How to finish an essay
When concluding it's best to briefly reiterate your thesis in a summation that drives home whatever it is your thesis states. Hope I made some semblance of sense. Wrap it up by summing up your main points and ending with the thesis statement re-worded Wrap it up by summing up your main points and ending with the thesis statement re-worded or plainly stated once more. Do not forget to restate the main idea of your essay, or your thesis statement in concluding part of your essay. Make it short, but catchy as introduction and conclusion are the essential elements of writing to keep the attention of the reader.
How to conclude an essay
The final paragraph of an essay is what ties the piece together into a single, cohesive whole. To end an essay, start your conclusion with a phrase that makes it clear your essay is coming to a close, like "In summary," or "All things considered. Finally, end your conclusion with a call to action that encourages your readers to do something or learn more about your topic. In general, try to keep your conclusion between 5 and 7 sentences long.
For more tips from our English co-author, like how to avoid common pitfalls when writing an essay conclusion, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Facebook. No account yet? Create an account. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Article Edit. Learn why people trust wikiHow. This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
Explore this Article Brainstorming Your Conclusion. Writing the Conclusion. Avoiding Common Pitfalls. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary.
Part 1 of All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. What can you say in your conclusion to help convince your readers that they should care about your ideas and argument? List the main ideas in your essay. Look for any themes you introduced in the first paragraph. You can get a nice sense of closure by returning to the theme you opened with. However, you might expand this theme to include the idea that as human knowledge grows, space is actually becoming smaller.
Consider whether you can link your argument to a different context. This helps your reader understand how they could apply the arguments you made to another topic, giving your essay a bigger sense of purpose. Part 2 of Start with a small transition optional. This can be a cue to your reader that you're ending your essay, and that they need to pay attention.
Though a lot of essays begin their last paragraph with a transition, you don't need to if you feel like it's clear enough that you are ending your essay. The transition can be very simple. Briefly summarize some of the main points. Try taking the first sentences of each body paragraph your topic sentences and rewriting their main points in two or three sentences.
This will reinforce your essay's argument, reminding the reader what you were talking about, or arguing for. Avoid summarizing your points exactly as you wrote them.
Your readers have already read your essay. Keep it short and sweet. Any less, and you probably haven't summarized your points enough; any more, and you're probably rambling on a bit too much. Be sure to work your thesis statement into the conclusion in one way or another.
You should reference it as you end your essay, even if it's only in passing. Remember, your thesis is the main point of your essay, something you're arguing for. If someone who reads your conclusion still doesn't know what your thesis is, you haven't done a good-enough job of telling them. Find a way to rework your thesis in an interesting way, using different language. Write authoritatively on your subject. Sounding authoritative means using the right words as opposed to just any old words , relying on solid evidence from other sources, and believing in your own ability to write.
Saying "I think" sounds like you're hedging and makes you sound less authoritative. Another example: Don't apologize for your views. They're your ideas, so take ownership of them. Never say something like "I may not be an expert" or "At least this is my opinion," [9] X Research source as this weakens your reliability. End with a flourish. Your last sentence should be elegant, to the point, and provocative.
This is easier said than done. But it all starts with illustrating the point of your essay. Ask yourself What is my essay about, and what am I saying? Be playful with your last sentence and pose an ironic by-product of what you're talking about.
Then, the end of your essay becomes especially provocative. Make an appeal to emotions. Much of the time, essays are very rational, forgetting about emotions. That's why appealing to people's emotions can be a really powerful way to conclude an essay.
Done in the right way, this will help the article have heart. Just make sure that your conclusion is in keeping with the tone of the rest of your essay. Include a call to action use sparingly. If your essay is truly about getting people to change, then including a call to action is a useful tool to rouse your base.
But use it sparingly: In the wrong context an expository essay, or an argumentative essay it can be overkill. Part 3 of Avoid just restating your thesis. Resist the urge to quote. There is usually no need to clog up the ending of your essay with quotes and analysis — that should have been what you were doing in your main paragraphs.
The conclusion is the place where you tie everything together for your readers, not where you introduce new information. Don't use fluffy language or too many adverbs. Don't use too many high-flying, two-dollar words in your conclusion. You want it to be readable and relatable, not rigid and boring.
Make it clear what you're saying and how many points you're making. Keep new material out of the conclusion. Now is not the time to introduce new ideas or content.
That takes the focus off your original argument and could confuse readers. Don't focus on a minor point or issue in the essay. The conclusion is not the time to nitpick with a small theme in your essay. In fact, it's the time to step back and focus on the big picture. Make sure your essay focuses on the heart of the essay, not one strand of hair.
If your teacher wants a specific essay structure, you will probably want to end your paragraphs with a sentence that summarizes the main point, or in the intro, your thesis statement. If you have more freedom you might focus on leading naturally into the ideas of the next paragraph or you may end the paragraph when you feel you have made your point. You can also think of paragraphs like a slight pause in a conversation between topics.
Read your paper aloud and make the paragraph breaks when it feels like a good place to pause this will be easier for native English speakers. If you find all this confusing, your best bet is to just summarize the paragraph. Not Helpful 14 Helpful An argumentative essay means a written debate. You are going to debate your points on a specific statement.
Go for double sided statements. For example, "Homework is helpful, but under some circumstances, it poses a hazard. This is a perfect way to end an argumentative essay.
Not Helpful 96 Helpful But what if I have already stated the main points in the first sentence of the conclusion?
Review your supporting ideas. For that, summarize all arguments by paraphrasing how you proved the thesis.
Before you can consider this a finished product, however, you must give some thought to the formatting of your paper. Look at your paragraphs. Which one is the strongest? You might want to start with the strongest paragraph, end with the second strongest, and put the weakest in the middle. Whatever order you decide on, be sure it makes sense.
The final paragraph of an essay is what ties the piece together into a single, cohesive whole.
Writing an essay conclusion may seem an obvious and easy step in the entire essay writing task. To be true sometimes, it may take more efforts than you expected.
In Summary: 10 Examples of Essay Conclusions
Even as someone who basically writes papers for a living these days like this article , I still viewed every college paper with a tinge of dread. As I moved through college, however, I developed a system for cranking out papers in record time. This let me spend more time on things that I enjoyed, such as writing for this blog and taking long walks through the woods. Students would spend hours researching and writing a paper on a completely different topic than what the professor assigned. Best case scenario, the professor is nice and lets you rewrite it, but why do all that extra work?
Get Your Inspiration from Our Essay Conclusion Examples and Writing Guide
To be successful, however, you will need to banish these negative feelings. Take a deep breath, remain calm, and start to attack the work systematically and logically. The last thing you need when you only have a couple of hours to write an essay is to get distracted by your phone or social networks, which have a habit of eating away at your time without you even realising. Sit somewhere quiet and put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. If it helps, install a full-screen text editor onto your computer, such as Darkroom , to force yourself to look at your essay and only your essay. You can also get browser apps that keep you off social networks for a time period of your choosing. This forces your mind to focus on the right kind of task, so you write the essay with this in mind. This could be bullet points or one-sentence summaries of what you want to write in each paragraph. This becomes your detailed essay plan.
Date published January 24, by Shona McCombes. Date updated: January 31,
But our reader Emily has knocked spots off them all when asked to share tips on how to write a conclusion for your essay to impress teachers and help you get an A! Our writers know it firsthand, so they give consent graciously to share the ultimate guide on conclusion definition, conclusion paragraph outline, conclusion examples, and expert tips on how to how to write a conclusion for a research paper. It helps readers see why your essay should matter to them.
How to Write a Strong Conclusion for Your Essay
The ending i. Conclusion is something without which topic can not be considered as complete topic. It should be written in an appropriate way. Now the question is what to write in conclusion…. There are number of things with which topic can be concluded that are written below:. Two sources talk about differing approaches to ending an essay: the first one, wholistically ; the second one zeroing on completeness and closure. The best way to end an essay is to restate your thesis and summarize your main points. Write a memorable ending by making a provocative statement that ties everything together. The source zeroing in on completeness and closure appears to be for higher-level writing and includes lateral approach. By lateral approach , it means the writer connects with other sources to enrich a concept that he is discussing. For the purpose of the one asking the question, this part is not discussed here]. Ah, one of my favourite parts in writing an essay.
20 Top Tips for Writing an Essay in a Hurry
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, you might do one or more of the following:.
