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Writing your Dissertation Conclusion

by Kirsty Hemsworth on August 17th, 2024 in Skills | 0 Comments

You’re almost there: just the conclusion to go! In your keenness to get your assignment submitted, you hurriedly summarise your work and draw a quick conclusion. It’s as easy at that? 

Not quite! As conclusions are typically written last, students maybe mentally fatigued and don’t have the brain power to write a concise, impactful ending.  Therefore, writing a conclusion can feel quite a challenge, yet it is a critical component that ties your piece of work together and leaves a lasting impact on your reader.  Not surprisingly, writing a good conclusion takes time and practice to craft; conclusions are a necessary component that effectively reinforce your argument and draw closure to your academic work. 

How to write an effective conclusion

So, it’s time to wrap it up. How do we do that effectively? Just like an introduction the conclusion should be approximately 5-10% of the word count. However, often students misconceive the purpose of the conclusion and tend to write overly long paragraphs, introducing new ideas and arguments which don’t belong there. Lack of planning ahead can lend students to struggle to fit a conclusion in within their remaining word count. Similarly, students may be uncertain about what elements to include which can lead to either overly long or too brief a conclusion. They may also find it challenging to shift from the detailed analysis in the main body paragraphs to demonstrating a broader perspective in the conclusion.  

The key to writing a competent conclusion involves strong synthesis skills to enable you to summarise ideas concisely, condensing the main points of the essay succinctly. To avoid rushing the conclusion students should take a step back and think about the final message they want to leave the reader with. This ultimately should have two key messages: a summary of the key messages and be explicitly linked back to the essay question. 

Strategies for writing the conclusion

  • Create a plan which breaks the writing process into smaller and more manageable tasks with a specific deadline to work towards. Be sure to allow sufficient time for each stage of it including research, writing a first draft, revising and writing the conclusion. 
  • Prioritise tasks and identify the most critical aspect of your assignment and focus on those first to ensure you address the most important elements before running out of time 
  • Synthesise as you go: whilst you are writing your assignment, make notes on key points as you go, as this ongoing synthesis makes it easier to craft a robust conclusion. 
  • Set aside dedicated time to write your conclusion and give yourself additional time to revisit and refine your draft to strengthen your arguments. Don’t rush it at the end! 
  • Seek feedback early to get some to get insightful input on work. You could attend a 1-1 appointment with an Academic Skills Advisor or submit your work to Studiosity for feedback. This can help you to identify areas needing more work allowing you to allocate time accordingly. 

Recommended resources

The Manchester Academic Phrasebank includes sentence starters and phrases that you can integrate seamlessly into your conclusion section.

To read sample conclusions and test your knowledge in a series of interactive activities, visit the University of New England's resource on writing conclusions.


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