Do you remember the opening sequence of the last movie you’ve watched? If you don’t, you’re not alone. But you must remember how it ended, the scene right before the credits etched into your memory (at least it should be if the director is worth their salt).
Essays are no different from movies, and the last passage, the conclusion, is always the thing professors focus on and remember most. Unfortunately, most writing guides say nothing beyond ‘restate the thesis’ when it comes to creating the conclusion. To correct this travesty, we’ll explain what it really means and how you can take your conclusion to the next level..
How to Restate Your Thesis the Right Way
Every high school teacher and some college professors recommend you restate thesis statements in the essay’s final paragraph. But what does ‘restate thesis’ mean? Is it enough to copy the initial sentence? And why do you need to repeat it anyway?
You need to rephrase the thesis statement because it’s the core idea of your essay, the thing you want your readers to focus on and remember. And as we’ve established, they will remember the last paragraph best.
Still, you shouldn’t simply repeat one sentence at the beginning and the end of your paper and be done with it. If you do, most professors will write a snide comment and subtract a few points from your grade. If you want to learn how to restate the thesis in conclusion to gain extra points, there are a few ways to go about it:
- Play around with word choice. If you’re at the end of your rope and have no more time or energy to work on your essay, you can rewrite the thesis statement using different words. Just don’t go overboard with a thesaurus, and you’ll be fine.
- Change the sentence structure. Think of the core idea of your thesis and rewrite it several times until you find the most powerful wording and sentence structure. Use it in the conclusion and pick the most potent phrase for your essay’s title or subtitle.
- Merge the thesis with your key points. Introductions usually go from the general issue to its specifics, and in the conclusion, you can do the reverse and create a mirror structure. To do this, begin the final paragraph with the major points and use them to lead up to the repeat of your thesis.
Now you know how to reword a thesis in three different ways, from the easiest to the most challenging. Still, you can’t finish your essay with a single sentence. The conclusion is more than a transition phrase and a repeat of the thesis. It should leave a lasting impression, and we’ve got a couple of suggestions to help you achieve that.
How to Take Your Restatement of Thesis to the Next Level
College professors are big on making you forget everything you’ve learned in high school and forcing you to learn new tricks. To appease your instructors and make your conclusions college-ready, use one of the three strategies below. Consider your class, assignment type, and prompt requirements to choose the approach that suits your essay best.
Connect It to the Bigger Picture
‘So what?’ is the main question you should be asking yourself whenever you’re working on an essay. Ideally, every passage should answer this question, and the conclusion is no exception. You should leave the readers with a clear understanding of why they should care about the issues you discuss and your conclusions.
To provide the answer, connect your topic and thesis to the bigger picture. It can be the overarching issues you study in class or a real-world problem reflected in your work. Ideally, you should highlight the implications of the problem if it is left unsolved or the benefits your solution can offer. Depending on the assignment parameters and the style of your essay, you can either address the reader directly or provide a more formal account of the big-picture connections and consequences.
Ask New Questions
If you’ve done your research right, you’re bound to have more questions by the end than when you’ve started. That’s because our knowledge is ever-evolving, and human curiosity knows no bounds. On the other hand, you cannot hope to answer every new question that pops into your mind because of word limits and time constraints.
What you can do is add these new questions in the conclusion along with your plans for future research. Even if you don’t plan on pursuing the topic, you can outline the possible pathways for other students and fellow researchers. Make sure you build the questions into your narrative and connect them to the thesis and core points of the essay. Otherwise, the conclusion will look like a list of random queries you couldn’t bother to research.
Address the Limitations
It is highly unlikely that you will be able to fully cover a complex issue in a short essay. There will always be caveats and limitations to your research, and there is no shame in admitting it. In fact, being upfront about opposing views and limits to your study is likely to earn you the respect of your professors and peers.
You can tie the limitations of your study with the new questions raised or the future research avenues you plan on taking. Still, you should be careful when expressing the limits of your work, or you may end up undermining its value.
Writing a memorable conclusion for an essay is almost as challenging as crafting an attention-grabbing introduction. You have to balance the thesis and major points with the value of your research and leave the readers with a powerful impression. If you’re still unsure you can manage that on your own, feel free to hire an expert to work on your paper. With our help, you’ll craft an A-worthy paper.