Many students find the concluding paragraph challenging because they do not know how to effectively end their papers. Fortunately, once you have completed the body of the paper, the conclusion becomes easy to write because the key ideas you will include have already been developed in the body of the paper. The conclusion provides readers with a concise summary of the essay’s main ideas. Think of your conclusion as the final conversation with the reader. It should restate your thesis statement to remind them of your main point, revisit the supporting ideas, and provide a final statement that leaves them thinking about the significance of your essay. In the first blog of this series, Writing the Introduction, you learned how to introduce your topic and thesis. In the second blog, Writing the Body Paragraphs, you learned how to organize your support using the point, illustrate, explain (P.I.E.) structure. In this final blog of the series, you will learn how to structure an effective conclusion that brings together the main ideas presented throughout your essay.

The first sentence of your conclusion should restate your thesis statement. However, avoid repeating the thesis word for word. Instead, keep in mind that you have already presented your arguments, evidence, and explanations. Restate your thesis in a way that reflects how the body paragraphs support your main idea. Doing this will help the reader understand the relationship between the thesis and the body paragraphs’ supporting ideas.The original thesis for this series is shown below: 

“The Wrightwood homeowners’ association should put street cleaning services in the budget because doing so will remove trash from the street gutter, deter pests, and improve the overall appearance of the neighborhood.”

In the concluding paragraph, this thesis can be restated as:

“Providing street cleaning services to the Wrightwood neighborhood will help improve the neighborhood in three important ways.” 

Restating the thesis like this will remind the reader of the paper’s main idea and provide the paragraph’s main idea, as well. Avoid starting the concluding paragraph with phrases like “In conclusion” or “In summary”. Phrases like these are informal because they are directed toward the reader and create a sudden shift in tone. As in the body paragraphs, the sentences that follow will restate the main supporting ideas. 

The remaining sentences will cover the main ideas established in the body paragraphs that support the thesis. You can find the body paragraph example by visiting our Writing the Body Paragraph blog. For this example, assume the remaining body paragraphs discuss the other two supporting ideas introduced in the original thesis. The remaining sentences should restate the main ideas that support the thesis: 

“Providing street cleaning services to the Wrightwood neighborhood will help improve the neighborhood in three important ways. The services will keep the gutters clear, allowing rainwater to drain and avoid flooding. It will also deter pests by removing easy food sources. Improving the look and safety of the neighborhood will result in a better appearance, adding value to all the homes in the neighborhood.”

After you have given a summary of your main idea and support, you will want to leave your reader with a final thought that brings everything together. 

“Providing street cleaning services to the Wrightwood neighborhood will help improve the neighborhood in three important ways. The services will keep the gutters clear, allowing rainwater to drain and avoid flooding. It will also deter pests by removing easy food sources. Improving the look and safety of the neighborhood will result in a better appearance, adding value to all the homes in the neighborhood. Having street cleaning services will improve the entire neighborhood and benefit all of the residents equally.”

You may notice that the example uses no new evidence. This is because there should be no new ideas, information, or claims to support in your concluding paragraph. This is a common writing mistake that can be easily avoided by remembering that you have already written the contents of this paragraph. The only new element should be your final thought, which leaves readers with a lasting impression.

Think of your final thought as a way to impress the significance of your overall main point. There are many effective ways to craft a final thought. One way could be to explain the broader significance of the topic to the area of study; another could be to encourage the reader to view the topic differently. No matter how you decide to express this, make sure to connect the idea back to the overall purpose of the essay.

The concluding paragraph is a summary of the outline created for your paper. Restate the thesis, provide the main supporting ideas from the body paragraphs, and finish with a final thought or statement to end the paper. Use this structure for the concluding paragraph to complete your papers clearly and coherently. Also, revisit the previous blogs, Writing the Introduction and Writing the Body Paragraph, and use the information to create an outline and to structure the different paragraphs needed for your paper. Remember, practice makes perfect! Please continue to check back for more blogs on writing topics from the Writing Center.