Writing an Effective Conclusion:
A Few Points to Consider
1) Your conclusion is your chance to have the last word on the subject. Just as it is important
to make a good first impression, it is also important to make a good final impression. It
would be a shame to devote great amounts of time and effort to your introduction, your
thesis, your argument, your evidence, your writing style, and so on, only to have the paper
fall flat at the end because of a weak conclusion. The conclusion allows you to have the
final word on the issues you have raised in your paper, to summarize your thoughts, to
demonstrate the importance of your ideas, and to propel your reader to a new view of the
subject. Take good advantage of that opportunity! It’s worthwhile to remember that your
reader (the professor or TA) will be grading your paper right after he or she reads the
conclusion, so it is your opportunity to end on a positive note.
2) Your conclusion can go beyond the confines of the assignment. The conclusion pushes
beyond the boundaries of the question and allows you to consider broader issues, make new
connections, and elaborate on the significance of your findings. Essentially, your
conclusion can help answer the question, “So what?”
3) Your conclusion, ideally, should make your readers glad they read your paper. Your
conclusion gives your reader something to take away that will help them see things
differently or appreciate your topic in personally relevant ways. Your conclusion can
suggest broader implications that will not only interest the reader, but will also enrich your
reader’s life in some way. It is your gift to the reader.
4) Play the so-what game. You can also play this kind of game by yourself, asking yourself “So
what?” as you develop your ideas or your draft. You can also consider how this topic might
relate to everyday life.
5) Know the purpose of the assignment. You might think specifically about why your
professor asked you to write this paper. Sometimes if you can figure out why your professor
wanted you to write this particular paper, you will start to get a sense of the significance of
the topic. That significance, in turn, can be a stepping stone to a useful conclusion.
6) Free-Writing. You might try free-writing your conclusion – explain what you wrote about
and then try to tell your friend what you learned as a result of writing the paper, how the
ideas in the paper might relate to their experiences, or why the content of the paper matters
in terms of “the big picture.”
7) Read your introduction and your conclusion side by side. If they say essentially the same
thing, you probably need to rethink your conclusion. It should do more than just restate
your thesis – it should push the ideas further and explain their relevance.
(continued on back)
Try to Avoid these Typically Ineffective Conclusions
The following kinds of conclusions are usually ineffective, but most of us have written
conclusions very much like them in the past. Everyone tends to write these kinds of
conclusions when they can’t think of a better way to conclude. You’ve probably written one
because they are easy to write. Below, we provide examples of overused and unoriginal
conclusions with explanations of why they are not as effective as they could be. One of the
best ways to improve your writing is to remember that the writer should work very hard so
that the reader doesn’t have to work hard – if you can work hard to write effective, original
conclusions, your paper will surely benefit.
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 in any way. People write this kind of conclusion when they just can’t think of
anything else to say.
2. The “Sherlock Holmes” Conclusion
Sometimes, instead of repeating the thesis in the conclusion, writers will state the thesis for
the very first time in the conclusion. You might be tempted to use this strategy if you feel
like 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” them with
your main idea, much like a Sherlock Holmes mystery. The reader, however, does not
expect to read a mystery. Instead, he or she expects an analytical discussion of your topic in
an academic style. As a result, your reader will expect to see an introduction that explains
what the main argument (your thesis) will be, followed by body paragraphs that explore
evidence in support of that thesis and concluded with a section that summarizes and
explains the significance of that argument. If you find that your conclusion is the first place
where the reader fully understands your thesis, then you need to go back and revise.
3. The “America the Beautiful”/“I Am Woman”/“We Shall Overcome” Conclusion
This kind of conclusion usually draws on emotion to make its appeal. You may be writing
about a moving historical or sociological issue, the plight of disadvantaged communities,
the environment, or other topics that pull the heart-strings so much that you can almost
hear the strains of one of the above songs in the background as you read. While this
sentimentally may be very heartfelt, it is usually out of character with the rest of an
analytical paper. A more fitting tribute to the individual, theme, historical event, or other
topic would certainly be a more sophisticated commentary than just emotional praise.
4. The Grab Bag Conclusion
In this kind of conclusion, the writer throws extra stuff that he or she found or thought of,
but couldn’t integrate into the main paper. You may find it difficult to leave out insights or
details that you discovered after hours of research and careful consideration, but adding
random bits of evidence and irrelevant facts at the end of an otherwise-well-organized essay
can just create confusion.
