You did a great job and worked hard when crafting your research paper. Now it’s time to take on another part of your academic work.
Even though it is believed that a conclusion paragraph for a research paper is the most complicated and challenging part of the whole work, let us prove the opposite. It might be hard to put out the paper summary only if you do not know the drill. But once you get an idea of what you should dwell on in this section, the writing process will run smoothly.
So, in this article, we’ll break the conclusion into logical sections and point out some repeated mistakes you should stay away from in your work.
What Stands for a Research Paper Conclusion?
In a nutshell, it is a fragment where you sum up what you have presented in the whole work, but in a condensed fashion. In other words, you should briefly deliver the point of the research paper and show the field for further investigation in relation to the topic.
Even though the initial aim of the conclusion is to summarize the material that has been laid out in the paper, it has some more applications, which involve:
- filter out secondary thoughts and focus on the key takeaways;
- make a lasting impression on the readers of your academic work;
- showcase your analytical and referencing skills;
- stress the importance of your ideas and findings;
- show new routes for the investigation of the problem.
You bring the key ideas of your research paper in one place and make them easy to digest for everyone while pointing out the facets of the topic that are yet to be discovered. So, a research paper conclusion is a sort of a bridge between your academic findings and the previous or future works.
The Strategy to Making Up the Conclusion
There might be different ways of outlining the conclusion resting on the type of research you carry. We’ll provide you with a classic structure that is applicable to most academic works. But if you have doubts whether you are writing your paper piece right, ask your instructor to provide you with feedback or check how to write a conclusion for a research paper example.
Typically, you can build your conclusion according to this scheme:
- Re-introduce the topic in another way.
- Paraphrase the core thesis from the introduction.
- Go through the main arguments.
- Put the topic into a broader context and offer new fields for investigation.
You can also add a call to action at the end of the conclusion if your topic is suitable for that sort of claim. Usually, you can add encouragement to act when you are dealing with the investigation of social or scientific issues. This can be a sentence that calls for additional revisions, investigation, precautions in relation to the subject matter.
To help you get a better understanding of what each of the sections of your conclusion should be delving into, let’s detail them below.
Re-Introduce the Topic in Other Words
Start your conclusion with the restatement of the topic of your research paper. You should also emphasize the importance of the subject considering the current state of the problem.
There are a few things to consider in these terms. Firstly, do not make this section too long. Usually, you can combine the topic and its value in a single sentence. The shorter, the better because you will have other structural elements that will require more space.
Secondly, make this part concise and clear. Add only the most weighty data that is capable of presenting the subject matter in a favorable light.
Paraphrase the Key Statement
The second paragraph should be the restatement of the thesis. Let us remind you that a thesis is a simplified and narrowed view of your research paper, which you then prove with arguments and experiments (if any).
Why should you incorporate this into your conclusion regardless of the fact that the whole paper is dedicated to the research and conformation of your thesis? The answer is simple - because it’s a chance for a reader to zoom back from details to a general picture.
Mind that you should not copy the statement you use in the introduction. Paraphrase it and make it as long as one sentence. In other words, you should find a new verbal way to introduce an old idea you’ve been working on in your research paper. It might be tough, but there is no other way to do it right.
Go Through the Core Arguments
As you’ve shown the general picture of the problem, it’s time to provide the reader with some details. Ideally, you should deliver the summary of every section with some generalized ideas.
The goal of this section is to demonstrate how the statements you elaborated through the work correlate with the thesis. If you have a controversial topic that also has some counterarguments, do add them too.
The main challenge of this conclusion section is to control the depth of the details you provide. Also, you can’t just copy and paste the sentences from your paper body. You’ve got to restate them, just like with any conclusion element.
Besides, you should not present any new arguments that haven't been provided in the body. Just focus on what you’ve done because the conclusion is a summary of the work rather than the place to introduce new concepts and ideas.
Put the Topic Into a Broader Context
Once you have reminded the reader what your research paper was all about, it’s time to discuss the implications of your work.
Point out the key theoretical and practical takeaways the readers should remember from your piece of writing. Also, show the possible research directions that are related to your topic for other scholars.
Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Conclusion
Writing a research paper can be cumbersome, especially when you are doing it for the first time and have no one by your side to give you some handy pieces of advice. This writing experience can become a complete disaster, and you can make numerous mistakes that will decrease the final score for your paper.
We are here to point at the most typical flaws students make when writing a research paper conclusion.
Mismatch of the Objective With the Conclusion
Sometimes the research objectives change as you carry the research and investigate the subject. This is OK, and it happens to many students. However, what many students forget to do is to come back to the introduction section and make it consistent with the findings provided in the conclusion.
Failure to Use Academic Language
An academic language is a hard nut to crack for some young scholars, so they resort to using informal language in their conclusion as well as the rest of the research paper. Be attentive and refine your work so that it sounds professional.
Copying Research Paper Fragments
If you think that the professor who will be checking your paper won’t notice that you’ve copied the paragraphs from the research paper body and added them to the conclusion, you are mistaken. This mistake can lead to a serious score reduction. So, if you want your conclusion to be neat, paraphrase the passages from your paper to avoid any problems.
Being Too Wordy or Defocused
A conclusion is probably the toughest part of the research paper as it is supposed to unite the whole work and present the findings in a short manner.
But students frequently fail to weed out the core ideas of their paper and become too wordy in the conclusion. They also lose focus and forget that their utmost goal is to provide evidence and arguments for the statement.
Starting Too Late
How many lovers or procrastination are out there? If you keep on postponing drafting your findings with a belief that it’s the easiest part of the research paper and you will cope with it in less than an hour, you might be mistaken.
If you start too late, you can be in a hurry and your conclusion will look haphazard and awkward. So make sure you budget enough time to craft a really good conclusion that would convince your teacher that your paper is worth the highest grade.
Still Wondering if There Is an Easier Way?
Students are busy folks. They are constantly struggling with juggling their studies, social life, part-time job, and some time for rest.
At the same time, they realize that some types of tasks are more important than others. Thus, they learn to prioritize and distribute all the assignments effectively. But how do you conclude a research paper if you have no time for this critical element of your academic work?
There is a sound solution - outsource the process of compiling your conclusion to professionals. Our writers will craft a well-structured conclusion based on your work. They will pick the right arguments and ideas from your paper to support the statement. If you are pressed for time but do not want to submit a poor-quality paper summary, turn to our masterful experts for obtaining professional writing assistance.
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