Tips for writing a conclusion | Capstone Editing (2024)
The purpose of a conclusion is to wrap-up the essay’s argument. In your conclusion you must do two things:
Clearly restate your thesis and answer to the essay question.
Summarise the arguments you’ve made throughout your essay, especially the main ideas in each paragraph. Remind the reader about the connection between these ideas and the thesis or essay question.
In addition, avoid these common pitfalls:
Do not introduce any new information, ideas or research.
Avoid copying the wording of your introduction directly. You want your essay to sound fluent and sophisticated, not repetitive.
In this article, we provide our conclusion ‘dos and don’ts’, so you can ensure your essay presents a cohesive response to the question.
The conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay. The purpose of a conclusion is to conclude the essay. ‘Conclude’ means ‘to bring to an end; finish; terminate’ and ‘to arrive at an opinion or judgement; come to a decision; decide’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2018).
Your conclusion is your last chance to impress your marker. For this reason, your conclusion should be a logical endpoint for your essay.
It’s important that you restate your thesis and emphasise that your thesis answers the essay question.
Summarise your arguments (you should have one main argument or idea per body paragraph) and clearly explain how these ideas contribute to answering the essay question.
Conclusion Don’ts
Some websites might incorrectly counsel you to do something creative to captivate your marker’s attention. This is not appropriate in an academic essay. Do not end your essay with a personal anecdote, unless your lecturer’s guidelines specifically permit this. Maintain a formal register until the very end.
Further, avoid posing a rhetorical question, unless you can make a very good case for doing so. The purpose of an essay is to present a cohesive argument, not pose questions for your marker to answer. (It’s a good idea to avoid rhetorical questions throughout your essay!)
Undergraduates particularly benefit from engaging the services of an academic editor. An academic editor can provide you targeted feedback about your language, referencing and formatting. Contact us for more information on how we can help you polish and perfect your essays.
A writer needs to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a reader remembers best. stress the importance of the thesis statement (without repeating it verbatim), • give the essay a sense of completeness, and • leave a final impression on the reader. Suggestions Answer the question "So What?"
A writer needs to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a reader remembers best. stress the importance of the thesis statement (without repeating it verbatim), • give the essay a sense of completeness, and • leave a final impression on the reader. Suggestions Answer the question "So What?"
Highlight the key argument presented in the essay. Summarise the answer to the essay question, as signalled in the introduction. Refer back to the essay question to show that it has been answered. Reinforce the main theme of the essay, which has been established in the introduction.
Leave a good last impression on your readers and they should recall the rest of your essay more fondly. In Chapter 2, we now turn our attention to the four common concluding elements, namely the thesis restatement, summary of ideas, research gaps and recommendations.
As you put yourself into words, see below for some tips to pull off an A-grade college essay, summed up in three Cs. Do your best to be clear, concise, and compelling.
The conclusion of an essay has three major parts: Answer: the thesis statement, revisited. Summary: main points and highlights from the body paragraphs. Significance: the relevance and implications of the essay's findings.
However, writing a conclusion can be quite difficult. This is because it can often be hard to find something interesting or useful to say in the conclusion. Conclusions should be attractive and interesting but often they are rather dull and "formula written".
A good conclusion paragraph summarizes what was discussed in the paper. Use the introduction as a guide to writing your conclusion but not word to word. A conclusion paragraph begins with a general and ends with a specific conclusion. Begin with a topic sentence which is a rephrasing of the topic sentence.
Reflection: Offers a thoughtful closing statement reflecting the significance of your thesis. Judgment: Gives your opinion about the topic. Call to action: Suggests readers to take action regarding the topic. Question: Asks a question to make readers think.
Hobby: Web surfing, Skiing, role-playing games, Sketching, Polo, Sewing, Genealogy
Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
