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Writing a Killer Conclusion 13295 Views


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Description:

Conclusions are key. Without them, we feel incomplete, unfinished, and lonely. Okay, that might be a little dramatic, but you get the idea: everything worth telling deserves a conclusion. Don't you agree?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

Edited at https://subtitletools.com

00:07

Writing a Killer Conclusion, a la Shmoop. How much would you enjoy Iron Man if you never

00:14

found out whether or not Tony Stark got the baddie? [Iron many and 'the baddie' appear on screen]

00:19

Imagine how unsatisfied you'd feel if every episode of your favorite sitcom ended at the

00:25

20-minute mark. [tv show gets cut short]

00:26

Or how frustrated you'd be if we never even finished this...

00:32

...sentence. Conclusions are key. Without them, a story

00:34

or essay flops and flounders. [fish flops onto screen]

00:36

Everything worth telling deserves a well-conceived ending.

00:40

Even our own lives will eventually have a conclusion. [guy waves then turn into tomb stone]

00:42

We just have to cross our fingers and hope there's going to be a sequel. [guy sprouts wing and flies up from tombstone]

00:48

Okay, so you're reading an essay that someone wrote, and blam... no conclusion.

00:52

Immediately, you probably ask yourself:

00:55

"So what? Why in the world did I just read all of this stuff? What's the point, or what's

01:00

the moral of the story? And why am I asking all of these questions out loud?"

01:05

We can't help you with the last one. Maybe you just like the sound of your own voice.

01:09

But as for the rest of it... it makes sense you'd be irritated.

01:13

You just invested a lot of time and energy into reading something, and no one is coming

01:16

along to suggest what you should think of it, and why. [girl reading book is annoyed]

01:20

What are you supposed to do... think on your own? [laptop with search engine appears]

01:23

But honestly, when you provide a thought-provoking conclusion, it's not like you're encouraging

01:28

laziness on the part of the reader.

01:30

The conclusion is merely your last chance to get the reader to see your side of the

01:35

argument...[owl looking at you funny]

01:35

...and hopefully to agree with you. So... how do you accomplish that... aside

01:39

from offering a monetary incentive? [girl gets offered money]

01:42

You need to pull out all the stops... appeal to the reader's emotions... introduce a twist... [lots of stop signs, puppies and a guy dancing]

01:47

basically, whatever it takes.

01:48

As long as it's legal. Because an argument essay will frequently

01:52

be presenting a problem of some kind...

01:55

...a conclusion is a good place to offer a solution.

01:58

Sure, oil spills may be increasing in frequency...[people cleaning up oil spill on beach]

02:02

...but it would certainly be less of a downer if you had an idea or two about how to prevent

02:07

such tragedies from occurring. However, you have to be careful not to introduce

02:12

a major point and then leave it undeveloped within your conclusion.

02:16

That's sort of like saying to your parents on the way out of the house, "Oh, by the way,

02:19

I wrecked the car last night. Toodles!" [guy waves goodbye to parents while wrecked car appears]

02:22

Chances are, that little snippet is going to leave your audience... wanting to hear

02:26

more. Think about the below questions any time you're

02:29

nearing the end of an essay.

02:30

Pick at least one, and make that the subject of your conclusion...

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"What is an interesting, original way to restate my main points?"

02:40

It's been a while since the beginning of your paper... remind your reader why they're here

02:44

in the first place. [doc looks at patient wondering how they got injured]

02:46

Explain how the preceding points help to support that main idea...

02:50

...and hopefully your reader will now look at things in a slightly... or drastically...

02:54

different way. "What's important or interesting about the

02:58

points I've made?"

03:00

There must be some reason you chose to write about... whatever you chose to write about.

03:05

Let your interest and passion in the subject matter shine through...

03:08

Make your reader understand why they should care. [guy with heart shaped eyes and a cat]

03:12

"What can readers take away from my essay that is useful, or that might shed light on

03:18

their own lives or the world around them?"

03:22

People will always pay more attention to something if it is made personal to them.

03:27

Someone may not give two hoots about the dwindling barn owl population...[barn own falls dead from tree]

03:31

...but if the reader is informed that barn owls are the only creatures that know the

03:35

meaning of life...

03:36

...his interest may suddenly be piqued.

03:40

Of course, you don't want to make stuff up just for the sake of intrigue.

03:43

As we all know, barn owls have far more questions than answers.

03:48

"If I'm describing a problem in my paper, what might be a possible solution?"

03:56

You must have some strong feelings on the subject... now's the time to lay it on your

04:00

reader.

04:00

Just how are we going to solve the financial crisis? [Wall St sign behind bars]

04:03

What can we do to prevent further melting of the polar ice caps? [military guy with blow torch melting an iceberg]

04:09

How will we be able to produce 100% edible sneakers? [sneaker flies into guy's mouth]

04:13

Whatever your tactic, make sure that you are passionate, engaging, and knowledgeable.

04:17

And whatever you do, don't skip the conclusion.

04:21

It's as unsatisfying for

04:44

a reader as...

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