Overview
Conclusion
The conclusion is the final paragraph of the essay and plays an important role in writing an effective paper. The conclusion should reinforce your thesis statement and purpose by reiterating the thesis statement and providing a sense of completeness about the essay’s topic. An effective conclusion will summarize your essay and provide a final comment about your topic. There are several strategies that are helpful in writing a conclusion:
- Review key points
- Link the concluding paragraph to the introduction by reiterating a word or phrase
- Recommend a course of action
- Cite a relevant quotation
- Predict a logical outcome
Strategies for writing an effective conclusion
One or more of the following strategies may help you write an effective conclusion.
Play the “So what” game.
If you’re stuck and feel like your conclusion isn’t saying anything new or interesting, ask a friend to read it with you. Whenever you make a statement from your conclusion, ask the friend to say, “So what?” or “Why should anybody care?” Then ponder that question and answer it.
Return to the theme or themes in the introduction.
This strategy brings the reader full circle. For example, if you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay is helpful in creating a new understanding. You may also refer to the introductory paragraph by using key words or parallel concepts and images that you also used in the introduction.
Synthesize, don’t summarize.
Include a brief summary of the paper’s main points, but don’t simply repeat things that were in your paper. Instead, show your reader how the points you made and the support and examples you used fit together. Pull it all together.
Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research or reading you did for your paper.
Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or questions for further study.
This can redirect your reader’s thought process and help her to apply your info and ideas to her own life or to see the broader implications.
Point to broader implications.
What NOT to do in a conclusion
- Do not repeat the exact wording of the thesis statement. The thesis statement should be restated in a new way.
- Do not introduce new points. Your conclusion should reinforce points you have already discussed in your essay.
- Do not end with an unnecessary announcement. Avoid phrases such as “in conclusion,” “in summary,” or “to sum up.” The tone of your conclusion should signal that you are drawing to a close.
- From Arrangement Copyright © by Wanda M. Waller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
