How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph
Perhaps the secret of scoring a high grade in any paper is having strong conclusion. Starting your essay on a high note and losing all the energy before the conclusion could be disastrous. Knowing how to write a conclusion paragraph will leave your readers wanting more of your work.
You need to know what to include in your conclusion, what to avoid and how to organize your conclusion statements. Good conclusion ideas that lack harmony distort the flavor of your conclusion remarks and could snatch that first class from your hands.
When writing a conclusion paragraph, the summary of your paper should be at the back of your mind. Do not think outside the scope of your research since conclusion sums up your ideas. Make it provocative, with punch and oomph! Here is what you need to know:
Guidelines on How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph
Conclusions are about reminding your readers of your main issues in the essay. Here are the steps on how to write a conclusion paragraph, you must always follow:
Step 1: Transition: Having a small transition is important to signal your reader that your paper is ending. This ensures that they pay attention to what you are about to say as you link with the thesis statement. However, you may avoid starting your conclusion paragraph with a transition if you are sure that your essay is ending. You could as well make the transition very simple.
Consider the conclusion paragraph of; Is It Possible For the Foreign Policy Leaders to Behave As Rational Actors?:
“From the above analysis, foreign policy administrators will not act sensibly to foster global relations. In addition, reasons behind international relations will forever remain.”
Step 2: Brief Summary: The baseline of writing the best conclusion is summarizing the main points of your essay. Here, try revisiting your topic sentences in the body since they capture your core arguments. At this point, rewrite the main point into two or three sentences to enhance your supporting evidence for your claims.
While summarizing is a common approach when writing a conclusion paragraph, do not summarize your points as you wrote them. Capture the overall answer, which your research provided, giving you freedom to use a few sentences.
Step 3: Short and sweet: To write a good conclusion paragraph, summarize your main points. In most cases, the instructor will not specify the length of your conclusion paragraph. A very long conclusion could be a repetition of the body of your essay.
Step 4: Rework your thesis statement: Since a good essay will always have a thesis statement, rework it as you conclude your essay. You must do this even if you do not dwell on it. It is important to tie your conclusion to the thesis since it is the main point of your paper and you will have to spent most of time supporting it. If the reader cannot get your thesis statement from the conclusion paragraph, then you have failed as a writer.
Avoid copy pasting your thesis. Always find a pleasant way of reworking it in an attractive way with different wording from the original. Restating your thesis word for word could mean laziness.
Step 5: Be authoritative. Convince the reader that your content is accurate. Use strong and right words that affirm your authority of the research. Avoid using phrases like ‘I think’ in your conclusion as they weaken your firmness. To be reliable, do not regret or offer apology for your opinion. Own every argument in the essay and stand by it.
Example of a good conclusion from the essay, Comparing Management and Leadership:
“Leaders and managers have a common task of working together to achieve organizational objectives. Each of these, however, needs specific attribute to realize their goals.”
The author revisits the topic and gives an authoritative stance on what leaders and managers need to achieve organizational goals.
Writing a Flawless Conclusion Paragraph
There are other points on how to write a conclusion paragraph that you should have in mind. Write a conclusion paragraph that is devoid of errors. Make it direct and provocative. Be sure to illustrate the basis of your argument. Your focus should remain on the theme of your essay and your ending.
Have an interesting ending by using a bit of irony. Make it playful without losing your readers who have been loyal from the first line of your paper. This makes you entire paper provocative. Also, make your ending powerful by appealing to the emotions of the reader. If you master this, it literally gives your paper a heart.
Include a call to action statement especially if you aim at influencing people to change. However, it can overkill a paper if you misuse it.
Since the conclusion is part of your paper, stick to the rules of writing. Avoid grammar mistakes, which could reveal how you are not committed to leave a lasting impression in the minds of your readers. The image you paint in a conclusion paragraph is a lasting one.
Guidelines on How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph
While writing a conclusion can appear like a walkover, it can as well mess up your entire paper. Just like an introduction, a conclusion paragraph has significant weight in determining your final grade. Do not do an excellent research and overshadow it with a shoddy ending. Here are some of the strategies to avoid every time you are ending your essay:
Avoid overused Phrases: You must be creative enough to figure out how to write a conclusion paragraph. Avoid old school phrases. Some of the statements to avoid are, ‘in conclusion’, ‘in summary’, or in ‘closing.’
Here is another good example of a conclusion paragraph from Culture and Society done by our experts:
“It is evident that culture is key in shaping people’s beliefs and norms, which give them an identity and distinguishes them from other communities.”
The author wraps up the essay by connecting culture and society.
Stating thesis statement: Do not state your thesis for the first time in your conclusion paragraph. Normally, your thesis statement should appear in the first paragraph as it guides you and the reader.
Introducing new idea: To know how to write a conclusion paragraph, focus on the main points in the body of your essay. At all cost, avoid having new ideas in your conclusion. This causes confusion and discontinuity as the reader cannot sequentially understand your essay. Besides new ideas, do not introduce new subtitles in your ending.
Restate your thesis: – Do not duplicate your thesis statement even though you need it in your conclusion. Rework it by making substantive changes.
Emotional appeals: Sentimental appeals to the reader, which are disjoint with the rest of the paper, have no place in conclusion paragraph writing. Stick to your outline and theme. In most cases, let the reader make a judgment upon reading your work.
Supporting evidence: Information that supports your claims in the paper belongs to the body. Avoid having quotes and statistics in the last paragraph. Understand the elements to include in any conclusion paragraph.
How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph Effectively
Writing a good conclusion does not come easily. Besides having good grammar, understanding your theme and the entire research process, you need to have the following tips on how to write a conclusion paragraph:
‘So what game’: When you read a conclusion paragraph, always remember to ask yourself the ‘so what’ question. Do not leave your readers hanging and wondering why they had to waste their time reading your paper
Revisit your thesis statement: End your essay by going back to your thesis statement in the introductory paragraph. This makes writing and reading a complete circle. Take the reader back to where they started.
Sum up: Put all your main points together without unnecessary repetition. Be sure to show your reader the important points in the paper and the supporting evidence you used. This is the baseline of perfecting conclusion paragraph writing.
Essays with standard Conclusions:
- Pros and Cons of Corporations
- Culture and Society
- Comparing Management and Leadership
- Is It Possible For the Foreign Policy Leaders to Behave As Rational Actors?
Writing an Outline for a Conclusion Paragraph
Writing a conclusion paragraph requires one to have an outline, which includes the following:
Topic sentence: This captures the main point in every paragraph in the body of the paper. Rephrase these sentences and the thesis statement to incorporate in your conclusion.
Supporting evidence: Explain to the reader how your ideas fit together to support your claims throughout the paper.
Give a closing sentence. The last step when writing a conclusion is giving your final thoughts on the topic of discussion. At this point, it should be clear to the reader that the paper is ending. This includes having a tone that enhances a sense of closure. Remember that a conclusion paragraph is the opposite of the introduction paragraph.
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References:
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/conclude.html
http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/concl.html
http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions