1. Bringing It All Together AKA How to Write a Conclusion that Actually Concludes

2. What to Include When You Conclude This is your chance to have the last word, the final say on the issues you raised! You can summarize your thoughts, demonstrate the importance of your ideas, or propel your reader to a new view of the subject. Make a good final impression and end on a positive note! Make your readers glad they read your paper. Your conclusion gives your reader something to take away to help them see things differently. It can suggest broader implications that will not only interest your reader, but also enrich your reader’s life. SAY SOMETHING THAT MATTERS!

3. Restating Your Thesis All you want to do here is reword or rephrase your thesis – this way, your reader is reminded of the entirety of your argument at the end of your work. The restatement of your thesis is meant to bring your paper full circle.

4. Example: Thesis: Due to the continually dehumanizing treatment of homosexuals, laws should be enacted that label offenses against lesbian and gay individuals as hate crimes. Restatement of Thesis: Laws that protect people who identify as homosexual by labeling offenses against them as hate crimes would surely prevent the further dehumanization of these afflicted people.

5. Writing an Effective Conclusion Play the “So What” Game: If you’re stuck and feel like your conclusion isn’t saying anything new or interesting, reread it and ask yourself, “So what?” or “Why should anybody care?” Then answer it! Come Full Circle: Return to the theme or themes in the introduction. This strategy brings the reader full circle! Synthesize, Not Summarize: Include a brief summary of the paper’s main points, but don’t simply repeat things that were in your paper. Instead, show your reader how the points you made and the support and examples you used fit together. Pull it all together. Input Some Insight: Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research you did for your paper. The Big Picture: Point to broader implications that could arise from your topic.

6. The Quick Wrap-Up: Do:Don’t: Include a brief summary of the paper's main points. Ask a provocative question. Use a quotation. Evoke a vivid image. Call for some sort of action. End with a warning. Universalize (compare to other situations). Suggest results or consequences. Introduce a new idea or subtopic that’s completely irrelevant to what you were saying throughout your paper. Focus on a minor point in the essay. Conclude with a sentence tacked on to your final point. Apologize for your view by saying such things as "I may not be an expert" or "At least this is my opinion.“

7. MLA Formatting Everyone’s Favorite!

8. Quick Details Use a printed font, such as Times New Roman or Ariel. Use an appropriate font size, like 12. Double-space your work by adjusting the line spacing options. ▫Do NOT add additional spaces to your paper! If you are using Word 2011 or higher, you need to be sure that you click “remove space after paragraph.” ▫There should not be a triple space before or after your title or after each paragraph. Indent each paragraph once by hitting the tab button.

10. Quick Details The top left side of your page should be set up in this order: ▫Name ▫Class ▫Teacher ▫Date formatted as: Day Month Year (26 February 2015) You need a title for your paper at the center, immediately after your headings. ▫Examples:  The Dehumanization of the Homeless  Muslims: Misbehaved or Misunderstood?  The War on Women The top right side of your page should include a header: ▫Last name, Page # ▫Insert > Page Number > Top of Page

11. In-Text Citations Needed for: ▫Quotes ▫Summaries ▫Paraphrasing How To: ▫(Last name of author(s), page number) ▫If your citation is at the end of a sentence, the period goes AFTER the citation. ▫If there is no author, use the title of the work. ▫QUOTES CANNOT STAND ALONE AS THEIR OWN SENTENCE. You need to introduce them. Example: As he begins to see his father as a burden he must bear, Eliezer says, “Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever” (Wiesel, 101).

12. Works Cited Page Each online source should be formatted like this: ▫Last Name of Author, First Name. “Title of Article.” Publisher of Article Date Month Year Published. Web. ▫Example: Iaboni, Rande. “‘Ghetto’ tour of Bronx ended after outrage.” CNN 23 May 2013. Web.

13. If any information is missing (such as the name of the author, in some cases), just skip it! Your citation will begin with the title of the article. Each printed source (such as a book) should be formatted similarly: ▫Last Name of Author, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print. ▫Example: Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. Print.

14. Little Details Your works cited should be on a separate page. At the center of the page, title it Works Cited. If a citation is longer than one line, you should tab over the additional lines one time. Your citations should be in alphabetical order according to the last name of the author.