Writing conclusions Dr Cheryl Lange

Common thesis structure Evans, D & Gruba, P 2002 (2nd ed.) How to write a better thesis, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, p. 13

Connections with the rest of your dissertation Do you have clear connections between your aim and conclusions discussion and conclusions? Evans, D & Gruba, P 2002 (2nd ed.) How to write a better thesis, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, p. 13

Purpose of concluding chapter Your conclusions state how you fulfilled the aim you stated in your introduction

Structuring your conclusions Following on from the process of structuring a framework for the discussion chapter, you will have a logical order in which to write up your conclusions Make sure in your discussion chapters you argued rigorously for each of your conclusions

Conclusion ‘rules’ - compare Discussion chapters Draw together and analyse all you have done in your research, e.g. your own experiments surveys observations and others’ work Conclusion Draw conclusions from your discussion chapter. Do not include discussion in the concluding chapter. Don’t quote from the literature. Ensure conclusions respond to the aim. Be clear and concise (2-3 pages).

Don’t confuse conclusions with summaries  Conclusions are statements of the significance or implications of what you have found out Summaries are a brief account of what you found out

Revising and editing are crucial Don’t submit yet! Revising and editing are crucial