How to Start a Conclusion

As a student, you should know how to start a conclusion because you will be required to write it severally when concluding essays, term papers, research papers and other academic writing assignments.  A conclusion can be defined as a paragraph that gives you a chance to wrap up your paper or essay in a tiny package while bringing it home to your reader. It is the closure and summation of all ideas that you presented in the introduction and body of your paper or essay. The goal of a conclusion is to ensure the satisfaction of the reader after reading your piece of writing. However, starting a conclusion is not easy and that is why you need a guide to help you start this paragraph.

A guide on how to start a conclusion

Prepare to write a conclusion

Contemplate about the purpose as stated in the introduction and tone

While writing the conclusion, consider the purpose of your paper or essay as stated in the introduction. For instance, why were you writing the essay? Was your aim to entertain, persuade, inform, or argue a point? Your answer to this question should dictate how you write the conclusion. Make sure that the tone of your conclusion matches that of the entire paper or essay. If you were writing to inform readers, remind readers what you informed them, if you were writing to persuade readers, give them your final thought and if you were writing to entertain, provide a humorous conclusion.

Answer the “so what” question

This will enable you to start thinking about what to include in the conclusion. Once you have written the introduction and the body of your paper or essay, ask yourself, why should the reader care? Make sure that your conclusion answers these questions to shape the thoughts of the reader.

Read what you have written

Before you start writing the conclusion of your paper or essay, read what you have written in the body and the introduction severally. While writing the conclusion, make sure that you have your introduction fresh in mind. The conclusion should follow the logical transition from the introduction, to the body and then the conclusion. You can maintain this transition only when you have the rest of the essay in mind. Therefore, read what you have written in the introduction and the body to come up with a focused conclusion that addresses the most vital points in the paper or essay.

Write the first draft of the conclusion

Although “In conclusion” words are overused, they are a popular way of starting the conclusion. These words provide a transition phase that can help you in getting started with the first conclusion draft. You can start with these words then replace or remove them later after writing the first draft.

Pre-write the conclusion

Most students under utilize a pre-writing strategy but it is very effective when it comes to writing a conclusion. In fact, you should try it out as you master the steps on how to start a conclusion. Pre-writing should come before writing a draft. While pre-writing, put your ideas down. Come up with sentences that explain the covered topic. Conclude your paper or essay instinctively after writing the entire essay. As you pre-write the conclusion, ask yourself why readers should care or so what? This will enable you to form the answers that you provided in the body and supported with evidence using clearer sentences.

Start the conclusion

Make the first sentence a transition

The first sentence of a conclusion ought to create a bridge between the ending thoughts and body paragraphs. Connect the sentences of the body with the conclusion using phrases and words from the topic. Make sure that the first sentence creates a clear transition from the body to the conclusion.

Example

If you were writing an essay on exercise benefits, the first sentence of your conclusion can read like this, “There are several benefits of exercising three times in a week.”

Start your conclusion with the topic

You can restate the topic of your paper or essay in your conclusion. Also tell readers why the topic is important. However, use different words in restating the topic. Tell readers about the importance of your topic in a few sentences.

Example

When writing a conclusion for an essay on the side effects of school bullying, you can restate the topic in a sentence like this, “Bullying is very common in school and it should be stopped.” The sentence that follows should explain the importance of the topic. It can read, “Children are not treating their friends with respect and kindness as they should.”

Restate thesis statement

Remind readers the thesis that you stated in the introduction using different words. Use new words to phrase your thesis and show readers how you have proven it in the essay or paper. This is a very important step of a guide on how to start a conclusion because it enables you to write a conclusion that serves its purpose. Restating a thesis statement in the conclusion gives it a sense of finality. It gives the readers a feeling that the journey that started at the introduction has come to an end at the conclusion.

Include a phrase that links the conclusion to the introduction

Start the conclusion with a phrase that links it to your introduction. For instance, you can use imagery or comparison phrase that reiterates the introduction. This will enable your introduction to bring the idea or theme of your introduction back through the conclusion. This will enable readers to wrap what they have read in the paper or essay and form a clear perspective on the topic.

Contrast and compare

If you were writing about several characters, animals, groups or anything that can be compared and contrasted, use the presented ideas to do this at the beginning of your conclusion. Use a single statement or observation that is relevant to your paper or essay to follow up the contrasted or compared ideas.

Example

In a paper about vacation sports, start the conclusion with a statement like, “Whether you choose to sunbathe in a Florida beach or to ski the Aspen slopes, vacation ought to be an enjoyable and relaxing experience.”

Start your conclusion with a rhetorical question

A rhetorical question can be an effective way of starting a conclusion because it emphasizes a point. You can use this strategy especially if your paper is argumentative. Come up with an evocative question to drive point home.

Example

When writing an argumentative paper on smoking and its ban in public places, you can start your conclusion with a question like, “Are some people allowed the right to interfere with the health of those around them?”

Start with a clear statement on the basis of your argument

You can open your conclusion with an opinion or statement whose basis is what you tried to argue or persuade readers about. This should be a sentence that restates your topic while providing a way that readers should adopt while thinking on the basis of the information or argument that you presented in the body of the essay or paper.

Example

If the thesis statement of your essay was, “People should make sacrifices which do not bring obvious benefits on the basis of their morals,” your conclusion can start with a statement like, “Some people make sacrifices that do not seem sensible until their motives become apparent.”

How to start a conclusion using simple strategies

There are strategies that you can implement when starting a conclusion to make the task easier.

They include:

• Echoing the introduction: This implies bringing the readers full-circle. For instance, if you started your essay with a description of a scenario, start the conclusion with the same scenario.
• Challenge readers: Give readers a challenge to redirect the information that they got from the paper so that they can apply it in life.
• Look to the future: This entails emphasizing the importance of the essay or paper as well as redirecting the thought process of your readers.
• Pose questions: This is an effective strategy because it gives readers a different perspective on the discussed topic.

Each of these strategies is effective depending on the kind of a paper or essay that you have written. It is therefore important that you read the introduction and the body of your essay or paper carefully to determine how to start a conclusion of your paper or essay in the most appropriate and effective way.

Get help with your conclusion

If you encounter difficulties in writing a conclusion for your academic paper or essay, contact us for immediate assistance. We offer the best academic writing help online and sample papers. You can also visit our website’s homepage for additional information about our writing services. Alternatively, continue reading for more guidelines on how to start a conclusion and sample conclusion on the papers found on our blog.

 

Sources

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/endings.htm

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/conclusions/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/724/04/

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/conclude.html