Bring your essay to a strong conclusion.
A good conclusion:
- reiterates the main points of your essay;
- it completes the circle linking back to your introduction and it’s statement of key terms and intent;
- it identifies any unfinished business and questions for further research;
- it ends with a strong statement of your main argument with reference to both your theory and empirical data.
Presenting strong arguments or conclusions should not be confused with unsophisticated black and white statements. Conclusions should not just satisfy definitions they should have explanatory power.
Conclusion as brute statement |
Conclusion with explanatory power |
Margo Kingston’s Webdiary is definitely an example of a contemporary intellectual project because she fulfills all of Said’s definitions of the intellectual. |
Although Kingston’s Webdiary is a complex and multifaceted project I have argued that one useful way of looking at it is as a Gramscian intellectual project. Looking at it this way enables us to conceptualise some of its key strengths and weaknesses such as…. |
Conclusions should tell the reader not only why your assertions and framework have some validity, but why they are useful and important.
