How to Conclude a Research Paper the Right Way

Many students experience writing fatigue as they approach the end of writing a research paper. It may seem as if the bulk of your content is already in the body paragraphs and that the conclusion is the perfect spot to insert fluff to up your word count. It is not.  

The conclusion of your paper allows you to demonstrate a deeper understanding of your research findings. The conclusion is not designed to be a summary of the paper itself, but a synthesis of your findings. When figuring out how to conclude a research paper, remember that your conclusion is a synopsis of your thoughts from the entire paper. 

Conclusion Paragraph Framework 

A research paper’s introduction should follow a pyramid writing structure. It should present broad information as the base and narrow into a concise thesis statement.

For your conclusion, you should consider writing in an inverted pyramid style. This writing style can improve your writing comprehension.

To begin, you will start narrow by reintroducing your thesis and topic. By providing key analytical points, you then build-out. The final piece of your conclusion should be the implications of your findings. 

This writing framework will allow you to be concise and showcase the support for your findings. 

How to Conclude a Research Paper

Your research paper’s conclusion should not only concisely present your findings but it should show why your research matters as well. Conclusions are a way to present final analytical thoughts given all of the evidence presented.

When writing a research paper, keep these tips in mind when finalizing your thoughts in the conclusion. 

Introduce Your Conclusion

Start your conclusion with an affirmative finding. A strong sentence that’s content has been supported throughout your body paragraphs will help to make your messaging concise.

By starting with a finding or revisiting your topic you can write a dynamic conclusion that is not bogged down by basic transitions. This is the perfect way to restate your research topic, it helps to tie the entire paper together. 

Transition words are important throughout an essay to help guide a subject change or introduce new information.

Your conclusion should not begin with a generic transitionary phrase. Transitions like “In conclusion” or ” Finally” can weaken your conclusion paragraph. 

Restate Your Thesis 

When starting your conclusion you want to reintroduce your topic and restate your thesis. When restating your thesis, you do not want to copy and paste from your introductory paragraph. It needs to convey the same point with different phrasing. 

Reshaping your thesis can be difficult. Typically, your thesis has been ingrained into your brain, as written.

Rather than trying to generate a new writing style or perspective, rephrase your thesis statement you can flip your topic and your claim. Don’t change the order of the main points cited in your thesis because that can confuse a reader and mess up the structure of the paper. 

Summarize Your Main Points

Your conclusion paragraph should not be a summary of the research paper. Instead, it should tie together all of the key relevant facts and arguments presented to reinforce your findings. 

Before writing your conclusion, review your paper so far. This is a great time to go through and make some edits but also allows you to review your argument and consolidate your main points. A good way to find these main points is to review your paper and find the topic sentences in each body paragraph.

It is important to only draw from your body paragraphs and research presented because your conclusion should not introduce new information. Rather, it should share how the information presented can be tied together. 

Do Not Be Redundant 

Your conclusion is not a place to copy and paste topics and findings presented in your body paragraphs. To not be redundant, you need to present an underlying analysis of the main points you are highlighting.

To avoid redundancy in your writing try to avoid using the following: 

• redundant phrases, such as “end result” 
• double negatives, such as “not insignificant”
• transitions for redundancy, such as “due to the fact”

It is difficult to avoid these when writing, so during the editorial process, you can eliminate these from your body paragraphs. During your read through you can work on pulling key points to form a new perspective for your conclusion. 

State the Significance of Your Findings

The end of your conclusion is where you want to the impact of your research. You can discuss the real-world implications of your findings and provide a new approach to looking at your research topic. 

You can also provide a call to action in your conclusion. Given the impact of your findings, you can provide a charge, if appropriate, for readers to learn more or get engaged. 

Make Your Conclusion Leave a Mark 

Your research paper’s introduction should be enticing and make a reader want to learn. However, even after you have presented all of your findings, your conclusion should be where you leave an impact. 

Learning how to conclude a research paper can elevate your quality of writing. By writing a strong conclusion, you are reminding the reader of the key takeaways from your research. Your conclusion enables you to give the reader a final overview of your findings and challenge them to look at your research from a new perspective. 

You must look at writing conclusions as a final opportunity to engage and expand the knowledge of readers. Get connected additional tips on enhancing the quality of your papers.