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How To Write An Effective Conclusion
How To Write An Effective Conclusion
How To Write An Effective Conclusion
College papers should end with a concluding paragraph that re-states the thesis, re-caps the key
points, and ties everything together in a satisfying way, just as a lawyers closing remarks to the
jury summarize the most compelling facts and evidence presented before the court.
Some students find it helpful to visualize the Conclusion as an inverted funnel.
Re-state
Thesis
Re-cap Key Points
The United States paid a high price in terms of casualties, resources, and lost prestige for
its involvement in the Vietnam War. After 14 years of bloody conflict and over a million
military and civilian casualties, the war sputtered to a halt. On the dreary morning of April
30, 1975, the last two American soldiers were killed, and the U.S. Embassy in Saigon was
ignominiously abandoned (Brigham, 2009). Although the conflict had ended, the deep
wounds it inflicted on the American psyche would endure. It would take many years for the
U.S. to regain its prestige in the international community, many years to pay off the staggering
costs. Of course, the cost in human life would never be re-paid, only immortalized in bronze
at the Vietnam War Memoriala solemn reminder of the ultimate price that was paid by so
many .
The opening sentence of the Conclusion effectively re-states the papers thesis using slightly
different phrasing.
The papers key pointscasualties suffered, resources expended, and prestige lostare
successfully re-capped.
The final sentence ties everything together in a thought-provoking and satisfying way. It
reminds us of the men and women who sacrificed their lives, and it creatively echoes the
verbiage of the title and thesis.