RESEARCH ESSAY

Conclusions

Consider how you want to leave your audience. Be aware that your conclusion will be the last thing your audience reads.

→ Do you think it will be more effective to end on a sobering note?

→ Do you think it will be more effective to end on a hopeful note?

Possible Strategies

1. Restate the essay’s main idea in a fresh way.

2. Open up your essay to a larger context. You only had several pages to discuss a big ethical problem which almost certainly has broader implications. Briefly discuss what your paper did not touch on and point to aspects of the problem beyond the scope of your paper. What other work not mentioned in the paper needs to be done? Is there a need for more research?

3. Introduce rhetorical questions to challenge your audience thinking on the topic.

4. What will happen if this ethical problem persists?

5. What can be expected if the problem receives attention? How will things improve if your proposed solutions are implemented?