(in general… and for this essay) Conclusions (in general… and for this essay)

Purpose: The conclusion of an essay has a few purposes. In addition, there are several different kinds of conclusions to choose from. Ultimately, it’s your choice: think about the assignment and what your instructor is asking for, and then think about which type of conclusion best suits your essay.

Purpose #1 Your conclusion acts as a signal. It tells readers they’ve reached the end of the essay. They feel completion. Helpful tip: don’t add any new ideas here!

Purpose #2 It reminds your readers of the main points in the essay. They might have become so interested in your later body paragraphs that they don’t have the information from the earlier body paragraphs fresh in their minds anymore.

Purpose #3 It leaves your readers with some final thoughts on the topic.

You can try different techniques…

Make a prediction In some cases, making a prediction is a natural progression in your essay. For example, if your essay discussed a problem such as global warming, you might want to make some sort of prediction of what might happen if people and countries don’t begin to take responsibility for our environment.

Make a suggestion Instead of predicting what would happen to the environment if people don’t take responsibility, you could make a concrete suggestion that governments, or your individual readers, could do to make one small change starting today.

Ask a question Some writers like to end their essays by asking a question of their readers. For example: Twain wondered if his education negatively affected his ability to see beauty in the river. Reading Two Ways of Seeing a River made me ask myself: has my education caused me to become a different person? And, if so, am I still the person that I want to be?

Give an opinion You can evaluate the aspect you’ve been analyzing. Did the symbolism you wrote about achieve something, or did it fall flat? Why did/didn’t it work? Giving your own perspective is another way to end your essay. (Check with instructors to see if they allow use of first-person. I don’t like it in a textual analysis. I do like it in responses!)

Summarize! Because you want to help your readers remember the key points of your essay, you might consider summarizing them here. Paraphrase your main ideas. Build sentences that repeat key words you want them to remember.

One last thought* Remember the “So what?” Imagine them saying “So what?” or “Who cares if he used this type of symbolism?” Then explain to them why this stuff is interesting, important, significant, and/or meaningful! Show them how insightful you are. *The “so what” needs to be somewhere in your paper. It could easily connect to your discussion of theme. It could also easily fit into your conclusion.

Or you can mix and match! Opinion + prediction Prediction + suggestion Summary + last thought Summary + prediction + suggestion Be creative!

Language to avoid: Don’t refer to your own text: Don’t use “you”: In my thesis statement, I wrote that these two texts are very different. In the paragraphs above, I explained how Stoker used XXX to symbolize YYY. Don’t use “you”: As you can see, Stoker bla bla bla.

In conclusion… Conclusions serve a few different purposes. They tell your readers the essay is coming to an end. They often remind your readers of your main points. They leave your readers with final thoughts.

There are a number of techniques Your job is to decide which is best for your essay and what feels most right for your writing style. When you choose which technique(s) to use, consider both the type of essay you’re writing and what you’ve said within your essay. Don’t stay married to one technique for every essay you write.

Good luck!