Conclusions
The conclusion is an opportunity to summarise what you've achieved in the body of the essay. It is where you bring together all of the strands of argument, refer back to the topic, and draw conclusions in a balanced and reasonable tone. The conclusion should not offer any new material, nor should it simply repeat the introduction. It should make the reader feel satisfied that a well-presented, well-researched and well-argued position has been reached. Three key components of a solid conclusion include:
- the significance of your findings or the implications of your conclusion;
- whether there are other factors in need of examination that were outside the scope of the essay;
- what future research you would like to suggest needs to be undertaken.
Following is a sample conclusion that matches the sample introduction, with key elements identified in the right hand column:
| The comparative analysis across industry sectors in this essay indicates that for the agricultural sector in particular, economic viability can only be maintained when assistance is offered at a variety of levels. | (Revisiting major themes of the essay. Restatement of thesis statement.) |
| Further, as the economic crisis of 82/83 shows, target-specific assistance is an extremely successful crisis-management tool. | (Restatement of indicated conclusion.) |
| To claim that industry assistance should be abandoned because it is 'complex' and 'problematic' therefore, fails to acknowledge the substantial benefits that the scheme has delivered over recent decades. | (Reference back to the question.) |
| Indeed, while more needs to be done to address the complex problems associated with the various assistance initiatives, the advantages of target-specific measures are a promising benchmark for future enterprise. | (Suggested future research.) |
