Concluding Paragraphs
The conclusion is the end of the essay, and
it is what the reader will remember most.
Since the conclusion paragraph is the last
part of the essay, writers must make a
strong statement to leave a positive and
memorable impression.
Your conclusion should not . . .
• add a new idea just because you have thought of it at the end.
• repeat the exact same words.
• be a simple summary—avoid repeating what you have already said.
– A brief summary of your argument may be useful, but shorter
essays do not require a restatement of your main ideas.
• use phrases like “in conclusion,” “to conclude,” “in summary,” and “to
sum up.”
– Avoid being formulaic
– Readers can see that the essay is about to end
– Do not state the obvious
• apologize—do not undercut your authority
Your conclusion should . . .
• finish the essay and tell the reader where the writer has
brought them
• convey a sense of completeness and closure
• be direct and confident
• creatively restate the main idea/thesis of the essay
• remind your reader about the most important aspects of your
essay
• contain echoes of the introduction and body paragraphs
without listing the points covered in the essay
• create a broader implication of the ideas discussed
• leave your reader even more interested in your topic and
ideas
Concluding Strategies:
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FRAME or ECHO
Make A PREDICTION
Tell “SO WHAT?”
Present a CALL TO ACTION
Relate to a larger, GLOBAL,
implication
END WHERE YOU BEGAN:
FRAMING
• Called “echoing” or “framing,” this type of
ending picks up an idea/image in the
introduction and echoes it in the
conclusion.
– Refer back to the anecdote/example
mentioned previously and show how it is still
relevant
– Provide a solution to the problem you raised
– Provide an answer to a question you asked
MAKE A PREDICTION
• Point to the future in a way that relates to the topic.
– Describe a future scenario.
– Strike a note of hope or despair.
• For example, to conclude a persuasive essay on
why students should not be required to wear
uniforms, the concluding paragraph can start by
pointing to the future:
Without developing individuality,
students will fail to achieve their full
potential. A school with uniforms offers a
bland environment that squashes student
individuality.
SO WHAT?
• Why do readers need to know this information?
• Show readers why this paper is important; show
them that your paper was meaningful and
useful.
• For example, to conclude a persuasive essay on
why students should not be required to wear
uniforms:
So What? Uniforms are a costly way
for schools to enforce conformity.
However, it does not cost the school
system; it costs the students and the
parents.
CALL TO ACTION
• What can your reader do?
• Suggest a future action that needs to be taken
by the writer or the reader (or the character
mentioned if writing a literary analysis essay).
• For example, to conclude a persuasive essay on
why students should not be required to wear
uniforms, the concluding paragraph can suggest
a course of action:
As a stakeholder in this school, students
should seek to preserve the individual spirit of
their peers and vote “no” on school uniforms.
Relate to a Larger
Landscape--Global
• Demonstrate how the topic has broad significance
• Reveal the importance of the issue discussed
• Give your reader something to think about, perhaps
a way to use your paper in the “real” world.
• Think globally.
• For example, to conclude a persuasive essay on
why students should not be required to wear
uniforms:
The school board should not be able to take
away the rights of students. The rights of the
individual are the cornerstones of a just and noble
society. And the United States was build upon the
framework of individual liberties.
Advanced Concluding
Strategies:
• Students should ALWAYS align their introduction and
conclusion paragraphs to create a unified, purposeful
essay.
– Framing
• Students can compose their introduction and conclusion
paragraphs together after they have written the body of
their essay.
• Students can use the approach of writing the body of the
essay first, the introduction paragraph second, and the
conclusion paragraph last, to quickly reap the reward of a
more structured essay.
Name that Concluding Strategy
• The following slides contain examples of
solid concluding paragraphs.
The point is, write. A letter or card is truly
a unique gift—a piece of the sender. And if
children come home form school talking
about pen pals or writing to a senator or
editor, parents will know they are
participating in National Card and Letter
Writing Week. Encourage children because
they are learning about the value of the
written word.
Call to Action
Edna’s character in The Awakening transforms from
sleeping through life by meeting expectations to a great
awakening in which her thoughts and actions are
consistent with each other. Edna’s struggle between her
inner desires and her outward conformity is one in which
her best solution was to satisfy no roles and expectations,
including her own. Her character is so memorable because
the reader can empathize with Edna’s internal conflict to
both conform and defy. She is unforgettable because she
does what each of us has wanted to do; her character
defies and abandons societal expectations and impositions.
Global
One important reason to read great works is that they
provide fascinating insights into the time period in which
they were written. For example, classical world literature
shows the lives of women and wives across the centuries.
Thus, by studying these classical pieces, it is easier to
understand how women were treated and valued in
different societies. Future generations will look to
contemporary literature as a depiction of modern society’s
expectations and values of women not only as wives, but
as single and independent women, as well.
Prediction
Generally speaking, children can be divided into three
groups, but caregivers must not forget that each child is an
individual. Children may have the traits of all three of the
personality groups, but they are categorized into the one
they are most like. Whatever their temperament, children
need to be treated according to their individual needs.
When these needs are met appropriately, the child will be
happier, and those around the child will feel better.
Knowing the general personality types and how to react to
them will help to make the caregiver’s job much easier and
dissipate unnecessary stress.
So What?
Violence on children’s television is the rule rather than the
exception. Few shows, other than those on cable or public
television, attempt to go beyond the simplistic formulas that
cartoons follow. As a result, children are being shown that
violence is superior to reason and that conflict and threats of
violent death are normal conditions for existence. In addition,
because human beings never get killed in these cartoons, children
are encouraged to see war and fighting as harmless. The
government needs to convene a commission to study violence on
children’s television, so that parents will not have to shudder each
time their children sit down in front of television for a morning of
fun.
Call to Action
Serving on a jury is not only a civic
responsibility but also an interesting
experience; however, many people still view
jury duty as a chore that interrupts their jobs
and the routine of their daily lives. Juries are
part of America's attempt to be a free and
just society. Thus, jury duty challenges us to
be interested and responsible citizens.
Global
Ask employers about saving for college
with U.S. savings bonds. Write: U.S.
Savings Bonds for Education, Department of
the Treasury, Washington, D.C 20226, or
call 1-800-4USBond. This certainly could be
the first important step in planning for the
future.
Call to Action