Linking the Conclusion to the Title

Linking the Conclusion to the Title

The conclusion is typically the last paragraph of the essay that you will write.  While many writers construct their body paragraphs, then their introduction and conclusion paragraphs, you can write them in any order along the writing process, as long as they end up in the correct order at the end and are all working toward the same outcome: asserting your thesis over and over through different sources, details, and analyses of the topic. 

When you do finish your conclusion, it is that last sentence of this last paragraph that you need to think through—as if you were the reader—and ask yourself, what would send the reader away from this writing with the most impact and longest lasting results. 

The last sentence of a conclusion is the only place in a conclusion paragraph where you can use source materials.  However, the source material you use will not be statistics or additional proof of the reliability of your thesis.  The source material—if you so choose to use source material there—would be something that tugs deep into the reader, pulling all your content into one big, beautiful bow.  This last sentence exists as a culmination of your hard work as a writer.  Many writers use a famous quote—whether from a leader on the topic, a political giant or from the Bible—to tie this bow to seal the deal with the reader, securing the writing in a perfect package.

The title of your essay will come from the content of that last sentence of that last paragraph of your essay.  Just as there is a specific format for each style of paragraph (introduction, body, or conclusion) to serve the purpose of predictability in the process of moving through the paper, so too is there a specific rhyme and reason to a title. 

• Your title should intrigue and possibly perplex the reader—like a mystery
• Yet when the reader gets to the last line of your writing, the words echo the feeling and content of the title which so long ago started the reading journey. 
• A well-crafted title produces a feeling of closure and completion for the reader.

Therefore, look to the conclusion information section in this website to learn the different strategies for concluding the conclusion paragraph of your essay.  Choose this statement wisely, for it is from this last line that you will take three or four words and construct a title that is sure to get your ‘foot in the door’ of your audiences’ minds.

[Return to Title Guidelines page]

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