Why Your Conclusion Probably Isn’t Very Good - By Jay Greene

Why Your Conclusion Probably Isn’t Very Good

Jay Greene

You did it.  You just finished the last body paragraph of your essay.  All the brainstorming, freewriting, outlining, drafting, and revision led to this singular cathartic moment: the end of your paper – except that you’re not done.  Not really, anyhow.  You haven’t written your conclusion.  And there, on your screen, the cursor blinks impatiently, waiting.

A lot of people have a hard time writing a good conclusion.  They get to the end of their paper, and they think, “What more could I possibly have to say about this topic?”  They are essentially spent -  emotionally, physically, and intellectually exhausted -  which explains why a lot of strong papers end with weak, three-sentence conclusions that sound like they were written by a disillusioned 7^th grader.  For a reader, it’s like eating a fantastic 4-star French dinner, and then being served a half-eaten tapioca pudding cup for dessert.  It leaves one disappointed, unsatisfied.  Since the conclusion is the last thing the reader reads, it is essentially the taste that will linger on the reader’s palette when they are evaluating (or grading) your paper as a whole, for better or worse.  But there is hope, friend.

It’s all about keeping perspective.  Keep in mind what the conclusion represents in your paper:

Introduction:  Here’s what I’m going to talk about.

Body:  Look, here’s me talking about it.

Conclusion:  Here’s what I talked about. (Here is what mattered about my topic.)

In other words, you are summarizing (reminding your reader) what you have argued in your paper.  Remember, papers are long, and sometimes a reader momentarily forgets a point you made at the beginning of your piece.  The conclusion is your last chance to bring everything together in one place to make sure the reader comes away with every main point that you wanted him/her to understand.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Restate your topic and why it was important for you to address it.

-          If you’re struggling to begin your conclusion, try leading with something like, “As we have seen, racism continues to be a huge problem for …” or, “From our analysis of [blank], we see that…”  There are countless ways to begin, of course.

• Restate your thesis/claim (in different wording than in your introduction, obviously).

-          “I have argued that…” or, “I have attempted to show that…” are examples of how to lead into this.

• Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position.

-          You might say, “Though some might argue…” and then go on to defend your position briefly.

• End by encouraging further thought about the topic from your audience. (Leave the reader with something to chew on.)

-          In other words, wrap up your essay with a punchy, thoughtful little gem about your topic that leaves your reader nodding slowly.  For example, in a paper about “Satan as epic hero in Milton’s Paradise Lost,” a decent final sentence might sound like, “Milton has gone through exhaustive lengths to establish his Satan as an epic hero; however, he has also gone through equally comprehensive measures to intentionally hobble his character, thus ensuring that his ‘hero’ falls far short of the very pantheon of epic heroes to whom he is indebted.” Or SOMETHING like that.  The point is simply that the sentence must have that definite feeling of being your final word on the matter.  Don’t simply end the paper abruptly, leaving your reader dangling. 

Remember:  You can do this!  Now get out there and end that paper!