Argumentative Writing /The Argumentative Essay

The Concluding Paragraph

Specifically, your conclusion should accomplish three major goals:

• Restate the main idea of your essay, or your thesis statement.

• Summarize the three sub-points of your essay.
• Leave the reader with an interesting final impression.

What is a conclusion?

• A conclusion is what you will leave with your reader

• It “wraps up” your essay
• It demonstrates to the reader that you accomplished what you set out to do
• It shows how you have proved your thesis
• It provides the reader with a sense of closure on the topic

What to include

• Your conclusion wraps up your essay in a tidy package and brings it home for your
reader
• Your topic sentence should summarize what you said in your thesis statement
o This suggests to your reader that you have accomplished what you set out to
accomplish
• Do not simply restate your thesis statement, as that would be redundant
o Rephrase the thesis statement with fresh and deeper understanding
• Your conclusion is no place to bring up new ideas
• Your supporting sentences should summarize what you have already said in the body of
your essay
o If a brilliant idea tries to sneak into the final paragraph, you must pluck it out and
let it have its own paragraph in the body, or leave it out completely
• Your topic for each body paragraph should be summarized in the conclusion
o Wrap up the main points
• Your closing sentence should help the reader feel a sense of closure
• Your closing sentence is your last word on the subject; it is your “clincher”
 o Demonstrate the importance of your ideas
o Propel your reader to a new view of the subject
o End on a positive note
• Your closing sentence should make your readers glad they read your paper

Concluding strategies that do not work

• Beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase

• These may work in speeches, but they come across as wooden and trite in writing
o “in conclusion”
o “in summary”
o “in closing”
o “as shown in the essay”
• Stating the thesis for the very first time
• Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion
• Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of the paper
• Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper

Conclusion outline

• Topic sentence
o Fresh rephrasing of thesis statement
• Supporting sentences
o Summarize or wrap up the main points in the body of the essay
o Explain how ideas fit together
• Closing sentence
o Final words
o Connects back to the introduction
o Provides a sense of closure

The conclusion paragraphs typically:

• Revisits the Value of the Essay

• Restates the Thesis
• Reviews Main Points
• Considers unexplored areas
• Leaves the reader thinking
 Sample Conclusion Paragraph

........[Restate Thesis & Revisit Value of Essay]It is clear that the only acceptable way
of ensuring the safety of airline passengers is to begin a program to issue Safe Traveler
Cards or national ID cards to United States citizens. [Review Main Points] These cards
would screen out those who are unlikely to be terrorists and would also eliminate the
delays that currently characterize air travel. Most important, they would help prevent
terrorists from high jacking American Planes. At the same time, by making racial
profiling unnecessary, these cards would help protect personal and civil liberties of
Americans. [Leave Reader Thinking] Only by instituting a national ID card system can
the U.S. make certain that the terrorists who attacked the United States did not hijack the
liberties that are so precious to us.

Conclusions: Examples

Here are some examples of conclusions. A good conclusion will:

• rephrase the question

• summarize the main ideas
• give your opinion, if you haven’t given it already
• look to the future (say what will happen if the situation continues or changes)

but will NEVER add new information.

The Conclusion

The conclusion of a persuasive essay serves to remind the readers of what was discussed in the

essay. The essay usually ends by summarizing the most important details of the argument and

stating once again what the reader is to believe or do

Steps in Writing the Conclusion:

1. Restate your thesis or focus statement (your view on the topic and reasons for such).

2. Summarize the main points: The conclusion enables your reader to recall the main

points of your position.

When you are writing the final sentences of the conclusion, you must strive to leave a lasting

impression on your readers. You may end your essay in any of the following ways:

✓ Write a personal comment or call for action.

Permitting students to take cell phones to school is like giving them guns to shoot

themselves. Personal comment

It is time we stop our children from inviting trouble on themselves by prohibiting

them from bringing cell phones to school. (Call for action)

It is time we protect our children from themselves. It is time you forbid them from

taking cell phones to school.

✓ With a cause and effect relationship

If school administers do not see the damage caused by allowing students to take cell

phones to school, the students are going to pay the price for their lack of good

judgement.

✓ With a Rhetorical Question: Closing with a question lets your readers make their own

predictions or draw their own conclusions

Are we going to allow our children to jeopardize their future because of this cell phone trend?

✓ With Recommendations: A recommendation closing is one that stresses the

actions or remedies that should be taken.

School administers need to put their feet down and not give in to the flimsy reasons given by

some parents and students for taking cell phones to school.

✓ With a Quotation: Since a quotation may summarize, predict, question, or call

 for action, you may use a quotation within a conclusion for nearly any kind of

paper.

A word to the wise is sufficient.

Those who have ears to hear; let them hear.

Should we test products on animals?

We need to make sure that animals who are used for testing new products have the
minimum of suffering. However, I am convinced that animal testing is necessary as it
will continue to benefit humans in new and wonderful ways and it is more humane to test
animals rather than humans.

Should we beat children?

Physical punishment can be a useful method of discipline. However, it should be the last choice
for parents as it can foster violence and it can led to psychological problems in children. If we
want to build a world with less violence we must begin at home, and we must teach our children
to be responsible.

Should dangerous sports be banned?

In summary, our society would be healthier if more people took part in sports of all kinds. We
should continue to try to prevent accidents and injuries. However, we should also ensure that
sports are challenging, exciting, and, above all, fun.