Every outstanding essay has a strong concluding paragraph. It's where you conclude the essay and list the key points you made. It should ideally leave the reader with the main points you wished to convey through your work. In this article, you will learn ‘how to write a conclusion’ for a research report, essay or article in a way that inspires action and helps the readers to better understand your content. This article will provide you the definition, purpose and some crucial tips on ‘how to write a conclusion’.

What Is a Conclusion?

Every article, research paper, and essay ends with a conclusion. Regardless of whether it is a research paper, essay, or article, it summarizes all the main ideas. Your thesis should be reiterated in the conclusion paragraph, along with a summary of the key points of the explanations you used to support it. It should also include your evaluation of the key idea. This conclusion should also include the moral of your story or a revelation of a deeper reality. A solid conclusion will condense your main thoughts and points and bring together all the key information with an engaging final statement.

What Is the Purpose of a Conclusion?

A final section or conclusion paragraph serves the function of bringing your essay to a close. It supports the key thesis that you outlined in your paper's body. A conclusion gives the reader some closure by tying in the main thesis statement from the introduction as well as any pertinent supporting data. The writer's main idea is well communicated with a compelling conclusion. A strong conclusion may present the reader with new facts or a different perspective on an earlier opinion.

How To Write a Conclusion

The following tips are helpful regardless of what type of paper you’re writing, but keep in mind that several types of conclusions serve different purposes. Please use this advice to suit your writing.

1. Avoid simply restating what you wrote throughout the text. “Tell them what you’re going to write. Write it. And then tell them what you wrote.”

This is advice that teachers often give their grade-school students to teach them how to write an essay. Although it’s sound advice, it’s not exactly what you want to do when writing a high-level essay, report, or research paper.

A summary of what was written is okay, but avoid extensively recapping your entire paper, as this will bore your readers.

2. Form a connection between your supporting arguments and the main idea. The purpose of a conclusion is to bring everything together. Show how the supporting arguments, evidence, or points you presented reinforce the main idea of your writing.

If you’re having trouble forming a connection, use the popular so what technique. This is when you ask yourself, “So what?” when drafting the main points of the conclusion. It forces you to explain why your writing matters and why the reader should care. This technique helps you avoid simply summarizing your paper and helps add relevance.

3. Add valuable insight. A good conclusion gives your readers something to think about. You can leave them with a thought-provoking quote, question, or perspective that pertains to the topic you discussed.

4. Circle back to the introduction. Circling back to the introduction helps reinforce the thesis or main idea of your writing. It also provides your audience with a strong sense of closure.

5. Remain consistent in tone and style. If your essay, book report, or research paper has a serious tone throughout it, don’t all of a sudden add a touch of humor to the conclusion. This will throw off your audience. Remain consistent in tone, style, and word choice in the introduction, body, and conclusion.

6. Don’t add new information or opinions. Don’t squeeze in any last opinions, information, or data in the conclusion. These are supposed to be in the body of the document. If it’s that important to mention it, find a place for it somewhere else.

7. Refrain from using overused transition phrases. Although transition words like in conclusion can sometimes be appropriate depending on what you’re writing, usually, using them can make your writing sound weak. Instead, start with a strong, thought-provoking sentence.

Conclusion Example

Now that we’ve gone over tips on ‘how to write a good conclusion’, let’s review an example of an effective conclusion:

The choices we make in our day-to-day lives have a significant impact on the environment. The data shows how everything from the food we eat to the transportation we use has consequences. The point is not to scare you into action. On the contrary, it is to demonstrate how even the “smallest” of changes can help reduce our carbon footprint.

Choices like opting out of buying cookies that come in plastic packaging so you can bake them from scratch make all the difference, even if you do not see it. By making conscious decisions to reduce our carbon footprint, we can all create a better and safer world, for ourselves and future generations to come. The time to act is now. What lifestyle change are you going to make?

This conclusion is effective because it:

Avoids simply summarizing. Connects the supporting evidence (data about food and transportation) with the main idea (we can all make a difference to help curb climate change).

Adds insight (even small sacrifices, like baking cookies instead of buying them, make a big difference).

Circles back to the introduction by reiterating the thesis statement (the choices we make have a significant impact on the environment).

Doesn’t add new information or opinions. Doesn’t begin with an overused transition phrase like “in summary,” “in conclusion,” or “to conclude.”

What should not be in your conclusion?

While writing your conclusion paragraph, there are a few things you should try to stay away from. These components will only weaken your overall case and over explain the simple.

You should be aware of the following conclusion errors:

• Steer clear of expressions like "in conclusion," "in summary," and "to sum up." The conclusion of the essay is obvious to the reader, thus no signal is necessary.
• Don't just restate what was said previously. You most definitely don't need to restate all of your supporting points in a brief essay. If you simply copied and pasted content from another source, readers will notice.
• Steer clear of presenting fresh theories or data. This just serves to mislead readers and weaken the impact of your arguments. Try shifting a particularly important argument you made in your conclusion to one of your supporting paragraphs if you wish to include it.

Writing a Conclusion: Details Matter

After grasping the article on ‘how to write a conclusion’, now you’re ready to write a powerful conclusion. It’s important to note that grammar, spelling, and other mistakes can undo all your hard work. There are several tools available online can ensure no typos or errors slip into your conclusion paragraph writing. It can also help rephrase your sentences to suit your audience’s needs.