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Conclusions

At the end of a piece of writing, readers want to feel that the work has truly finished and not just stopped like some toy soldier that needs rewinding. Furthermore, they like to anticipate the end through a revealing change in tone, intensity, or generality of reference.

Though you may not always come up with a punchy conclusion, you can avoid certain lame devices that would threaten your good relations with your readers. Do not merely repeat your thesis Though you can look beyond your thesis, do not embark on a completely new topic. Do not pretend you have proven more than you have. Do not apologize or bring your thesis into doubt. If there is anything requiring an apology, fix it.

Here are some techniques that can result in an effective ending:

LAST FACT
Finally, serious students must make sure that they have good health. Only physically and emotionally fit people can succeed in their studies and reach their golden goals.

QUOTATION
In closing, I would like to quote Tacitus, the great historian of Imperial Rome. Tacitus, perhaps the first to describe the Principate as a monarchy, claimed that "Augustus won over soldiers with gifts, the populace with cheap corn, and all men with the sweets of response" (Kagan 286).

SUMMARY
A summary serves the double purpose of bringing your paper to a conclusion and reminding your reader once more of the major points you discussed. As I have shown, all you need to build a model plane is a model to assemble, a little ingenuity, and a lot of patience. With these ingredients you can fill the friendly skies of your bedroom.

FULL CIRCLE
Look for ways if making your concluding paragraph show some evident, preferably dramatic relationship to your introductory one. If you already have a sound first paragraph and are groping for a last one, reread your opener and see if it contains some hints that you can now more fully develop.

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