Strategies for an Effective Conclusion
Answer the "so what?" question
Looking at your main arguments, ask yourself, “So what? Why should someone care about these ideas? What is the bigger picture?” Use those answers to explain the significance or purpose of your essay.
- My paper’s purpose is to analyze how Nazi Germany used the media to spread propaganda and influence people's perceptions and beliefs.
So what? Well, it’s important because the masses easily and quickly bought into the propaganda because it contained emotional appeals they wanted to hear.
Why does that matter now? Well, because today we are bombarded by media that uses the same tactics of appealing to our emotions and what we want, instead of appealing to us to think logically about a topic. We need to be careful to analyze how the media today is influencing us to think and feel.
What are the broader implications
Indicate how the findings in your paper have wider applications or have influenced other areas or people.
Your paper about the book The Hobbit could end by pointing out how Tolkien's creative world inspired many later writers and led to the creation of the now vastly popular fantasy genre.
Return to a theme/store/anecdote from the introduction
If you begin the paper by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay is helpful in creating a new understanding.
- Your paper’s introduction begins with a story about a car accident caused by drunk driving. Your conclusion could go back to the same story and the consequences of the accident on people’s lives to further show the dangers of drunk driving.
Propose a solution or further study
If your paper argues that a certain practice causes a problem – or traces the history of that problem – ending with an idea for a solution demonstrates you have thought critically about that problem.
- Your paper argues that plastic water bottles are bad for health. In your conclusion you could offer up a possible solution to the problem or suggest new questions that need further research to understand the topic better.