Writing your concluding paragraph

Writing a good conclusion is tricky! (Just like writing the rest of the essay!) I’ve been reading a lot of conclusions recently and I am trying to put my finger on what makes a good one, which is not an easy job. You shouldn’t just repeat your main points, because the reader has read them already. I think one of the most important things to do is to think about the message that you want to leave the reader with. After all your hard work – so what? What did you discover? What was the point of the essay?

In the last couple of posts I’ve been thinking about this essay title:

“Is the present level of immigration in the United Kingdom beneficial to the country?”

I have come up with this conclusion:

In conclusion, it does seem that there are some very real economic and social benefits to be enjoyed from the number of migrant workers that have come to the UK recently. The strain on public services has been blamed on immigration, however it is the government that has failed to put extra money into these services whilst reaping the rewards of economic growth and greater tax revenues. It is not sustainable to follow an ‘open door’ policy towards European workers without supporting communities to cope with a bigger population. The current level of immigration can only continue to be beneficial if the national and local government respond to the needs of a bigger and more diverse population.

This conclusion is a strong one because:

1. It briefly mentions the strongest points

2. It has a message

3. It suggests a course of action to take in the future

As usual I’d like to leave you with a useful link which has some really good comments (and more links!) about writing conclusions. Today’s link is the online writing workshop from Purdue University.