The bottom line
A strong and effective conclusion plays an important role for your readers.
- A conclusion signals to the reader that a text is ending.
- The conclusion can restate the main idea, but can also look to the future (what else should the audience think about this issue? What happens if they don’t act?)
- The conclusion is your last chance to leave the reader with a lasting impression.
Things to avoid
- Don’t introduce new ideas. Conclusions should not present new arguments or evidence but emphasize the main ideas of the text.
- Avoid just reiterating your main argument and points. Use the opportunity of the conclusion to connect with your readers one last time.
- Avoid cliches such as “in conclusion.”
- For an IMRaD paper, it is more appropriate to address the paper’s limitations to increase one’s credibility.
Strategies for writing your conclusion
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Question: A conclusion can end with a thought-provoking question.
Example: “In the meantime, the male bluebird has once again taken up his post on top of the bluebird house in our front yard. Again, the female is climbing in and out, looking over this place where she has already reared I don’t know how many broods. From time to time her mate brings her a moth or a caterpillar. He is reminding her that he is a good provider. Will she believe him again? Will she choose this box again? Will her eggs be safe if she does?” (Renkl, 2025). -
Quotation: A conclusion might also end with a relevant quote.
Example: “Sabato is skeptical it will work in Nebraska. ‘I’ve been around for decades, and I have heard all these stories and proposals and paths to victory, and the vast majority of them never happen,’ he said. At the same time, he acknowledged, ‘I’m surprised every election cycle by a few races. You never know which ones.’ Osborn is a long shot, but long-shot campaigns are the only hope we have for making Republicans in Washington answer for what they’ve just done.” (Goldberg, 2025). -
Call to action: A conclusion might also end with a call to action, inviting the reader to act in a certain way.
Example: “As literacy educators, we can’t let controversies about developmental education get in the way of interrogating critical issues related to students’ literacy. Nor can we ignore the permanent changes to writing programs and higher education that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. We invite literacy educators to reimagine writing courses as learning spaces centered on developing students’ agency and also as opportunities to learn from students’ literacy experiences.” (Giordano et al., 2024).
References
Creswell, J. D. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Pearson.
Giordano, J. B. & Phillips, C. (2024). Adapting writing studio pedagogy for flexible and equitable acceleration. Journal of Basic Writing, 43(2), pp. 33-56. https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/jbw/v43n2/giordano-phillips.pdf
Goldberg, M. (2025, July 8th). How to make Senate Republicans pay for their awful bill. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/opinion/dan-osborn-tax-bill.html
Hacker, D., Sommers, N. I., Jehn, T. R., Rosenzweig, J., & Carbajal Van Horn, M. (2007). A writer’s reference (6th ed.). Bedford/St. Martins.
Lannon, J. M. (2004). The writing process: A concise rhetoric, reader, and handbook. Pearson.
Reinking, J. A. & Von Der Osten, R. (2014). Strategies for successful writing: A rhetoric, research guide, reader, and handbook. Pearson.
Renkl, M. (2025, July 7th). The questions started with the wren. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/opinion/birds-nest-life.html