A conclusion should remind readers of the essay’s main idea without repeating it. Often the concluding paragraph can be relatively short. By the end of the essay, readers should already understand your main point; your conclusion drives it home and, perhaps, gives readers something more to consider.
To conclude an essay analyzing the shifting roles of women in the military services, one student discusses her topic’s implications for society as a whole.
As the military continues to train women in jobs formerly reserved for men, our understanding of women’s roles in society will no doubt continue to change. And as news reports of women training for and taking part in combat operations become commonplace, reports of women becoming CEOs, police chiefs, and even president of the United States will cease to surprise us. Or perhaps we have already reached this point.
—Rosa Broderick, student
To make the conclusion memorable and to give a sense of completion, you might include a detail, an example, a phrase, a quotation, or a statistic from the introduction to bring readers full circle. To conclude an essay explaining how credit card companies hook college students, one student brings readers full circle by echoing his thesis and ending with a familiar phrase borrowed from popular culture.
Credit cards are a convenient part of life, and there is nothing wrong with having one or two of them. Before signing up for a particular card, however, college students should take time to read the fine print and do some comparison shopping. Students also need to learn to resist the many seductive offers that credit card companies extend to them after they have signed up. Students who can’t “just say no” to temptations such as high credit limits and revolving balances could well become hooked on a cycle of debt from which there is no easy escape.
—Matt Watson, student
Whatever concluding strategy you choose, keep in mind that an effective conclusion is decisive and unapologetic. Avoid introducing wholly new ideas at the end of an essay. And because the conclusion is so closely tied to the rest of the essay in both content and tone, be prepared to rework it (or even replace it) when you revise.
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In addition to echoing your main idea, a conclusion might do any of the following: