Writing A Strong Conclusion For An Essay: Basic Manual For Dummies

No matter how strong of an essay you write and how many laudable allusions and examples you fill it with, if your conclusion is not impactful, your work is as good as no work done. Academicians stress the worth of a conclusion because it is your last chance to make a mark on the reader’s psyche. It is here that you either lose them completely or get them thinking. It all depends on how you word it. Thus, here are some tips to help you write a strong conclusion.

A Strong Conclusion:

• Reiterates the essence of your essay: The conclusion does not break away from the paper and state something new. A strong conclusion, however, goes back to the main topic and stresses its importance. When we define a conclusion, we say that it is an epilogue to a piece of work, a summary of sorts describing in moderate detail what the work is about. Whether the epilogue binds or loses is up to you.
• Enlists the main points highlighted in the essay: For example, when writing the conclusion of an essay on the Great Depression in America, list all important points that you based your paragraphs on, such as, the causes, impacts, and how the nation recovered.
• Plays the game of questions: When writing the conclusion, ask yourself one question after every sentence, ‘So?’ Doing so will automatically highlight the major points of your work, because it not only asks what happened, but also why it is important.
• Gives something substantial: Although the conclusion must restate the major points, it should not copy them blindly. A good conclusion leaves the reader with an inner satisfaction. Give recommendations, suggest solutions, or raise a question. Do not conclude just for the sake of it.
• Avoids beginning with the obvious: By this, we refer to not starting the conclusion with the words, ‘In conclusion’, or ‘In closing’. These phrases seem disinterested as if you were trying to get the essay over with by the time you reached the end.
• Is consistent with the tone of the paper: If you are writing a thesis or an analysis, stick to the formal tone while writing the conclusion. Nothing seems more out of place than an emotional exultation in a paper about microorganisms.