EXPLANATION If the reader is to understand and be persuaded by an argument, the central idea, the thesis, needs to be clear - and the thesis must be supported by the arguments in the body of the essay. The purpose of the final paragraph, the conclusion, is to ensure that the thesis is totally in focus and that the reader can see the link between all the preceding arguments and the conclusion.
The conclusion need not be long. For example, if you were writing an essay on sharks, you might end with a paragraph such as that used as the example above, which makes it clear that sharks are a necessary part of the environment.
Quite often a conclusion will echo what has been said in an introductory paragraph. It is also a good idea to try to relate your conclusion directly to the title of your essay. If we were writing an essay on how many of our character traits are picked up by imitating those around us, the following title, introductory paragraph and conclusion would create a unity of purpose.
| A LIST OF SIMILARITES | |
|---|---|
| Introductory paragraph | My Mum and I were in our kitchen. Pen in hand, we were carefully examining our 'To do' lists and working out what order we would do things in. My Dad came into the kitchen, took one look at us and laughed. He patted me on the head and said, 'You're so like your mother.' I was stunned. After all, I was nothing like her - was I? |
| BODY OF THE ESSAY - several paragraphs | |
| Concluding paragraph | We are more like our parents than we care to admit. Not only do we inherit their nose, their eyes, their body shape; we also imitate their habits, their values and ideals. They may not have drilled those habits and ideals into us verbally, but we have picked them up through subconsciously watching their example and imitating. Parents have a great responsibility to show appropriate and desirable behaviour for their children because, for most families, the list of similarities between parents and children is remarkable. |