Writing essays #2: concluding well

This post is based on material from my e-book, Essay Writing Explained.

Your essay's conclusion should make your reader feel that they've arrived. It should say: look, everything here makes sense.  Everything fits together. 

And, if possible, it should do something more. Your conclusion should say: everything here points to a new thought: one you, the reader, may not have thought before. 

That new thought needn’t be earth-shattering or radical; but it should be a valuable answer to the question you’ve been set.

So: how to create a conclusion?

Well: answer the question, to start with.  Answer it explicitly.  Summarise the argument you've presented and re-present the key points that support it.   

Your answer to the essay question doesn’t have to be a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.   In fact, many questions will be framed to stop you answering so simply. 

For example, the question might ask: To what extent...?   It might ask: In what ways do...  differ? 

And sometimes, even when the question does seem to invite a ‘yes-or-no’ answer, you might choose to answer: Maybe.   

Or: It depends.   

Or: Only in certain circumstances.   

As long as your argument coherently supports that answer, and your conclusion states your answer clearly, you have fulfilled your brief.   You’ve answered the question.   

How not to conclude X4

Students tend to write ready-made conclusions as often as prefabricated introductions.   Here are four common conclusion types to avoid.  I'm assuming that the essay question is:

"Is Samuel Beckett’s play Krapp’s Last Tape comic or tragic?"

The ‘that’s all folks’ conclusion

 

 

 

This conclusion simply restates the essay’s thesis.   It tends to be painfully short: the reader feels that the essay, rather than concluding, has just – stopped.

In conclusion, ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ contains more elements of tragedy than of comedy.

This conclusion feels abrupt because the reader needs to feel that they are being taken forward, into new territory.   

The ‘whodunit’ conclusion

 

 

 

 

 

 

This conclusion states the thesis for the first and only time in the essay.   The wording might be similar to the ‘that’s all folks’ conclusion; the only difference is that we haven’t read it until we reach the final paragraph.

The writer might feel, not unreasonably, that they don’t want to give away their big idea until the very end; that they need to keep the reader reading to the last page, as in a detective story, to find out ‘who did it’.   Your tutor, however, doesn’t want to read a thriller (at least, not while they’re reading your essay); they’re expecting an argument in academic style, with the thesis stated at the start.   

The ‘I have a dream’ conclusion

 

 

 

This conclusion depends on emotion to make its mark.   

‘Krapp’s Last Tape’, then, in its profoundly tragic view of an individual’s meaningless existence, affects us deeply with the rage, pity and horror that accompany any witnessing of a life wasted, urging us to find new meaning in our lives and encompass the true joy that can emerge from living every moment of our lives to the full.

Very heartfelt, perhaps.   Deeply moving, possibly.   Analytical, thoughtful and coolly rational – hardly.   

The ‘and another thing’ conclusion

 

 

 

 

 

This conclusion suddenly drags in material found nowhere else in the essay.   Maybe the writer feels they should include some important stuff, but they couldn’t fit it into their argument.   

As well as being profoundly tragic, ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ also illustrates the influence of modern recording technology on theatrical practice, and an extension of the use of domestic furniture in stage design.

An essay that may have been well organized ends with a confusing surprise.

How to conclude X1

Ok.  That's how not to conclude.  Four times.

So: what makes a good conclusion?

It's a bridge.  A good conclusion guides your reader out of your essay, back into the wider world. 

Your conclusion gives you the last word.   It allows you to summarize your argument and tell the reader why it matters.   It can point the reader towards further implications or new ideas; you could use it to mention wider issues, or to elaborate on the importance of your argument.   It’s also, of course, your opportunity to make a good final impression.

Your conclusion can take your reader beyond the confines of the question you’ve answered.   In your conclusion, you can mention wider issues, make new connections, and elaborate on the significance of your findings.   The conclusion should help your reader see something differently.

For more, download my e-book, Essay Writing Explained.