Are you struggling with writing the final section of a paper?   End your writing projects with strength by following these guidelines.
 

What the conclusion should not be:

• It should not be a restatement of your introduction.  If you made your point in a logical way, assume your reader is still alive and kicking.  Don’t rehash the whole paper.

• Don’t start with “In conclusion….”

• Take your time.  A conclusion is not necessarily just one paragraph.   It slows down and builds in the same way that an introduction does.  If you have been saying something important, honor that by ushering your readers gently to the door and showing them the way out.  Don’t just slam the door in their faces.

• Don’t reduce your issue to a black/white, right/wrong scenario.  Keep in complicated. 
 

What it should be:

• The ending of something should give the reader something to think about or allow them to feel something important.

• It can give us a sense of closure OR it can make us feel as if we need to reconsider our position on this issue.

• A conclusion can be personal, (something you’ve held back and saved for the very end in a dramatic attempt to persuade the reader) or it can begin with a very poignant quotation or statistic.

• Always remember that it is the very last of your words and so should be the best.  You want to exit with a good impression, don’t you?

Dr. Phyllis Benay

Director, Center for Writing

Printable PDF handout: its-time-to-conclude1