate Republicans killed at the urging of Trump, sought to impose tough new restrictions on asylum seekers. Biden later took executive action to turn away migrants who do not enter the country through legal ports of entry.

“My value around what we need to do to secure our border. That value has not changed," Harris said. "I spent two terms as the attorney general of California prosecuting transnational criminal organization, violations of American laws regarding the passage illegal passage of guns, drugs, and warnings across our border, about my values."

The Trump campaign slammed Harris' performance in the interview and her defense of several policy reversals.

"Kamala spoke for just over 16 minutes and didn't even address the crime crisis in this nation. She spent a mere 3 minutes and 25 seconds talking about the economy and 2 minutes and 36 seconds talking about immigration," the Trump campaign said in a statement. "Kamala said her values 'have not changed' three separate times. She's still a San Francisco radical."

Walz acknowledges false statement about military service

Walz sat quiet for much of the interview but had one notable exchange when he was about a past false statement in which he claimed he carried "weapons of war" into war.

Walz acknowledged he misspoke, saying, "My wife, an English teacher, will tell you my grammar's not always correct."

He explained that he made the remark when discussing the type of guns he believes children should not have the ability to access. But Walz, a former member of the Minnesota National Guard for 24 years , never served in combat.

"My record speaks for itself," Walz said. "But I think as people are coming to get to know me, I speak like they do. I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about about our children being shot in schools and around guns."

A Republican appointment to Cabinet?

Harris said she plans to nominate a Republican to her Cabinet if she is elected, continuing her theme from last weeks' Democratic National Convention in Chicago of being a president for "All Americans."

"I think it’s really important," Harris said. "I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”

Harris said she had “no one in particular” in mind when asked if there was a specific Republican she would appoint.

More: More than 200 Bush, McCain, Romney alums endorse Harris for president, criticize Trump

Harris dismisses Trump questioning her Black identity

Harris dismissed Trump recently questioning the Black racial identify of Harris, who is half Black and half Indian-American.

“Same old, tired playbook,” Harris said. “Next question, please.”

Last month, during an interview before the National Association of Black Journalists , Trump said of Harris: "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black."

Apart from being in attendance during a State of the Union address in the U.S. Capitol, Harris has never been in the same room with Trump. The two major party presidential nominees are set to debate for the first time on Sept. 10.

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Five takeaways from Harris' first major interview as the Democratic nominee

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday gave her first sit-down interview since she became the Democratic presidential nominee, touching on her agenda for 2025 and a series of topics that she has so far avoided — and drawing instant criticism from Republican rival Donald Trump.

Harris presented herself as a pragmatist in the long-anticipated interview, given to CNN's Dana Bash alongside her running mate, Tim Walz. Harris sought to strike a balance between defending the Biden-Harris administration's legacy and charting her own path if she is elected president while taking questions about how some of her policy positions have changed since the last time she ran for president.

"I believe it is important to build consensus and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems," Harris said.

Here are five takeaways from the interview.

Defending her shifting stances

Harris has changed her position on some major issues since 2019, when she ran for president and sought to win over progressive Democratic primary voters by co-sponsoring “Medicare for All,” supporting a Green New Deal, calling for decriminalizing migration and opposing hydraulic fracturing, a method of harvesting natural gas or oil known as “fracking.”

“The most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” she said, adding that she continues to believe that “the climate crisis is real” and that the White House made strides to address it with the Inflation Reduction Act.

On fracking, Harris said she promised during the 2020 vice presidential debate that she wouldn't seek to ban fracking, “nor will I going forward.” She continued, “I cast the tiebreaking vote that actually increased leases for fracking as vice president.”

(Harris said in her 2020 debate against Mike Pence that “Joe Biden will not ban fracking.”)

Harris added that there can be “a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.”

On those who cross the border unlawfully, she said: “I believe there should be consequence. We have laws that have to be followed and enforced that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally.” She also criticized Trump for pushing Republicans to kill a bipartisan border security bill.

“My value around what we need to do to secure our border — that value has not changed. I spent two terms as the attorney general of California prosecuting transnational criminal organizations,” she said.

Brushing off Trump's rhetoric about her race

Trump has sought to attack Harris’ racial identity, falsely claiming she previously identified as Indian American and started identifying as Black only recently.

Harris didn’t engage.

“Same old, tired playbook,” she said. “Next question, please.”

Harris cast Trump as a politician of the past, calling him “someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation.”

“And I think people are ready to turn the page on that,” she continued.

It reflects Harris’ approach to the campaign since she took the baton from Biden last month: running her own race as opposed to focusing on what Trump has said day to day.

Her 'Day One' agenda

Harris said her “Day One” agenda as president would be to start “implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy,” citing her recent economic proposals to lower costs.

“Prices, in particular for groceries, are still too high. The American people know it. I know it," she said. "Which is why my agenda includes what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries — for example, dealing with an issue like price gouging."

She continued: “What we need to do is to extend the child tax credit to help young families be able to take care of their children in their most formative years. What we need to do to bring down the cost of housing — my proposal includes what would be a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time homebuyers.”

Asked why she hasn’t already done those things as vice president, Harris defended Biden’s record but said, “There’s more to do.” She also said she doesn’t regret her remarks after the late June debate that Biden could ably serve another four-year term. (Biden bowed to pressure mounting in his party and withdrew from the presidential race on July 21, less than a month later.)

Trump lashes out at Harris' answers

Trump responded on his social media platform ahead of the interview after having watched a clip of Harris defending her new stances.

“I just saw Comrade Kamala Harris’ answer to a very weakly-phrased question ... her answer rambled incoherently, and declared her ‘values haven’t changed.’ On that I agree, her values haven’t changed — The Border is going to remain open, not closed, there will be Free Healthcare for Illegal Aliens, Sanctuary Cities, No Cash Bail, Gun Confiscation, Zero Fracking, a Ban on Gasoline-Powered Cars, Private Healthcare will be abolished, a 70-80% tax rate will be put in place, and she will Defund the Police,” he wrote . “America will become a WASTELAND!”

Walz: 'I wear my emotions on my sleeves'

Walz defended his previous characterizations of his service in the National Guard, including suggesting while discussing gun policy that he served in combat situations. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, himself a military veteran, accused him of “stolen valor.”

Walz — who has said through a spokesperson that he “misspoke” when he was talking about handling weapons “in war” — elaborated on his remarks, blaming that and other misstatements on a habit of speaking "passionately."

“First of all, I’m incredibly proud. I’ve done 24 years of wearing the uniform of this country,” Walz said in the interview. “I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about our children being shot in schools and around guns. So I think people know me. They know who I am. They know where my heart is.”

“If it’s not this, it’s an attack on my children for showing love for me, or it’s an attack on my dog,” he said. “The one thing I’ll never do is I’ll never demean another member’s service in any way.”

Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.