Five Tips to Write a Good Conclusion to Your Work

Susan Johnston reports:

"Many writers...find it agonizingly hard to write strong endings because there’s so much at stake. We want to leave readers with a poignant, thought-provoking conclusion, but we also don’t want it to read too trite or corny...If you’re using a quote, make sure it’s a good one. In addition to relaying information, it should impart humor and/or wisdom and also be broad enough to sum up the rest of the article. Writing a great conclusion can be as simple as using a quip!...Humor is hard, so if it doesn’t come naturally to you, don’t force it...[Referring back to the introduction] creates a nice sense of completeness and unity...Rounding back to the beginning is a great way to write a conclusion...Many writers tend to over-write their conclusions, so often you’ll find that once you take a stab at it, you can go back and delete several sentences without losing any of the meaning. It will feel like you’ve come to a natural conclusion...[S]tep away from the computer and do something else. You’ll come up with a good ending when you’re on the treadmill or at the grocery store or some other place when you’re not expecting it. That way your conclusion will come to you organically instead of forcing it out."