Creating Effective Conclusions

Directions: Create an effective conclusion using the following steps.
Step 1: State the main point of your paper in a new way. (
Example:

The claim from an introduction: Freud believes that civilization makes mankind miserable, but

being part of a civilization is worthwhile.

New way to state this claim: In essence, although civilization makes humans lose some

individual happiness and freedom, these losses are insignificant compared to all the benefits

we receive from being a part of it.

Both sentences convey the same main point, but the rephrased sentence in the conclusion is more

specific.

Step 2: Briefly discuss your arguments.

Provide a brief summary of the points you discussed in each body paragraph. It’s important to remind your reader that you have strong arguments to back up the claim you made. Again, don’t just repeat what you said in the introduction word for word; try to show your reader how the arguments are related to one another.

Example:

Arguments: 1) civilization helped early humans survive 2) civilization helps us control negative

aspects of our nature 3) civilization encourages us to feel guilty when we do something wrong.

Discussion of arguments: The structure of civilization is responsible for the survival of

the human species. Living in groups encouraged early humans to be compassionate; they warned

each other danger and protected one another. As humans helped one another they begin to move

away from their more aggressive tendencies. Now, if we ever revert to these aggressive

tendencies, we feel guilty because the civilization we live in does not condone that behavior.

***Quick Tip: Don’t bring up a new argument in your conclusion. If you think of another good idea as you’re writing, incorporate it into the body of the paper if it pertains to your topic.***

Step 3: Make your reader care.

Your last sentence or two should make the reader understand why you’ve spent so much time trying to persuade them that your claim is true. Why do you care about your thesis? Give a final statement that informs the reader about the importance of the composition by giving implications, recommendations, predictions, ect. There are many different ways to go about this.

1. Show your reader why your topic is a high stakes issue. Why would it be a problem for

your reader to ignore what you’re saying?

Example:

Overall, civilization can be seen as a necessary evil; although it limits us in certain ways, without

it, humans would never be able to survive.

This statement makes it clear that maintaining civilizations is really important because it’s a

life and death matter for humans.

2. Convince the reader to actually do something (or not to do something).

Example:

Thus, civilizations must not be condemned; we should preserve the current structure of society at

all costs.

This statement tells the reader not to think of civilizations as something bad, and it also tells

the reader not to disband civilizations.

Step 4: Put it all together.

In essence, although civilization makes humans lose some individual happiness and freedom,

these losses are insignificant compared to all of the benefits we receive from being a part of it.

The structure of civilization is responsible for the survival of the human species. Living

in groups encouraged early humans to be compassionate; they warned each other danger and

protected one another. As humans helped one another they begin to move away from their more

aggressive tendencies. Now, if we ever revert to these aggressive tendencies, we feel guilty

because the civilization we live in does not condone that behavior. Thus, civilization can be seen

as a necessary evil; although it limits us in certain ways, without it, the human race would never

be able to survive.