The conclusion of a research essay must summarize the content and purpose of the article without appearing too rigid or dry. Each conclusion must share several key elements, but there are also many techniques you can use to create a more effective conclusion and many practices that you should avoid, so as not to weaken the final part of your essay. Here are a few tips you should keep in mind when writing the conclusion of your next research essay.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Write a Simple Conclusion
Step 1. Make a brief summary of the topic, explaining why it is important
- Don't waste too much time talking about the subject.
- A good research essay discusses the main topic extensively in the text, so there is no need to write an elaborate defense of the topic in the conclusion.
- Usually a sentence will be enough to resume the topic.
- For example, if you wrote an essay on the epidemiology of an infectious disease, you might say something like "Tuberculosis is a very common infectious disease that affects millions of people around the world every year."
- Another example for an essay on the Italian Renaissance: "The Italian Renaissance was an explosion of art and ideas centered on the artists, writers and thinkers of Florence."
Step 2. Reaffirm your thesis
In addition to the topic, you should also resume or rework your personal thesis.
- A thesis is a narrow and concentrated view of the subject.
- This statement should be a reformulation of the statement originally used in the text. It shouldn't be identical or too similar to the phrase you used earlier.
- Try to rework your thesis in order to complete the summary of the topic of your essay that you entered in the first sentence of the conclusions.
- An example of a good thesis formulation, returning to the essay on tuberculosis, would be "Tuberculosis is a widespread disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year. Due to the alarming spread of tuberculosis, particularly in poor countries, doctors are employing new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and containment of this disease."
Step 3. Briefly summarize the main points, reminding the reader of what you said in the text
- A good way to do this is to re-read the sentence on the subject covered in each paragraph or section in the body of the essay.
- Try to briefly summarize each point mentioned in the article. Do not repeat any details that you have entered in the body of the text.
- In almost all cases, you should avoid putting new information in the conclusion. This is especially true if the information is very important to the argument presented in your essay.
- In the TB essay, for example, you might summarize the information like this. "Tuberculosis is a very widespread disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year. Due to the alarming spread of tuberculosis, particularly in poor countries, doctors are employing new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and containment of this disease.. In developing countries, such as those of Africa and Southeast Asia, the spread of TB infections is growing dramatically. Overcrowding, poor hygiene and lack of access to medical care are all contributing factors to the spread of the disease. Health experts such as those from the World Health Organization are campaigning in communities in developing countries to provide diagnostic tests and treatments. TB treatments are, however, very harsh and have many side effects. leads to non-cooperation of patients and the development of multidrug-resistant strains of the disease."
Step 4. Express the meaning of your arguments
If your article proceeds inductively and you haven't fully explained the meaning of your points, you need to do so in the conclusion.
- Note that this step is not required for all research essays.
- If you have already fully explained what the points mean in your essay or why they are important, you don't need to go over them in detail. Simply reaffirm your thesis or argument - it will suffice.
- It is always the best choice to talk about the most important issues and explain your arguments fully in the body of the text. The purpose of concluding an essay is to summarize the arguments for the reader, and, if necessary, to call him to action.
Step 5. Call to action if appropriate
If necessary, you can suggest that the reader do further research on the subject.
- This passage should not be included in all conclusions. A research essay on literary criticism, for example, probably doesn't need it as much as an essay on the effects of television on children.
- The essays where calls to action are most needed are those that deal with a public or scientific topic. Let's go back to the tuberculosis example. It is a very serious disease that is spreading rapidly and with antibiotic-resistant strains.
- A call to action in that essay would be a statement similar to this "Despite new efforts to diagnose and contain the disease, more research is needed to develop new antibiotics that can fight the more resistant strains of the disease and alleviate side effects. current treatments. ".
Part 2 of 3: Making the Conclusions Effective
Step 1. Summarize the information in a simple way
The simplest conclusion is summary, much like the essay introduction.
- Since this type of conclusion is so simple, it's crucial to try to summarize the information instead of just summarizing it.
- Do not repeat what has already been said, but reformulate your thesis and the arguments in support of it in order to tie them together.
- Thus, the research essay will appear to be a complete thought, not a collection of random and loosely related ideas.
Step 2. Close symmetrically
Tie the whole essay together by inserting a direct link to the introduction in the conclusion. There are many ways to do this.
- Ask a question in the introduction. In your conclusion, repeat the question and give a straight answer.
- Write an anecdote or story in the introduction, without writing the ending. Instead, write the conclusion of the anecdote at the end of the essay.
- For example, if you wanted to use creativity and a humanistic approach to the tuberculosis essay, you could start the introduction with a story about a sick person, and refer to that story in the conclusion. For example, you could write a sentence similar to this to reaffirm the thesis in the conclusion: "Patient X was unable to complete treatment for tuberculosis due to severe side effects and unfortunately passed away from the disease."
- Use the same concepts and images used in the introduction in the conclusion. The images may reappear elsewhere in the essay.
Step 3. Close logically
If the essay presented multiple facets of an issue, use your conclusion to affirm the logical opinion formed with your evidence.
- Include enough information, but don't overdo the details.
- If your research doesn't offer a clear answer to the question posed in the thesis, don't be afraid to write it down.
- Reaffirm the initial hypothesis and indicate if you think it is still valid or if the research has changed your mind.
- It indicates that there may still be an answer, to which it is possible to arrive through another search, which will illuminate the way more.
Step 4. Ask a question
Instead of providing the reader with the conclusion, you will ask the reader to draw one for himself.
- This advice is not suitable for all types of research essays. Almost everyone, such as those on effective treatments for diseases, will offer the information necessary to develop a thesis already in the body of the text.
- A good example of an essay that may contain a concluding question is one that relates to a social problem, such as poverty or government policy.
- Ask a question that comes directly to the heart or purpose of the essay. The question is often the same, or another version thereof, with which you started your search.
- Make sure it can be answered with the evidence presented in the essay.
- If you want, you can briefly summarize the answer after asking the question. You could also leave the question hanging for the reader to answer, though.
Step 5. Make a suggestion
If yours is a call to action, advise readers on how to proceed by doing further research.
- You can still give readers a suggestion, even without calling them to take action.
- For example, if you talk about poverty in the third world, you can make the reader look into the problem without necessarily asking them to do something.
- Another example could be, in an essay on the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis, suggesting to the reader a donation to the World Health Organization or to research foundations developing new treatments for the cure.
Part 3 of 3: Avoiding Common Mistakes
Step 1. Avoid saying "in conclusion" or using similar clichés
These include "in summary" or "to conclude."
- These phrases sound stiff, unnatural and trite when used in writing.
- Also, using a phrase like "In conclusion" to start your conclusion is too trivial and leads to weak conclusions. A strong conclusion is identified as such without the need for labels.
Step 2. Don't wait for the conclusion to affirm your thesis
While you might be tempted to spare the thesis to create a dramatic ending for the essay, if you did, the body of the text would seem less cohesive and more disorganized.
- Always state the main topic or thesis in the introduction. A research essay is an analytical discussion of an academic topic, not a mystery novel.
- An effective research essay allows the reader to follow the main topic from start to finish.
- For this reason it is good practice to start the essay with an introduction that states the main argument and end it with a conclusion that reaffirms the thesis, to reiterate it.
Step 3. Avoid introducing new information
A new idea, new subtopic, or new piece of evidence is too significant to be reserved for conclusion.
- All important information should be entered in the body of the article.
- Evidence to support your thesis expands the subject matter of the essay, making it appear more detailed. A conclusion should only narrow the subject down to a more general point.
- A conclusion should only summarize what you have already stated in the body of the text.
- You might suggest insights or a call to action to the reader, but you shouldn't introduce new evidence or facts into the conclusion.
Step 4. Avoid changing the tone of the essay
It should be consistent from the first word to the last.
- Often, a change in tone occurs during the conclusion of an academic essay, at which time the writer tends to leave room for emotion and sentiment.
- Even if the topic of the essay is of particular importance to you, you shouldn't point it out in the essay.
- If you want to give the essay a more humanistic note, you could start and end with a story or anecdote that gives your topic a more personal meaning to the reader.
- This tone, however, should be consistent throughout the essay.
Step 5. Don't apologize
Don't make statements that demean your authority or your findings.
- Apologetic phrases include "I'm not an expert" or "This is just my opinion."
- These sentences can usually be avoided by not writing in the first person.
- Avoid first-person affirmations. The first person is generally considered very informal and does not fit the tone of a research essay.
