If you think that it does not matter how to end a research paper, you are wrong. A conclusion to a research paper is actually a very important part which value is often underestimated. A good conclusion is as critical for the major impression of your paper as the well-written introduction. So take your time and give a lot of thought into writing it, using our tips.
- Do not Take It Lightly. It is very important to word your conclusion properly to help the reader better understand your point. If it is the end of your paper, it does not mean that you should put less effort into it. What you need to do is to wrap up all the points of your paper and come to a logical ending.
- Restate Your Thesis. Restatement of your thesis is a crucial part of your conclusion. When you rewrite your thesis, remember that you should do it without changing the main point.
- Add More Thesis Information. If when writing your introduction you only stated your thesis, writing your conclusion you should also add some facts you have found out while writing the paper. It will help you support your thesis and add more value to it.
- Highlight Key Points. Remember that you should not only list the points that support your thesis. State them in a way that will make them readable and interesting for the reader. It is important to keep your readers engaged throughout the paper and avoid making them bored offering a generic list of data.
- Do not Add New Facts. All the new facts should be added in the main body of your research paper. Do not add any of them in the conclusion.
- Wrap It Up. Considering all the above-mentioned recommendations, you might think that writing a conclusion is all about restating a thesis. But it is actually more than that. Your conclusion should also wrap up all the main points of your paper and connect them altogether. Remember to summarize the way you collected the data and proved your thesis.
- Avoid Generic Phrases. It is better to avoid using such phrases as “In summary,” “In conclusion,” and so on. You might think that they work well at beginning your conclusion, but actually they do not add any value to your writing. So do not use them if you do not want to reduce the quality of your work.
Now you know that conclusion is an important part of your research paper. Do not forget about it and remember all the recommendations given above. Pay attention to all these details and your paper will be perfect from the beginning to the end.