Conclusion

The Art of the Last Word

There are many different ways to conclude a paper. The method you choose will depend upon your intentions as a writer and the purpose and scope of your paper. The first step in writing your conclusion is to decide what you want your conclusion to do. Following is a list of potential goals for conclusions.

What do you want your conclusion to do? (Choose ALL that apply)

  1. Synthesize
  2. Return to the theme of the introduction
  3. Point to broader implications
  4. Propose a course of action

Goal #1 -Synthesize

Synthesizing, or “pulling it all together” is often the main goal for conclusions in college papers. You’ve written about different aspects of an issue, and now you want to put all these pieces together into a coherent conclusion.

1)Ask yourself, “What were the main evidences and logical steps I took in my writing to lead the reader toward my main argument (thesis)?”

2)Summarize those steps in your conclusion.

Goal #2 - Return to the theme of the introduction

Returning to a theme, anecdote, quote, definition, or image from your introduction can make the paper feel like it has come full circle.

1)Ask yourself, “What new understanding have I given the readers that will make them see this theme differently than they did in the introduction?”

2)Using themes from your introduction, write a conclusion that helps the readers realize their newly gained understanding of the issue. You can help the readers realize this by repeating themes from the introduction from a new perspective (implicitly)or by simply telling them how their perspective should have changed as the result of your paper (explicitly).

Goal #3 - Point to broader implications

The goal of this type of conclusion is to get the reader to continue to think about the issues discussed in the paper. It opens up and applies the discussion to other areas.

1)Restate your thesis and ask yourself, “so what?” Repeat this question until you are able to make the topic relevant or interesting on a broad scope.

NOTE: It can be helpful to do this activity with a friend. Play the “So What” Game. Have your friend say, “So what?” or, “Why should anybody care?” after every statement you make about your paper. See example on next page.

The “So What” Game

You:Basically, I’m just saying that education was important to Douglass.

Friend:So what?

You:Well, it was important because it was a key to him feeling like a free and equal citizen.

Friend:Why should anybody care?

You:That’s important because plantation owners tried to keep slaves from being educated so that they could maintain control. When Douglass obtained an education, he undermined that control personally.

2)Write down your answers to the “so what” questions and compile these answers into a coherent conclusion.

Goal #4 - Propose a course of action

Some writing calls for subsequent action by the reader or by the entities mentioned in the paper (e.g. the scientific community, the United States government, BYU students, Russian voters, chocolate lovers, etc.) Having read your paper, you now want them to do something. This call to action may be as passive as a list of research questions for further study on the topic or it may be as blatant as a plea for votes, funding, or donations.

1)Decide what action(s) you want to occur.

2)Write your conclusion with a clearly established proposal for this future action to occur.

NOTE: If you want to propose further research. Make a list of the limitations in your own research or the research of others. Based on these limitations, come up with research questions that have not yet been satisfactorily answered and bring these questions up in your conclusion.

Things to Avoid

1)Cliché phrases like “in conclusion” or “in summary.”

2)Stating the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. The “surprise ending” conclusion may work for literature and creative writing, but is not recommended for academic writing.

3)Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion. You can broaden the ideas you have already established, but bringing up entirely new ideas causes the reader to think that there will be more paragraphs ahead.

4)Repeating verbatim your thesis statement from the introduction.

5)Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of the paper.

6)Providing evidence that should be in the body of the paper.

Consulted sources: The Writing Centers of Harvard, UNC, and St Cloud State College

Four Kinds of Ineffective Conclusions

  1. The “That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It” Conclusion. This conclusion just restates the thesis and is usually painfully short. It does not push the ideas forward. People write this kind of conclusion when they can’t think of anything else to say. Example: In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was, as we have seen, a pioneer in American education, proving that education was a major force for social change with regard to slavery.
  2. The “Sherlock Holmes” Conclusion. Sometimes writers will state the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. You might be tempted to use this strategy if you don’t want to give everything away too early in your paper. You may think it would be more dramatic to keep the reader in the dark until the end and then “wow” him with your main idea, as in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. The reader, however, does not expect a mystery, but an analytical discussion of your topic in an academic style, with the main argument (thesis) stated up front. Example: (After a paper that lists numerous incidents from the book but never says what these incidents reveal about Douglass and his views on education): So, as the evidence above demonstrates, Douglass saw education as a way to undermine the slaveholders’ power and also an important step toward freedom.
  3. The “America the Beautiful”/”I Am Woman”/”We Shall Overcome” Conclusion. This kind of conclusion usually draws on emotion to make its appeal, but while this emotion and even sentimentality may be very heartfelt, it is usually out of character with the rest of an analytical paper. A more sophisticated commentary, rather than emotional praise, would be a more fitting tribute to the topic. Example: Because of the efforts of fine Americans like Frederick Douglass, countless others have seen the shining beacon of light that is education. His example was a torch that lit the way for others. Frederick Douglass was truly an American hero.
  4. The “Grab Bag” Conclusion. This kind of conclusion includes extra information that the writer found or thought of but couldn’t integrate into the main paper. You may find it hard to leave out details that you discovered after hours of research and thought, but adding random facts and bits of evidence at the end of an otherwise-well-organized essay can just create confusion. Example: In addition to being an educational pioneer, Frederick Douglass provides an interesting case study for masculinity in the American South. He also offers historians an interesting glimpse into slave resistance when he confronts Covey, the overseer. His relationships with female relatives reveal the importance of family in the slave community.

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Source: The University of North Carolina Writing Center