Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. All rights reserved. Persuasive Conclusions

 Purpose clearly connects introduction and body of the paper. gives a sense of completion. does more than restate your arguments and position. gives the reader something to think about.

Conclusion Strategies  Call to Action: the writer implores the audience to change.  Offer a Solution: the writer suggests some possibilities to resolve the problem posed.  Make a Prediction: similar to a startling statement, this can be a warning or an encouragement.

An Ineffective Conclusion I have given you three truthful explanations of why daily homework is an abomination to the high school. This is due to problems with participants in after school events, the time we spend with our families, and our jobs. Thank you for allowing me to express my feelings.

Conclusions – Call to Action  Include a final appeal to reinforce your argument.  Clearly and forcefully state your desired action.  Give information needed to take that recommended action.

Conclusions – Call to Action – student sample Daily mandatory homework for high school students would serve no real worthwhile purpose but to unnecessarily stress out students and teachers alike. Teachers and students are busy, stressed, preoccupied, and quite frankly, strung-out enough as it is without this. Please, I urge you not to put this in effect. Not simply because I don’t want homework for all seven classes every day, but because it would truly be detrimental to everyone actively participating in the public school now and in the future.

Conclusions – Offer a Solution  Restate the problem.  Define and develop the solution.  Focus on the strengths of the solution.  This strategy differs from a call to action. More of a recommendation Stresses the solution to a problem

Conclusions – Offer a Solution – student sample According to high schools with the highest test scores across the country, homework is only necessary when an individual student doesn’t understand a concept or needs additional practice. Therefore, mandatory homework in every class would be meaningless. Instead, teachers should assign homework on an individual basis. This solution would provide students with needed practice without needless busywork for students and endless grading for teachers. When students work on just their own weaknesses, rather than work assigned to the whole class, they will quickly see improvement and will be more motivated to stay in school.

Conclusions – Make a Prediction  Takes the argument a step further than a summary  Keeps the reader thinking after reading your essay  Is based on the main points (arguments), creating joy, hope, gloom, suspense, etc.  Draws reader’s attention to the significance of the argument

Conclusions – Make a Prediction – student sample Imagine an empty classroom. As students trickle in, without a word, they immediately take out a piece of paper and a pencil to start writing down today’s homework assignment. The teacher walks to the front of the class to admire her focused students as they work silently. Ring! Class is in session. We can make this longed-for dream a reality. Our high school’s motto has always been “Be the Best You Can Be” and if the required homework proposal is implemented, we really would be.

Conclusions – student sample one First draft My plan seems very hard for teenagers to achieve, but it is not impossible. Maybe one day I can do this. If not me, hopefully someone else. Revised draft So if my plan really worked and some people helped me out, tons of people who lost their family would feel better. My friends and I would go to NYC and help the people who have no one anymore. They wouldn’t feel as lonely and they would know that there are still good people in the world. I hope one day I or someone else could do this.

Conclusions – student sample two First draft In my mind this is pretty doable. But many schools have been trying for a long time to change hazing and have made many errors and are still on the brink of trying to stop this conflict, and need more discipline to make this idea work. What would help to make it work is have a national meeting in Washington D.C. and have all the people willing to help change this problem and have a better result than what it is now. Revised draft My idea compared to others is a plan that can work, but only if we have many people pitch in and help, or make other suggestions on how we could change the problem or hazing younger students. Many people believe there isn’t a problem with bullying at our school, but the truth is they don’t see what’s going on when there is no teacher or adult in sight. If my suggestion were acted on and if the people that bully others could really see what they’re doing to the victims, then I think they would understand that what they’re doing is wrong. So bring this plan into action, and have the bullies learn what life is like for the students they bully. This would stop the hazing in our school.

Conclusion Strategies – application  Return to your baseline paper (“Starting School Two Hours Later”).  Consider conclusion strategies you have learned and revise your conclusion to make it more effective.  Turn in your original copy and the revision.