Lesson FiveConclusions

Lesson Objectives1. To gain a deeper understanding of the

purpose and characteristics of conclusions

2. To know how to help our students write proper and effective conclusions

Student Sample

Introduction:Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered to be the first

greatest American fiction writer in the moralistic tradition. His masterpiece THE SCARLET LETTER is notable for its allegory and symbolism which he took from the puritan tradition and bequeathed to American literature in a revivified form. The novel revolves around one major symbol: The scarlet letter A. It takes on different layers of symbolic meanings as the plot develops.

Student Sample

(continued)At very beginning of this book it is the symbol

of adultery then it becomes a symbol of alone and later it changes into able, Angel, art and so on. It is make people come up with different interpretations and they do not know which one is definite. This paper researches and analyzes some reasonable interpretations of the letter A in THE SCARLET LETTER.

Student Sample

Conclusion:The letter begin with the symbol of  adultery

with the development of the plots it has changed from adultery into alone, alienation, able and Angel. It stands different symbols in different plot. However, besides these symbolic meanings the letter A in THE SCARLET LETTER also can be interpreted as amour, agony, alone Amazon, art, affection, ascension, Adam and so on.

Student Sample

(continued)Really the letter A in THE SCARLET LETTER is

ambiguous, different people has different interpretations of it, it is indefinite. So some literary critic even said all English letters which begin with  the letter A can be interpreted as the meaning of it.

Rethinking the Definition

What do most students believe?Most students believe that the conclusion is

wither a word-for-word restatement of the thesis or a point-by-point restatement of main ideas presented in the essay.

Rethinking the Definition

What is a conclusion?Think of a conclusion as a statement drawn from

all the ideas and analysis done in the body of the essay. The perspective presented in the conclusion is something like this: "If you accept all the ideas in the main body, here are a few implications drawn from those ideas.“

What is at stake?

Writing Conclusions

How do we create a conclusion?• The creation of an effective conclusion is a

work of "craft" of writing where the writer may do many things, depending upon what the essay's subject is, what the purpose is, and what the audience is like.

• In other words it is an organic process that grows out of your rhetorical elements.

Writing Conclusions

Creating New MeaningYou don't have to give new information to create

a new meaning. By demonstrating how your ideas work together and their implications, you can create new meaning.

Implications

Conclusion usually draw certain general kinds implications:

1. A call to action

2. A need for the audience to reevaluate opinion or beliefs

Implications

(continued)

3. An application of the essay's main ideas to some real life situation

4. A return to some significant idea in the essay wherein the original idea takes on added meaning or added intensity as a concluding statement--because of all that precedes the concluding statement

Types of Conclusions

The most commonly used types of conclusions are:

1. Conclusion Encouraging Reevaluation of Beliefs

2. Conclusion Reflecting upon Essay's Ideas

3. The Abbreviated Conclusion

Types of Conclusions

ExampleThesis Statement“Negative thinking should not be construed as an

attitude which is always pessimistic but rather as one which is realistic. The lack of this critical thinking in our society today could prove to be a crucial cause for the unhappiness of future generations because the foundation is being laid for a "pretend" world that does not encourage young people to employ more realistic thinking and attitudes.”

Types of Conclusions

ExampleConclusion“College students today must work to change the

relaxed, complaisant attitude our society has taken on, or the effects for students will be serious. They cannot "pretend" that things will not change; such apathy will only result in regression and the work and dedication of the social and political leaders during the 1960's and 1970's will have been wasted. Perhaps students should recognize that the power of negative thinking is a power capable of destroying apathy and, usually, creating hope for the future.”

Types of Conclusions

2. Conclusion Reflecting upon Essay's Ideas

In this type of conclusion, the writer draws on the main ideas, perspectives, or values in the essay, asking the audience to reflect upon or hold in memory ideas focused on in the conclusion. The writer engages the audience directly with a request to reflect on the overall importance of the essay; the conclusion suggests a perspective or a reflective stance the audience should take in relation to the main ideas of the essay.

Types of Conclusions

ExampleThesis Statement

“The psychic and physical comfort of regenerative retreats was enjoyed by two

British prime ministers--Winston Churchill and his nineteenth-century predecessor Benjamin Disraeli--who embody the

polymath's progress through life.”

Types of Conclusions

ExampleConclusion“What this note does not reveal is that Disraeli, once

more restored by his retreat, would soon complete work on a new novel, Endymion. He lived to see the book published and to begin work on another manuscript, which was unfinished at the time of his death, in 1881. Those unfinished pages--written with a certain knowledge of approaching death--embody the character of men like Disraeli and Churchill. In rooms that welcome them in both victory and defeat, they never stopped beginning again.”

Types of Conclusions

3. The Abbreviated ConclusionIf the essay is fairly short the audience's need or

your purpose in the essay for a separate paragraph or series of paragraphs to conclude an essay simple may not exist. In this case, use the last three or four sentences of the last paragraph as a conclusion.

Types of Conclusions

ExamplePrevious sentences...Different holidays are held once a year, but there are

many other rituals a family has every day. Simply household chores like feeding the dog, taking out the trash, washing the dishes after supper are examples of everyday family traditions. Even fighting over who gets the shower first in the morning, what cereal should be eaten for breakfast, who gets to drive who and where are all family rituals.

Types of Conclusions

ExampleConcluding SentencesThough there are dozens of rituals and every family has

its own, amazingly every ritual in every family has one thing in common: they give people a sense of belonging. For children, learning rituals that lead to a sense of belonging is vital to ensure happiness later in life. When the child matures, he or she can even remember some family trdition, however silly it may seem, and feel that he or she belonged to that family.

Types of Conclusions

(continued)

Life is not a lesson that can be learned through television. Television only presents images, not reality, and children can only learn to live reality if they live in it.

Writing Conclusions

Characteristics of a Good Conclusion

A conclusion should:

• Stress the importance of the thesis statement,

• Give the essay a sense of completeness, and

• Leave a final impression on the reader.

Writing Conclusions

Pithy Things to Remember

Don't depend on your conclusion to sum up the body paragraphs. Your paragraphs should flow naturally into one another and connections should be made among them. Summary can be an important function of conclusions but keep this part brief; readers know what they've just read.

Writing Conclusions

Pithy Things to Remember

Don't simply regurgitate your introduction. Try to talk about your topic in a new way now that you've presented all that you have about it.

Writing Conclusions

Pithy Things to Remember

Point out the importance, the implications of what you've just said, or what is at stake.

Writing Conclusions

Pithy Things to Remember

For analytical papers in particular, you could mention the lack of conclusion in the field. This demonstrates that you understand the complexity of the subject matter.

Writing Conclusions

Pithy Things to Remember

Don't end your conclusion with a quotation or with a statement that could very well be the subject of another paper. The former deflects attention away from you as writer and thinker; the latter deflects attention from what you're saying in your paper.

Teaching Conclusions

When is a good time to think about conclusions?

After the second or third draft. At this point your ideas should be clear enough for you to see the natural conclusion.

Teaching Conclusions

How do I help my students?

Basic information about the characteristics and conventions of conclusions is good and useful; however, the best thing you can do is teach your students how to think.

Next Lesson:

Conducting Research