Introductions are hard, but conclusions are the very devil. In a single paragraph, you have to sum up your entire argument, make it clear why it’s worth bothering about, and make it all memorable, and you have to do that when you’re exhausted from having written an essay. This will never be easy, but it is possible to make it easier.
A conclusion has three goals:
The first two are straightforward, but the last one offers a number of different options. Let’s start at the beginning, though, using your naked mole rat thesis once more:
In short, the naked mole rat is a perfect example of effective evolution.
The trick is to recast the thesis, so that you’re saying the same thing, but from a slightly different angle.
The body of the naked mole rat is an evolutionary marvel.
It says the same thing, but not quite. For one, it’s firmer (because you’ve earned the right to be firmer by virtue of your essay’s evidence). For another, it’s added some emotion to simple fact, so the statement now has a different feel.
Once you’ve re-produced your thesis in this way, reminding readers of your evidence is actually pretty easy. Here’s the evidence from the intro:
Naked mole rats, or Heterocephalus glaber, possess a highly unusual set of traits. First, as the name implies, they are hairless. More than that, however, their thin, short legs allow them to move equally quickly forward and backward; their protuberant teeth assist them in digging; and their lips seal behind their teeth to ensure that their mouths stay free of dirt while they work.
As with the thesis, you want to recast your evidence in a way that makes it not a repetition but a reminder: you want to remind your readers what you showed them/discussed in the course of the essay, just to drive it home one final time (in the example below I’ve imagined what might have been said in the essay).
The body of the naked mole rat is an evolutionary marvel. Its swift legs, capable of multidirectional movement, allow it to move quickly backward when danger approaches; its suction-sealing lips mean that it can burrow swiftly and deeply without being choked or slowed down by inhaled dirt; meanwhile, its teeth are so protuberant as to constitute an extra shovel, which means it can dig faster and more effectively.
Now readers see in front of them, in a small and therefore easily remembered space, the highly intelligent points you made.
This leaves you with the hardest sentence you will write in the whole essay: the last one. Remember that you must always restate and remind in your final paragraph. With the final sentence, though, you have a choice.
You can R R M:
Or you can R R E:
“Moving the reader on” means giving them a little something to think about, or showing them how what you’ve been discussing might change a wider discussion or a larger way of thinking. With your mole rats, it would be something like this:
The body of the naked mole rat is an evolutionary marvel. Its swift legs, capable of multidirectional movement, allow it to move quickly backward when danger approaches; its suction-sealing lips mean that it can burrow swiftly and deeply without being slowed down by inhaled dirt; meanwhile, its teeth are so protuberant as to constitute an extra shovel, which means it can dig faster and more effectively. Indeed, the naked mole rat is a living reminder that evolution is the survival of the fittest, not the most beautiful.
Hmm, thinks the reader, that’s a pretty good point, and it leads me to think about which one our supposedly advanced society prizes… You have Moved the reader on.
“Ending with a bang” means giving readers a final vivid image, sentence, or statement that makes them feel not just that the essay has ended, but that it has ended in a way that caps it perfectly.
With your mole rats, it might look something like this.
The body of the naked mole rat is an evolutionary marvel. Its swift legs, capable of multidirectional movement, allow it to move quickly backward when danger approaches; its suction-sealing lips mean that it can burrow swiftly and deeply without being choked or slowed down by inhaled dirt; meanwhile, its teeth are so protuberant as to constitute an extra shovel, which means it can dig faster and more effectively. In fact, naked mole rats would make the ideal poster children for the efficacy of evolution – if it were not for the fact that they are hideously ugly.
Well, readers will certainly remember that. And they’ll probably laugh, which means they’ll end the essay liking you, which is a very good place to be.
You will not be surprised to learn that ending with a bang is harder than moving the reader on.
It is possible to R R M E:
But this advanced move takes considerable time and thought, and even then, it cannot always be managed—you may not wish to invest the necessary time.
It is also possible to perform a bravura move and R R M E as you M:
But you will have to come and see me with a complete essay in order for me to show you how to do this.
If you’re having trouble, remember that you may have to write your conclusion more than once.
Leave time to write your conclusion. It will take time to craft (particularly the final sentence), at least until you become quite skilled.
Do not begin your conclusion with “In conclusion.” Your reader can see it’s the last paragraph; they will know what you are about to say is in conclusion.
A conclusion is a separate paragraph all on its own. It can’t just be one sentence at the end of your essay. In the same way, it is a constructed conclusion: a conclusion is not simply whatever happens to be the last paragraph of your essay.
As with the introduction’s first sentence, it’s easy to go overboard when you try to Move the reader on or End with a bang. Be sure not to make your final sentence too vast and vague, or too extreme and terrifying.
A good conclusion is like a good film. It doesn’t just stop. It also doesn’t just dwindle off. It ends with a sentence that has been crafted to end it, to leave readers impressed with what has been said in the essay, and also impressed with the end itself. Aim for this – you won’t always reach it, but soon it will become instinctive.