A research paper is a serious academic work in the life of every student, as it demonstrates the academic accomplishments, skills, and abilities gained throughout the years of studying. Despite the fact that some may suspiciously treat the serious approach towards writing a research paper, it actually summarizes such skills as:
- Communication
- Research
- Writing
- Analysis
- Knowledge of a specific field of knowledge
As a rule, a research paper is often longer than a regular essay, thus it will definitely include more than one page. However, apart from meeting the word count requirements, it is crucial to stick to the requested formatting style (whether it’s APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard).
As you know, the introduction is always considered as the most important part of any paper, as it contains the “hook” or the “attention grabber,” on which it greatly depends whether readers will want to continue reading your paper. Still, the conclusion is as much important.
We have gathered a list of tips helping you in writing a good conclusion:
#1. Start with the thesis statement
Re-state your thesis at the end of your paper. You might be confused here, as actually, you have already mentioned the thesis statement in the introduction. And yes, you are perfectly right, but the thing here is that you begin your conclusion with a thesis that serves as a reminder to your readers what and why you were discussing. You might re-state your thesis either as the first sentence of your conclusion or at the very end of the entire research paper.
#2. Summarize the aspects that have been discussed
Just for you to make clear: providing a summary is not the same as rewriting parts of your paper, but in brief. Mind that the conclusion should not occupy more than 10% of your research. If there is some question raised in the introduction, make sure that it is answered in the conclusion. Do not leave any topics open for discussion. To make sure that you have logically completed any discussion topic, check on the following:
- Look through the topic sentences of each paper section/ body paragraph;
- Do not introduce any new information in the conclusion;
- Try to make the conclusion as brief and succinct as possible.
#3. Provide a call to action
To provide a successful research paper, make sure to include a call to action in your conclusion. This CTA refers to representing the evidence that will arouse interest to continue researching the problem further after reading your findings. In other words, when writing a research paper, make sure you will have something to motivate your readers to continue the research. You can either pose a question or provide some kind of a suggestion at the end. However, ending your paper with an open question is not a preferable choice.
All in all, additionally to all the above-mentioned tips, make sure you do not cram your conclusion with clichéd phrases. Another hint for you is to change the general tone of writing and return to the one you started your introduction with.
