What Are The Parts Of A Conclusion Paragraph In An Academic Essay?
Essays can usually be divided into an introduction, body and conclusion but little thought is often paid by students into how those parts can be further subdivided. Introductions can contains thesis statements as well as their other parts. Below are the parts that are contained in a well structured conclusion.
- Summary of the thesis statement
- An opinion
- Concluding Sentence
- Do note:
While the reader already has a good grasp on the essay’s topic by now, it can help to provide a summary of the thesis statement to introduce the reader to the conclusions you drew from the points that were raised. Turn back to your introduction and look over the thesis statement carefully before you decide how to present it in summary form. It provides a neat ending to the piece.
If the rest of your essay was devoted to an objective delivery of points on both sides of an argument, you can include your actual opinion in the conclusion section. Try not to make it an emotional inclusion unless the style of essay calls for that. If your opinion is not easily included in the piece, condense this part of the conclusion into the concluding sentence.
This last sentence gives a reader the final say on the topic in your words. It can allow you to return to the objective tone of the essay right after stating your opinion and provides closure to the reader at the end of the essay. Without it the work will seem incomplete.
In the writing of a conclusion it is bad practice to introduce any new points that were not adequately covered in the body of the essay. This can make the essay feel incomplete or at least poorly structured as the conclusion will look more like any of the other paragraphs in the body. For this reason, an essay plan is recommended in advance so that you don’t reach the end of an essay before realizing that something valid still needed to be included to complete the piece.
The parts of a conclusion will make sense to you once you look them over and you may even realize that you’ve been using them all along without fully being aware of it. If not, you can always start including them in your writing from now on.