Once you have considered different points of view, it’s up to you to reach your own conclusions, to come up with a new idea based on what you’ve learned, or to make a decision about what you’ll do with the information you have.

Drawing conclusions isn’t necessarily about figuring out the best idea. Depending on the goals of the activity, your conclusion might be simply the one you think is the most practical or it might be a new idea of your own creation. In a chemistry lab, it might be a matter of interpreting the results of an experiment. In buying a computer, it might require evaluating your needs and your budget, asking others about their experiences, and reading buyers’ reviews. Drawing conclusions involves looking at the results of your questions in a challenging, critical way. If you are trying to solve a problem, which possible solutions seem most promising after you have conducted a comprehensive search for information? Do some answers conflict with others? Which ones can be achieved? If you have found new evidence, what does that new evidence show? Do your original beliefs hold up? Do they need to be modified? Which ones should be excluded? Most important, consider what you would need to do or say to persuade someone else that your ideas are valid. Thoughtful conclusions aren’t useful if you can’t share them with others.