CONCLUSIONS

The conclusion is the point in your paper where, even if you feel like everything’s been going along well, you might suddenly panic. You’re there, faced with an intro, a few body paragraphs, and a bunch of blank space almost as terrifying as hanging out with Great-Aunt Edna, who always asks when you’re going to give her children (or tells you that your children are little heathens who aren’t deserving of the family name).

Well, what you don’t want to do is smile smugly and type, “I’ve proved my point well in this essay.” Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t, but either way, declaring that you did is going to cast severe doubt on the subject. Plus, it conjures up images of villains from black & white movies who sneer, stroke their mustaches, and give lengthy speeches about how fantastic they are, just before the hero comes swooping in to save the day.

The conclusion is the place to open up your discussion, not to close it. Think of it as though you’re having a conversation about something interesting with someone (whom you like). You don’t want to end things with, “So, that’s all I have to say about that,” (like Forrest Gump) as or with a summary of everything you discussed, a clap on the shoulder, and “Never bring this up again.” Instead, you want to leave things open, maybe suggest something that the two of you could discuss next time even though right now you’re late to class and you have to go.

So, rather than using your conclusion to give the last word on an issue, or to simply re-state your point yet again, think of your concluding paragraph as an --opening-- rather than a closing down of material. When you get to the end of your paper, instead of asking "What have I said?" try to answer one of the following questions.

1. “So what?” “Why should I care?” Your essay is about something (we hope). Why should your reader care that you’re talking about it? What’s at stake? How does this matter? ie: "What is the significance of my findings?"

2."What impact does this topic have on society?" For you personally?

3. "Have you raised new questions about this topic?" Is there something that you didn’t address in your essay that you can suggest to fix whatever problem you’re discussing?

4. What will happen if things don’t change? Is this all related to some larger issue that you’d like to mention (e.g., if you’re discussing the awesomeness of McDonald’s French fries, maybe that relates to America’s obesity epidemic, and you might want to mention that in your conclusion, even if you didn’t discuss it in your essay)?

5. "Should someone do further study on this topic?" (to address something that you didn’t have time to go into)

Answers to these questions lend credibility to your ideas. Consequently, your readers will take you seriously, consider your ideas more thoughtfully, and will be provoked into new ways of thinking. Your paper will be more interesting and you will have kept the dialogue going between readers and writers, the cornerstone of university learning .