It is harder to give advice on
how to write a conclusion since its function in the essay is less clear-cut
than that of the introduction. The purpose of the conclusion is to 'round
off' the essay, so what counts as 'appropriate' in any situation will depend
very much on exactly what has preceded it. The concluding section of the essay
might or might not involve a summary of the essay’s main points. This can
be a very useful thing to do if the essay’s argument is a relatively complicated
one and you feel the reader would benefit from your re-emphasising the key
ideas you have put forward on the issue being discussed. However, the difficulty
with providing a summary of this kind is that it can make the essay seem repetitive.
The conclusion probably will involve
you stating the overall conclusion or interpretation which you have arrived
at on the subject that you are writing about. For example, if you are being
asked in the essay question to evaluate and agree or disagree with a certain
critical point of view, the final section of your essay should indicate where
you stand in relation to that particular point of view. However, the opinion
that you state here must be rooted firmly in the analysis which has preceded
it, in the main body of the essay. It must be evident to the person reading
the essay how you have arrived at that particular conclusion.
