After you
have successfully written a strong introduction and two or three
developmental paragraphs, it is time to bring the essay to a
closure. This is what writers call a conclusion. As a general
rule, any type of conclusion is better than no conclusion at
all, so it is important to write a concluding statement even if
it is short.
The characteristics of a good conclusion are the following:
1. It restates the thesis sentence but does not use the
exact words.
2. It restates the topic sentences from the developmental
paragraphs but does not use the exact words.
3. If appropriate, it states an opinion, makes a
prediction, or gives a solution.
It concludes with a statement that sums up the essay.
It uses a transition word(s) of summary (i.e., in other
words, in short, in summary, in conclusion, to sum up, that is,
and therefore) in order to cue the reader that the ideas are
coming to an end.
Copyright (C) By
Michael Buckhoff (MBuckhoff@aol.com)