How to Write a Conclusion for Academic Essay or Research Paper


How to Write a Conclusion for Academic Essay or Research Paper

No matter whether you have to write a conclusion for your academic essay, research paper, or term paper, it is the obligatory part of any writing assignment. Students usually break their heads against the wall trying to develop an excellent introduction, but they forget about the importance of making a powerful concluding paragraph. After all, your paper has to leave a positive impression to earn you the highest grade.

This article goes into writing an effective conclusion. In case you want to learn more about the preparation stages, you can read this helpful information.

The Important Role of Conclusion

To make it short, a conclusion is the last paragraph of your academic project. A conclusion of the research paper aims to help the target audience realise why your study matters to the society. It’s something more than a summary of the main points. Also, it is not enough just to restate your thesis statement in the end. It is rather a synthesis of the key points and, if possible, forecasts and recommendations on the given research problem. A writer may advise new fields for further studies. A single paragraph of the conclusion is usually more than enough. A large project may require 2-3 concluding paragraphs. However, you can broaden the ending to:

  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion

Research papers often contain bibliographies and appendix, but it’s different from your conclusion.

Why Write an Effective Conclusion

The ending paragraph of the research paper is like the last chord in your favourite track. It makes it possible for the reader to feel that you proved your main point, so-called thesis. A writer should prove that he supported his point of view successfully, providing enough evidence based on the credible scientific and academic sources. Only by doing so, a researcher can be treated as a trusted scientist/author. The readers will then be more likely to read your next papers. If we talk about college or university, a strong conclusion guarantees a high grade and appreciation from your professor.

A research paper is a way to change one’s mind regarding the particular topic. You can explore some of the best ways to leave strong impressions on your readers in free examples of essays and research papers. It is not that easy, but once you manage to do so, you can feel proud.

The benefits of writing a brilliant summary at the end of your research paper are:

  1. Saying the final word on the problem or question you studied. Summarise main points in the analysis or tell about the unexpected implications of the findings.
  2. Conveying the important role of your research. Place an argument which proves the significance of the topic to the entire community where you’re living.
  3. Defining a gap in the literature. Remind of the information gained from the previous studies. Explain how your findings helped to reduce the gaps like lack of information in those studies.
  4. Stressing how important your ideas are.
  5. Addressing potential ways of approaching the research problem. There is no need to share new information; try to come up with new ideas on possible implementations of your findings.

Writing Research Paper Conclusion in Simple Steps

Restate your thesis statement. For a start, look at the last sentence of your introduction to recall what your main point is about. Then, remind the readers of the purpose of your research paper. Get back to the research question, but do not go into the details: you had a chance to do it in 3-5 paragraphs of the body part.

  • Rewrite your thesis statement. Paraphrase this sentence to make it as unique as possible.
  • Summarise your main points (a.k.a. arguments). There should be up to 3 important arguments supported by the effective evidence grabbed from the selected sources. The purpose of the summary is to prove that you’re an expert in the discussed area by adding professional terms.
  • Make sure to state your ideas clearly and in a concise manner. The final paragraph should not contain too much information, so skip the general phrases. There is no need to address the words of other people in conclusion.
  • The main purpose is to leave a step in the memory of your target reader.
  • Think about some keywords that may help to make your conclusion as persuasive and unforgettable as possible.
  • The final word should be the most powerful part of the entire research paper.
  • Keep an example of well-written academic papers in front of you all the time to use helpful information from them.
  • Once you’re done with your writing, proofread and edit your content. Double-check (revise) the paper from cover to cover! Exclude any English grammar, spelling, or punctuation mistakes to show your overall literacy.
  • You also need to scan the research paper for plagiarism. Even though you may have developed the paper from scratch, still it may contain similarities with other texts on the web. A good academic essay is 100% original!
  • You need to follow one of the writing styles throughout the entire writing process.
  • Examine your final draft, especially conclusion, for logic.
  • Do not forget about the Reference Page!

Important Problems You Should Avoid

When checking your conclusion, follow this guide and try to avoid the following gaps:

  • Inability to stay concise and clear.
  • Failure to provide valuable feedback to larger, more significant problems/questions.
  • Failure to reveal issues and negative outcomes. You should stay objective no matter if your research is a success or failure!
  • Inability to prepare a clear summary of the lessons learned during the research process.
  • Failure to show the correlation between different objectives of the research.
  • Deny the urge to apologise if something goes wrong.

Need Some Effective Help with Your Academic Assignments?

If you find it hard and confusing to write a perfect conclusion for your essay or research paper, there are several ways to solve this problem. Perhaps, the most effective way is to order professional academic help online.  These talented writers and researchers in one face know how to develop the conclusion of any paper so that your readers get the most positive impressions!