Essay writing:How to write the conclusion of the essay

The conclusion of the essay is often neglected. One reason for this is that students often run out of time during the essay examination and never get beyond the body of their papers. Another factor is that students often do not know how or when to end their essay. Yet failure to end your essay is analogous to not finishing the final chapter of a book. Your reader is left with unanswered questions; you must put these to rest before you finish your paper. However, if you have gone through the recommended organization steps laid out in our earlier sections and practiced timed writing on your own, finishing your essay should become an easier task.

The following guidelines can help you improve your concluding paragraph:

Before writing your conclusion, reread your introduction (paying special attention to your thesis) and your topic sentences. This will refresh your memory as to the main idea and main subpoints of your paper.

Begin your conclusion with a paraphrase of your thesis. It is vital that you not repeat your thesis verbatim. Doing so is redundant and boring, and you miss the opportunity to show your readers the breadth of your vocabulary. Follow with general statements. These should be a summary or evaluation of previously mentioned main thoughts.

Your last sentence should provide a final thought or comment concerning your main topic.

The following should be avoided in a conclusion:

New information does not belong in a conclusion. You have neither the time nor the space to develop it further (this is what the body paragraphs are for). Avoid detailed information in support of your thesis. This, too, should be found in the body of the essay, after your topic sentences.

Don’t begin your conclusion with “to conclude” or “in conclusion.” It is clear to your reader that this is your final paragraph and is obviously your conclusion. And besides, there are so many students who take TOEFL test without formal taining. Usually they will start their last paragraph with “In conclusion” or other similar words. (You may, however, begin your conclusion with transitions like therefore, thus, to sum up, or in summary.) Remember, your readers in ETS will surely read your first and last paragraph very carefully!

A conclusion should not be lengthy. In general, two to three sentences will suffice for TOEFL writing. After you go to university, you many use 4 to 5 sentences to end your final paper or other essays.

Practice One

Take the following thesis statements and paraphrase them so that they would fit into a conclusion. Remember that a paraphrase keeps the same ideas of the original statement, but uses your own words. When paraphrasing a thesis, it is often helpful to underline the key words in the original sentence. Be sure to use synonyms for these where possible. Also, be sure to include all of these main ideas in your rewrite. For example:

THESIS:
Getting married and having children is not key to one’s happiness.

PARAPHRASED THESIS: A person may find contentment in life even if (s)he never marries or has children.

1. Thesis: “If you want to live a long and productive life, you must exercise regularly and eat healthy foods.”

Paraphrased Thesis:

2. Thesis: “Because of the conveniences and the cultural opportunities available in the city, living there is superior to living in the countryside.”

Paraphrased Thesis:

3. Thesis: “The only ways to become a proficient writer are to read as much as possible and write whenever you can.”

Paraphrased Thesis: