Concluding Your Paper (Academic Essay)
You do not want to stop writing abruptly after making your last body paragraph argument. The paper’s conclusion should wrap up your points smoothly and make a good final impression on the readers. It must be at least 3 sentences in length—no less.
· Never apologize for your viewpoint
· Never begin the conclusion with source materials
· Never ‘copy-cat’ your thesis statement by simply copy and pasting it into your conclusion—or anywhere else in the paper
· Never ask the reader questions in the conclusion's 1st sentence or wrap up sentences.
- The only place for a question in the conclusion would the very last sentence of the conclusion to leave them pondering one question.
· Never provide new sub-points or new supporting evidence in the conclusion—that time is done. That needed to be accomplished in the body paragraphs.
· Restate the thesis: Do not put the thesis statement from the introduction into the conclusion. Do not repeat yourself. You can restate it but in a new format. Do not be a copy-cat writer.
· Summarize the main points of the essay: The writings in our class are not that long, and you will not need to itemize EVERY single point and sub-point presented in the body paragraphs. You want to briefly remind the reader of the overall points that support your thesis statement: the main topics from your body paragraphs. If you had 4 body paragraphs, then you have 4 main topics. If you had 3 body paragraphs, then, obviously, you had three main topics.
· Provide Closure: The very last sentence of your conclusion can follow a variety of formats—see the ‘types of closure lines in conclusions’ listing below. However, no matter what type of closure sentence you craft, please keep in mind that this is the last thing that your reader will remember—and it should be used to craft your title from for a feeling of full closure—and so you want it to be special. Take your time, think it through, and get ready to ‘wow’ your reader with that last line.
You can conclude the last sentence of your paper in several ways:
· Ask a question: What should a society do when one person’s rights infringe on another person’s rights? (If you use this technique, only ask ONE question. Do not ask question after question. This is a writing style for conclusions. Do not write more than one or it loses its kick.)
· Offer a quotation at the very end to leave your readers thinking about something poignant: As William Schaeffer wrote, “Without freedom, there is no hope for the world” (par. 13).
Are you looking for a catchy quote? Click HERE.
· Provide an ironic twist, a surprising observation, or a clever ending: Smoking is legal, and one could even see it as a personal right; however, don’t let one person’s freedoms encroach on another person’s rights.
· Throw out a personal challenge: Consider quitting now and becoming part of the movement to stop secondhand smoke in public places.
· Make a prediction or recommend actions for the readers to take: Next time a state’s ballot contains legislation banning secondhand smoke in public places, please vote yes.
Whichever type of conclusion you choose, you want to say something powerful and memorable so that the readers walk away thinking about what you wrote. Always remember to write in 3rd person voice—UNLESS you are given specific allowances for 1st person voice by the instructor.
Note. Make sure the word conclusion does not appear above your concluding paragraph.
Create a conclusion that tidies up the essay, without introducing new points or fully rehashing the points made in the essay. Think of a conclusion as if it was the end of phone conversation (it is not the same. This is just an illustration, a simile):
OK, well I’m glad that you are feeling better. I look forward to seeing your next week at church. Tell Sam hi, and be sure to keep pushing fluids until you are completely recovered.
See how main conversation points were addressed, and the conversation was ended? Try this tactic in your own conclusion.
Repeating the introduction—it is never a good idea to repeat what you said in your introduction: ESPECIALLY NOT YOUR THESIS—never repeat your thesis verbatim. An introduction and a conclusion serve two different purposes. One introduces the reader to the topic, and the other wraps up the ideas expressed and points proven in the essay. The conclusion should always strive to capture the points of the body paragraphs in addition to the introduction.
A new direction—do not introduce a topic different than the one your essay has been about.
New resources, proof, and evidence—you should never use additional source materials in a conclusion to prove new points. You should be proving your points and using your sources in the body paragraphs. The only place a source can be used in a conclusion would be the final sentence to leave the reader with a famous quote of some sort. Other than that, never add new material to prove your point in the conclusion paragraph. Use your body paragraphs for proving your point.
A sweeping generalization—never try to conclude more than you have reasonably proven in your body paragraphs. You conclusion should never have a sweeping generalization in it. See page 152 of your textbook for examples.
An apology—never apologize for your writing or cast doubt on what you have written. Always display confidence in your writing and the sources you have used to prove the point of the essay. Never write things like I may not be an expert but…or This is my opinion, and you are free to have your own. First of all, these types of statements are written in 1st person voice. Secondly, they cast doubt on you and your writing.
The purpose of a conclusion paragraph is to wrap-up—as an overview—the argument points from the body-paragraphs and reassert—in new wording—the point of the whole essay: the thesis statement.
If you are wrapping up the essay’s information and you ask your reader a question here or there, then you are defeating the purpose of declaring that your argument is the only way to believe. When you ask the reader a question, he stops…comes out of the paper…and answers the question for himself. You do not know if the way he answers will benefit your argument. Maybe he answers the question and then begins to return to your writing, yet after realizing that he does not agree with your initial statements, he puts down the writing. You just lost your reader. The goal of writing is to entice and KEEP readers in your writing all the way to the end. Only by keeping them there can you argue your point and persuade them of your side.
If the reader does not set down your paper but simply returns to the writing, you—as a writer—now must work twice as hard to re-engage the reader and submerge him back into your views, sources, and argument—always reminding him of the strong arguments from the body-paragraphs. Often, the reader never fully submerses his head again into your writing, thus weakening your persuasive discourse, right as you were wrapping things up in the essay.
If you ask questions, you risk two things: 1) losing the reader, and 2) sounding like you do not know what you are talking about since you are looking to the reader for answers and stimulation for your writing through the question/answer pattern. It is alright to ask yourself questions in the planning/prewriting phase, but once you have those answers and you begin your draft, all of the questions need to go.
If all else fails, there is one place in a conclusion paragraph where a question might work well—the closing sentence of the conclusion paragraph. After all, the very last sentence is supposed to ‘wow’ the audience, causing them to act, or think further upon your argument. This location is sometimes acceptable for a question to leave the reader thinking about. However, even in this location, it does not always work well, and so please use this tactic wisely.
Narratives are not Academic-styled writings. They follow a different format. See the information below, and use the links for The Narrative essay on the site.
If you are writing a story or narration, your structure and layout will be slightly different due to the nature, voice, and movement of this type of writing. See this site for help with conclusions for narrative writing: How to End a Narrative Writing.
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