Conclusion Paragraphs

An overview

Congratulations; this is the end of your essay! Conclusions can be intimidating, but they’re actually pretty straightforward. A lot of your conclusion will be spent summarizing your essay.

As you’re writing your conclusion, keep in mind the three Rs: Restate, Recap, Reflect.

Restate

Restate your thesis, though not in the same words. You want to remind the reader what you’re arguing. The purpose of the essay is to convince them of something and you can’t do that if they’ve forgotten it.

Recap

Once you restate your thesis, recap your main points. What did you argue in your body paragraphs? How did that support your thesis?

This should be a couple sentences. Consider writing a sentence for each of your body paragraphs.

Reflect

The last section is the most open ended. You’ve spent the rest of your essay proving your thesis, so now it’s time to reflect. What that means is up to you. You can talk about what your ideas mean for society at large, your predictions about the future, yourself, etc. How you reflect is up to you as long as you do it. Remember, your conclusion is a place for you to be creative.

 

 

This handout is courtesy of WRAC Center Tutors Merricat & Nayla SP23