Restatement of Your Thesis That is why it is critical to address the thesis in the conclusion! Many authors start the conclusion by restating the thesis, but you can put your thesis anywhere in the conclusion—the first phrase of the paragraph, the last sentence, or somewhere in between.
For example, if your thesis was "The president must be elected by popular vote," then you could conclude that sentence with "Therefore, the president must be elected by popular vote." Or you could conclude that sentence with "Because of this, the president must be elected by popular vote." In both cases, you are still arguing that popular election is necessary for democracy because it is the only way to prevent presidents from being chosen by a small number of people.
Either way, you are now in a position to restate your thesis for the conclusion. You can do this either at the beginning of the paragraph or near the end. It doesn't matter where you place it as long as you keep track of its original purpose: to restate and summarize your argument so far.
Here's another conclusion that uses the restated thesis: "Because popular election is the only way to make sure presidents aren't chosen by a small group of people, the president must be elected by popular vote."
You can see that this conclusion states exactly what we said it did in a much shorter space of time.
The purpose of a conclusion
The thesis is usually restated at the beginning of the conclusion. It does not, however, mean that the repetition must be the opening phrase. Before you begin to write the thesis restatement, draft a preliminary conclusion to have a concept of where it should go.
In its most basic form, the conclusion states what we have decided or concluded about the topic at hand. As such, it should summarize the main ideas introduced throughout the paper. The conclusion should also tie up any loose ends and bring the whole essay to a close. Of course, like any good argument, a conclusion can be persuasive as well as summary.
Generally, a conclusion falls into one of three categories: a summary statement, a restatement of the thesis, or a new idea presented along with evidence supporting this claim. A summary statement tells the reader what has been said and done in the essay so far and makes a judgment as to its importance. This type of conclusion is useful when you want to give a brief overview of the topic without getting into detail.
A restatement of the thesis indicates that you are once again claiming that your original assertion is true. You should always restate the thesis at the beginning of the conclusion because doing so helps the reader follow your argument more easily.
In essence, you restate your thesis in conclusion to demonstrate to your audience that the body of the paper or essay has demonstrated the major argument while correctly winding up your work. This section should focus on addressing all aspects of the thesis and demonstrating that your article or essay was a success. Generally, your restatement should be one sentence long.
For example, if your original thesis was "Eating food with sugar in it can lead to obesity," then your restated thesis would be "Eating foods with sugar in them can lead to obesity." Here, the restated version makes clear that eating foods with sugar in them is what leads to becoming obese.
The conclusion paragraph should restate your thesis, review the primary supporting concepts covered throughout the paper, and provide your last thoughts on the fundamental issue. This last summary should also include the story's moral or a revelation of a deeper reality. For example: "Through this analysis, we have seen that honesty is the best policy and lying gets you nowhere in life. Also, it seems that success comes to those who are ready for it." Or, "In closing, I think that it can be said that history has proven that democracy is the best form of government..."
Your conclusion should not repeat information contained in your introduction or body paragraphs. Keep the conclusion simple and direct. Use language that will hold readers' attention until the end of the paper.
Always write with a purpose. The better you understand the issue at hand, the more effective your writing will be. As with any other part of your essay, find the main idea of your paper and focus on expressing that concept clearly and concisely. Avoid giving opinions on multiple topics simultaneously - stick to one subject per paragraph. Finally, be sure to use proper grammar and spelling throughout your document.
As you can see, the conclusion is very important - perhaps even more than you might expect. Without a strong conclusion, your reader may lose interest early on and never return to read the rest of the paper.
The conclusion of a thesis, like the beginning, should make an influence on the reader. A excellent conclusion should essentially reiterate the thesis statement and emphasize the salient elements of your work, explaining to the reader why your work is significant and how it adds to the field. It should also point the way forward, suggesting what future research might reveal about your topic.
Generally speaking, the conclusion of a thesis is a summary statement that answers the question "Why care?" Or, as we say at the University of Chicago, "the purpose of the dissertation is to answer questions about focus areas or topics within the discipline or field." The conclusion may include a brief restatement of the main idea(s) presented in the body of the work, but it should not simply repeat the entire dissertation except for referencing information. Rather, the conclusion should summarize the major points raised in the study while at the same time introducing any new issues that have been raised by the research.
For example, in his study on college students' definitions of happiness, Daniel Gilbert notes that many studies have shown that people want their lives to have meaning and they will go to great lengths to find it. He then asks: "So if finding meaning is such a big deal to people, why are most college students happy? They're happy because they assume that life must be meaningful and so they're not particularly looking for it.
Consider the following stages to help you get started when writing your conclusion:
Restating your argument is only the first brief section of your conclusion. Make certain that you are not merely restating your point; it should contain new and engaging terminology. After restating your thesis, you should not just recap the main parts of your argument. You should also comment on how well it stands up to criticism, what alternatives have been proposed, and so forth.
For example, let's say that you are writing an essay about the advantages and disadvantages of college admissions tests such as the SAT and ACT. Your essay might begin with a statement like this: "The test-optional admissions system is unfair because it favors those students who can afford coaching for exams." Then, you would need to provide some evidence for the claim that coaching for tests is common and expensive. You could do this by citing two articles in reputable journals (with full citations) that discuss the issue at length. Alternatively, you could describe one own experience (again, with proper references) in which you did not get accepted into a school you wanted because you didn't take the test. When you write your conclusion, make sure to wrap everything up in a way that is clear and concise but also expresses all the important ideas.
Here is an example of a good conclusion: "In conclusion, using tests rather than reviews of applications to select applicants creates a culture of competition and favoritism that is undesirable at best and harmful at worst.
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