Four moves that work
- Answer: restate the thesis in sharper terms than the introduction could
- Synthesis: show how the main points fit together, rather than listing them
- So what: state the implication - for practice, policy, interpretation or further research
- Limit: acknowledge the boundary of the claim, which strengthens rather than weakens it
Example of a rewrite
Weak: In conclusion, this essay discussed three causes of the crisis and showed that regulation mattered.
Stronger: Read together, the three failures point the same direction: the incentives were legal. That reframes reform as a question of rule design rather than of individual misconduct, and it explains why post-crisis prosecutions changed so little.Keep these out
- New evidence or a new citation that the body never discussed
- Apologies for what the paper did not cover
- A quotation doing the work your own sentence should do
- Wording copied from the introduction
Length and placement
Roughly 5 to 10 percent of the word count. In lab reports and technical papers, the conclusion is often shorter still and follows a separate discussion section that already handled interpretation.
Key takeaways
- Answer, synthesise, state the implication, name the limit
- Do not introduce new evidence at the end
- Sharpen the thesis rather than repeating it verbatim
- Aim for 5 to 10 percent of the total word count