Definition: The concluding paragraph in any form of writing is key. Along with the introduction, it acts as a frame for the ideas presented in the body of writing (“Conclusions”). An effective conclusion should reiterate your main idea without simply repeating it (Hacker 16). It may also point to a larger conclusion (beyond just the paper you are concluding) and suggest an implication or idea for further exploration (Harvey 83).

History: The use of the noun conclusion, meaning the end, close, or termination, was first used in 1382 (“Conclusion”), although there is little information to be found about the history of the concluding paragraph itself. This is most likely due to the fact that it is simply logical to summarize the argument of an essay in order to echo one’s purpose and inspire the reader.

Examples:

This example ends an essay about the social skills of bartending:

If someone were to approach me one day looking for the secret to running a good bar, I suppose I would offer the following advice: Get your customers to pour out their ideas at a greater rate than you pour out the liquor. You will both win in the end.
-Kathleen Lewis (Hacker 17)

Notice that this conclusion neither restates the thesis verbatim nor dully repeats the main point in the essay.

A memorable conclusion may include an image, a quotation, a small piece of dialogue, an anecdote, or a humorous, witty, or ironic comment (17)

As it turns out, I am the only passenger on the mail boat at this time. I stash my gear in a tiny cabin and later recall something Percy had told me after our lobster dive as we waded ashore under the lavish Bahamian sun. “Think about what kind of world we’d have if every kid on the planet could grow up on an island like this. There’d be no more violence, mon. No more hatred. Just love for everybody. A big, big, love.”
If only Ragged Island could gobble up the rest of the world, in other words, instead of sliding slowly in the opposite direction. We could all be stranded together. Marooned as a way of life. The world would be one big island.
And we wouldn’t need mail boats anymore. (Tidwell 1999, E8) (Harvey 84)

Another idea for ending your essay is by “closing the circle” (Harvey 83). When closing the circle, you should return to an example or story that was used in the introduction (83). By repeating something from your introduction in your conclusion, it suggests to the reader that you have been tracking your argument and that they should do the same (83). The following is an example of closing the circle from a paper on Shakespeare’s Coriolanus:

Introduction:
“Boy of tears,” Aufidius taunts the roman general Coriolanus near the end of Shakespeare’s play (5.6.100), and the vehemence of Coriolanus’ response suggests that Aufidius has hit the mark: there is something childish and sad about this fiercely proud warrior.

Conclusion:
By the end, Coriolanus has thrown away not only his old identity but his new one as well. The “boy of tears” is left with only his immature fury and sullen isolation. His final act of mercy leads not only to reconciliation but to further suffering, loss, and death. (83-84)