Conclusions

1. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions A conclusion should wrap up the ideas and leave readers with a strong final impression.

2. Why is the second conclusion more successful than the first? Click on the i-icons to find out. In summary, we don’t really know where the first Americans came from. They probably came from a lot of different places. We may never know how or when the first Americans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. It seems likely that they came in waves by different routes from different places. They probably came by land over the Bering land bridge. They probably also came by boat or raft from the islands of the Pacific, from Europe, and maybe from Australia. America has been a melting pot of different peoples for tens of thousands of years. i i Next PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions A conclusion should wrap up the ideas and leave readers with a strong final impression.

3. i i MENU EXIT Conclusions A conclusion should wrap up the ideas and leave readers with a strong final impression. Why is the second conclusion more successful than the first? Click on the i-icons to find out. In summary, we don’t really know where the first Americans came from. They probably came from a lot of different places. We may never know how or when the first Americans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. It seems likely that they came in waves by different routes from different places. They probably came by land over the Bering land bridge. They probably also came by boat or raft from the islands of the Pacific, from Europe, and maybe from Australia. America has been a melting pot of different peoples for tens of thousands of years. i CLOSE This conclusion summarizes the history of the settling of the Western Hemisphere, tells why the information is important, and leaves a strong final impression.

4. i i MENU EXIT Conclusions A conclusion should wrap up the ideas and leave readers with a strong final impression. Why is the second conclusion more successful than the first? Click on the i-icons to find out. i In summary, we don’t really know where the first Americans came from. They probably came from a lot of different places. CLOSE This conclusion begins with unnecessary words, does not summarize the information effectively, and does not leave readers with a strong final impression. We may never know how or when the first Americans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. It seems likely that they came in waves by different routes from different places. They probably came by land over the Bering land bridge. They probably also came by boat or raft from the islands of the Pacific, from Europe, and maybe from Australia. America has been a melting pot of different peoples for tens of thousands of years.

5. Next PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions A successful conclusion should • sum up the ideas you have developed • follow logically from what has gone before • leave the reader with something to think about A successful conclusion should not • introduce new facts, ideas, or arguments • repeat the introduction • be a listing of information that was presented • include words like “in conclusion” or “to summarize”

6. MENU EXIT Conclusions You can write a satisfying conclusion by using a variety of strategies. Click on the strategy you want to explore. MENU • Restate the Main Idea • Summarize the Major Points • Issue a Call to Action • State the Significance • Ask a Question • Make a Prediction

7. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions Restate the Main Idea Restate the main idea to reinforce the topic in the reader’s mind.

8. Which sentence in this paragraph strengthens the conclusion by restating the main idea? We will never again see the wild, tumultuous, untamed Mississippi of the early 1800s. It has been forever crippled by locks, dams, dredging, and levees. Few people know the history of this river, but those who do realize what it once was, and they mourn the loss of this great river’s vitality and the life it supported. Click to view the main idea PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Restate the Main Idea Restate the main idea to reinforce the topic in the reader’s mind.

9. Menu PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Restate the Main Idea Restate the main idea to reinforce the topic in the reader’s mind. This restatement leaves readers with a strong final idea that will be easy to remember. We will never again see the wild, tumultuous, untamed Mississippi of the early 1800s. It has been forever crippled by locks, dams, dredging, and levees. Few people know the history of this river, but those who do realize what it once was, and they mourn the loss of this great river’s vitality and the life it supported.

10. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions Summarize the Major Points Remind the reader of your key ideas by summarizing the major points of what you’ve written.

11. This conclusion wraps up an analysis of jazz. How might you add a summary of major points to this conclusion? Jazz is an appealing form of music that has something to offer to everyone. Jazz continually provides fresh musical experiences for its listeners. Click to see a revision PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Summarize the Major Points Remind the reader of your key ideas by summarizing the major points of what you’ve written.

12. A review of the main points covered in the essay makes the conclusion stronger and the essay more memorable. Jazz is an appealing form of music that has something to offer to everyone. It encompasses a variety of styles and sounds. It gives listeners the excitement of hearing spontaneous creativity, and it expresses a broad range of human emotions. Jazz continually provides fresh musical experiences for its listeners. Menu PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Summarize the Major Points Remind the reader of your key ideas by summarizing the major points of what you’ve written.

13. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions Issue a Call to Action Write a call to action to lend energy to a conclusion, especially in persuasive writing.

14. Click to see the call to action PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Issue a Call to Action Write a call to action to lend energy to a conclusion, especially in persuasive writing. The aldermen are right to be concerned about transportation in our region, but their focus should not be on roads and bridges for cars. We need to look toward expanding and modernizing our public transportation. I urge everyone who is concerned about the future to support the mayor’s proposal to expand our train and bus system. Let your aldermen know that this critical element of our region’s transportation system should not and cannot be ignored.

15. i Menu PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Issue a Call to Action Write a call to action to lend energy to a conclusion, especially in persuasive writing. The aldermen are right to be concerned about transportation in our region, but their focus should not be on roads and bridges for cars. We need to look toward expanding and modernizing our public transportation. I urge everyone who is concerned about the future to support the mayor’s proposal to expand our train and bus system. Let your aldermen know that this critical element of our region’s transportation system should not and cannot be ignored.

16. i MENU EXIT Conclusions Issue a Call to Action Write a call to action to lend energy to a conclusion, especially in persuasive writing. The aldermen are right to be concerned about transportation in our region. But their focus should not be on roads and bridges for cars. We need to look toward expanding and modernizing our public transportation. I urge everyone who is concerned about the future to support the mayor’s proposal to expand our train and bus system. Let your aldermen know that this critical element of our region’s transportation system should not and cannot be ignored. i CLOSE The call to action reinforces the idea of supporting the mayor’s proposal to expand the city’s public transportation system.

17. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions State the Significance You can effectively sum up your feelings about your topic by stating its significance.

18. Click to see the statement of significance PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions State the Significance You can effectively sum up your feelings about your topic by stating its significance. The woman kept her silence for all those years. Hearing her secret, the police searched the place that she pointed out. Bulldozers were used. So were tools that can find hidden metal. But they did no good. The police found nothing. If anything, the missing crown jewels of Ireland were more a mystery than ever. —Thomas G. Gunning, Strange Mysteries

19. i Menu PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions State the Significance You can effectively sum up your feelings about your topic by stating its significance. The woman kept her silence for all those years. Hearing her secret, the police searched the place that she pointed out. Bulldozers were used. So were tools that can find hidden metal. But they did no good. The police found nothing. If anything, the missing crown jewels of Ireland were more a mystery than ever. —Thomas G. Gunning, Strange Mysteries

20. i MENU EXIT Conclusions State the Significance You can effectively sum up your feelings about your topic by stating its significance. The woman kept her silence for all those years. Hearing her secret, the police searched the place that she pointed out. Bulldozers were used. So were tools that can find hidden metal. But they did no good. The police found nothing. If anything, the missing crown jewels of Ireland were more a mystery than ever. —Thomas G. Gunning, Strange Mysteries i CLOSE In this last statement, the writer reveals that the mystery continues to puzzle people even today.

21. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions Ask a Question Ending with a question encourages your reader to reflect on what you’ve said.

22. How might a writer use a question to give this conclusion more impact? Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void. —Susan B. Anthony, “A Woman’s Right to Suffrage” Click to see a revision PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Ask a Question Ending with a question encourages your reader to reflect on what you’ve said.

23. PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Ask a Question Ending with a question encourages your reader to reflect on what you’ve said. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void. —Susan B. Anthony, “A Woman’s Right to Suffrage”

24. The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Ask a Question Ending with a question encourages your reader to reflect on what you’ve said. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void. —Susan B. Anthony, “A Woman’s Right to Suffrage”

25. The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. i Menu PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Ask a Question Ending with a question encourages your reader to reflect on what you’ve said. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void. —Susan B. Anthony, “A Woman’s Right to Suffrage”

26. The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. MENU EXIT Conclusions Ask a Question Ending with a question encourages your reader to reflect on what you’ve said. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void. —Susan B. Anthony, “A Woman’s Right to Suffrage” i CLOSE The final question forces readers to answer “yes,” thereby proving Anthony’s argument that women have the right to vote.

27. Continue… MENU EXIT Conclusions Make a Prediction A prediction challenges the reader to accept your conclusions about your topic.

28. How would adding a prediction to this conclusion change the impression left on readers? Perhaps these images can play a small part in helping us find our way home out of that long exile from nature. But until we become much more skilled at listening to the voices of nature in and around us, all animals are in jeopardy. Click to see a revision PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Make a Prediction A prediction challenges the reader to accept your conclusions about your topic.

29. PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Make a Prediction A prediction challenges the reader to accept your conclusions about your topic. Perhaps these images can play a small part in helping us find our way home out of that long exile from nature. But until we become much more skilled at listening to the voices of nature in and around us, all animals are in jeopardy.

30. The unspeakable tragedy is that our learning process will be too slow to prevent some of the extraordinary animals on these pages from being among the last survivors of their species. PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Make a Prediction A prediction challenges the reader to accept your conclusions about your topic. Perhaps these images can play a small part in helping us find our way home out of that long exile from nature. But until we become much more skilled at listening to the voices of nature in and around us, all animals are in jeopardy.

31. i Menu PREVIOUS MENU EXIT Conclusions Make a Prediction A prediction challenges the reader to accept your conclusions about your topic. Perhaps these images can play a small part in helping us find our way home out of that long exile from nature. But until we become much more skilled at listening to the voices of nature in and around us, all animals are in jeopardy. The unspeakable tragedy is that our learning process will be too slow to prevent some of the extraordinary animals on these pages from being among the last survivors of their species.

32. MENU EXIT Conclusions Make a Prediction A prediction challenges the reader to accept your conclusions about your topic. Perhaps these images can play a small part in helping us find our way home out of that long exile from nature. But until we become much more skilled at listening to the voices of nature in and around us, all animals are in jeopardy. The unspeakable i tragedy is that our learning process will be too slow to prevent some of the extraordinary animals on these pages from being among the last survivors of their species. CLOSE The prediction adds elements of urgency and despair to the writer’s appeal.