We've all watched a film or read a book which has ended and we've thought 'what the fudge? I don't understand'; that's because it's inconclusive. Great film examples include: The Ides of March, No Country for Old Men, Inception and of course, most notably, the original The Italian Job, which quite literally leaves the viewer on a cliff hanger! The audience can be left feeling a little cheated out of their time and money, and whilst in film this can be excused by artistic licence, in a piece of academic writing there is no artistic license. The conclusion should do just that - conclude.
It's tricky to tell you exactly what to put in your conclusion as each one it totally different dependant on your essay, however, we can tell you the DOs and DON'Ts:
Do:
- Keep it brief
- Summarise your key points: 'By considering x, y and z, this analysis has demonstrated a, b and c'
- Restate your argument so that it's clear in both yours and your readers head
- Refer back to your fabulous introduction (see previous post); the conclusion should be a reflection of your intro
- Check that all of the facts/statements in your conclusion have been fully explained in your essay.
Don't:
- Waffle on
- Surprise your reader with a new and interesting point, it's not a case of 'save the best till last'. The reader does not want an 'Ah Ha' moment similar to the one the viewer gets in Sixth Sense
- Give up and write 'The End'.
We realise that all this sounds really easy and pretty obvious, but that's the point, it is. You basically want to tell the reader what you have discovered, or highlight that x, y and z have proved your argument.
Here is an example of a good conclusion, it complements the In Bruges critical analysis introduction in the previous blog:
The writer has started their conclusion by listing the texts which were discussed in the body of the essay, they have then summarised what this means, thus providing the reader with a 'so what?' In the second half of their conclusion they have clearly restated the argument and, therefore what they proved: 'McDonagh has gone to great lengths...'. There is no surprise to the reader here and they go away fully understanding what the paper was about, it ends where is began.
In In Bruges McDonagh makes direct connections to The Pillowman, Don’t Look Now and The Dumb Waiter, and acknowledges Taxi Driver and Departed amongst others; King describes these references ‘as giving a “nod of the head” to the earlier film(s)’ (2011, p.141). However, the continual intertextuality seen here raises the question: Can anything be truly original? As Barthes said, 'the text is a tissue of quotations drawn from innumerable centres of culture’ (1977, p.146), suggesting the possibility that books and scripts are palimpsests, layered and interwoven from other texts in order to create meaning; this is true of In Bruges. McDonagh has gone to great lengths to interweave numerous intertextual references; this not only helps the reader to understand the blur between fantasy and reality, but also enhances McDonagh’s main concern: that violent fiction will lead to more violent fiction, which will ultimately lead to a violent reality.
By listing the DOs and DON'Ts of writing a conclusion and briefly analysing a real example of a conclusion, it should now be apparent what you need to include and what you should steer clear of.
Wait for it.... Here comes the blatant plug!
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