How to write an essay conclusion

How to write an essay conclusion

 · Conclusions should be put to use any time you are writing an essay, report or article that proposes or explores an idea, issue or event. This idea is referred to as a thesis statement and it provides the structure and motivation for the entire piece. In other words, it answers the "why."  · An essay conclusion needs to use rhetoric to emotionally connect with the reader in some way. And this is done through the use of certain language and the way the information is presented. If alarm bells are starting to ring at the mention of rhetoric, quiet them. Rhetoric gets a Estimated Reading Time: 9 mins  · How to conclude an essay: Restate the thesis by making the same point with other words (paraphrase). Review your supporting ideas. For that, summarize all arguments by paraphrasing how you proved the thesis. Connect back to the essay hook and relate your closing statement to Estimated Reading Time: 7 mins

How to Write a Conclusion - A Step By Step Guide & Examples

So much is at stake in writing a conclusion. This is, after all, your last chance to persuade your readers to your point of view, to impress yourself upon them as a writer and thinker. And the impression you create in your conclusion will shape the impression that stays with your readers after they've finished the essay. The end of an essay should therefore convey a sense of completeness and closure as well as a sense of the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger meaning, its implications: the final paragraph should close the discussion without closing it off.

To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following:. To close the discussion without closing it off, how to write an essay conclusion, you might do one or more of the following:. Finally, how to write an essay conclusion, some advice on how not to end an essay:. CopyrightPat Bellanca, for the Writing Center at Harvard University. Skip to main content.

Main Menu Utility Menu Search. Harvard College Writing Program HARVARD. Home FAQ Writing Support Schedule an appointment English Grammar and Language Tutor Senior Thesis Tutors Departmental Writing Fellows Writing Resources Writing Resources Writing Advice: The Barker Underground Blog Meet the tutors. To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following: Conclude by linking the last paragraph to the first, perhaps by reiterating a word or phrase you used at the beginning.

Conclude with a sentence composed mainly of one-syllable words. Simple language can help create an effect of understated drama. Conclude with a sentence that's compound or parallel in structure; such sentences can establish a sense of balance or order that may feel just right at the end of a complex discussion. To close the discussion without closing it off, you might do one or more of the following: Conclude with a quotation from or how to write an essay conclusion to a primary or secondary source, one that amplifies your main point or puts it in a different perspective.

A quotation from, say, the novel or poem you're writing about can add texture and specificity to your discussion; a critic or scholar can help confirm or complicate your final point. For example, you might conclude an essay on the idea of home in James Joyce's short story collection, Dublinerswith information about Joyce's own complex feelings towards Dublin, his home. Or you might end with a biographer's statement about Joyce's attitude toward Dublin, which could illuminate his characters' responses to the city.

Just be cautious, especially about using secondary material: make sure that you get the last word. Conclude by setting your discussion into a different, how to write an essay conclusion, perhaps larger, context.

For example, you might end an essay on nineteenth-century muckraking journalism by linking it to a current news magazine program like 60 Minutes. Conclude by redefining one of the key terms of your argument. For example, an essay on Marx's treatment of the conflict between wage labor and capital might begin with Marx's claim that the "capitalist economy how to write an essay conclusion. a gigantic enterprise of dehumanization "; the essay might end by suggesting that Marxist analysis is itself dehumanizing because it construes everything in economic -- rather than moral or ethical-- terms.

Conclude by considering the implications of your argument or analysis or discussion. What does your argument imply, or involve, or suggest?

For example, an essay on the novel Ambiguous Adventureby the Senegalese writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane, might open with the idea that the protagonist's development suggests Kane's belief in how to write an essay conclusion need to integrate Western materialism and Sufi spirituality in modern Senegal. The conclusion might make the new but related point that the novel how to write an essay conclusion the whole suggests that such an integration is or isn't possible.

Finally, some advice on how not to end an essay: Don't simply summarize your essay. A brief summary of your argument may be useful, especially if your essay is long--more than ten pages or so. But shorter essays tend not to require a restatement of your main ideas. Avoid phrases like "in conclusion," "to conclude," "in summary," and "to sum up, how to write an essay conclusion. But readers can see, by the tell-tale compression of the pages, when an essay is about to end.

You'll irritate your audience if you belabor the obvious. Resist the urge to apologize. If you've immersed yourself in your subject, you now know a good deal more about it than you can possibly include in a five- or ten- or page essay. As a result, by the time you've finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you've produced. And if you haven't immersed yourself in your subject, you may be feeling even more doubtful about your essay as you approach the conclusion.

Repress those doubts. Don't undercut your authority by saying things like, "this is just one approach to the subject; there may be other, better approaches. Writing Resources Strategies for Essay Writing How to Read an Assignment Moving from Assignment to Topic How to Do a Close Reading Overview of the Academic Essay Essay Structure Developing A Thesis Beginning the Academic Essay Outlining Counterargument Summary Topic Sentences and Signposting Transitioning: Beware of Velcro How to Write a Comparative Analysis Ending the Essay: Conclusions Revising the Draft Editing the Essay, Part One Editing the Essay, Part Two Tips on Grammar, Punctuation and Style Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines.

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How to Write a Great Essay Conclusion

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Conclusion Examples: Strong Endings for Any Paper

 · How to conclude an essay: Restate the thesis by making the same point with other words (paraphrase). Review your supporting ideas. For that, summarize all arguments by paraphrasing how you proved the thesis. Connect back to the essay hook and relate your closing statement to Estimated Reading Time: 7 mins  · How to write a conclusion paragraph. Step 1: Return to your thesis. To begin your conclusion, signal that the essay is coming to an end by returning to your overall argument. Don’t just Step 2: Review your main points. Step 3: Show why it matters. What shouldn’t go in the conclusion? Reviews: 2 To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following: Conclude by linking the last paragraph to the first, perhaps by reiterating a word or phrase you used at the beginning. Conclude with a sentence composed mainly of one-syllable words. Simple language can help create an