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How to Write a Concluding Sentence With Punch

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Writing an essay can be dangerous, like getting into a boxing match with a kangaroo.

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Allow us to explain.

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When writing an essay, you're setting up your attack, you're making your move, but

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the whole thing can fall apart if you don't end strongly.

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How do you write a concluding sentence... with a punch?

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Just as a boxing match with a 'roo consists of multiple rounds, your essay consists of

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multiple paragraphs.

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It's important to end some of these with a little jab to the gut, just to get your

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point across and let your opponent... er... reader, know you mean business.

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Anyway, short paragraphs don't need punchy concluding sentences, but longer paragraphs do.

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A great way to conclude a paragraph is to remind readers where you started. If you started

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talking about effects of toxic laundry detergent on the environment, remind your readers of that.

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And say you've spent four or five detailed sentences describing the anatomy of a kangaroo's

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legs. Let your reader know that a kangaroo's legs are for more than just hopping.

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The end of your essay needs a sentence so punchy that it's a "great big honking walloper."

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That's Shmoop-slang meets Australian slang for "total knock out."

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The final sentence should leave your readers' heads spinning.

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Ask yourself, what's the theme of your essay?

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If the point is that animals display human characteristics, such as a love for boxing,

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make sure to focus on that.

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If the point of your essay is that kangaroos bite other boxers' ears off, a la Mike Tyson,

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well... good luck finding citations for that one.

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Whatever your point, you need to lead your reader's thought process in that direction

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by saying something like, "Animals are more like us than we think."

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Your conclusion is a good place to take a step back and analyze something larger.

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How do kangaroos fit into the world? Marsupials might be a small part of the animal kingdom,

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but they're still important.

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Just don't zoom too far out. "Kangaroos are awesome!" might be true, but it's

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a little too vague of a note to end your essay on.

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You can also make a joke, like, "Don't take a kickboxing class with a kangaroo."

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You just have to make sure this fits in with the tone of the rest of your essay. If your

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paper is about kangaroos going extinct and leaving your readers in tears, a humorous

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rim-shot isn't the best note to end on.

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Finally, you can bring your essay full circle.

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Maybe you can make a reference to the title of your essay. Perhaps it's called "Hopping

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Mad" and you get angry when kangaroos and wallabies are confused. Or you can talk about

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how kangaroos are always "Kicking it to the Limit."

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OR maybe you can think of a reference that doesn't sound like the name of an eighties

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dance aerobics class.

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So those are a few ways to write concluding sentences with a punch.

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Take a step back.

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Make a joke.

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Bring your essay full circle.

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And make sure to transition into the ending like the smooth operator that you are.

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After all, while you don't want to telegraph your knockout punch in a title bout, but in

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an essay, it's nice to let your reader know that it's coming.

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