An integral part of any academic paper is the conclusion. Given that it’s the source of any lasting impressions you leave your reader with, learning how to write a conclusion can set your paper apart from others.

Generally, the conclusion is where you should effectively summarize your findings and communicate to your readers the outcomes and implications of your thesis results.

However, conclusions can cause issues for authors. That’s because there’s no specific formula for writing an effective conclusion. What you write in your conclusion will largely depend on the aims of your thesis and what your research uncovered in the process of writing.

Despite the difficulties, there are certain tips to keep in mind to aid you. Here, we’ll show you how to write a conclusion for your academic paper.

Summarize without restating

The main purpose of writing a conclusion is to summarize your findings. An effective conclusion looks back at the main points and observations from a paper and presents them in a way that either supports or challenges the original thesis.

However, many authors fall into the trap of simply restating previous points and observations in their conclusion. Knowing how to write a conclusion involves avoiding repeating yourself. Instead, legitimize the points made within the paper. What are your findings uncovering or suggesting?

Synthesize these findings into a larger picture. Consider the implications of your research for future investigations within your subject area (and beyond).

Situate your research within an academic context

This brings us to the next point. Your conclusion must situate your research within an academic context.

Your research isn’t formulated in a vacuum. It’s more than likely that in preparation for your paper, you consulted and critiqued previously published research covering similar or adjacent issues to those considered in your own thesis. Situate your research within this academic context. What does your new research offer, and why is it necessary now?

With this in mind, your research should address previous issues and developments within your subject area while also aiming to advance the knowledge base within said area.

Avoid introducing new ideas

Learning how to write a good conclusion is all about aiming for clarity. One thing to avoid when writing your conclusion is to introduce any new ideas. You should only be addressing those already used in the main body of your paper.

Introducing new ideas into your paper leads to confusion. Any new theories or arguments would require explanation, something that the limited word count of your conclusion can’t afford to accommodate.

It would also create a sense of uncertainty in your reader. If you’re suddenly introducing new ideas out of nowhere, the reader may get the impression that you’re uncertain of your own argument. Stick to effectively summarizing what the main body of your research paper already covers.

Propose future directions

While you should avoid introducing new ideas when writing your conclusion, you should certainly aim to propose future research directions based on your findings.

Your thesis may have identified gaps in existing knowledge and attempted to address them. However, not everything is within the scope of your thesis. What you can do is collect and analyze any data or findings from your research and suggest further recommendations within your field. This may look like proposing alternative research methods or ways to build upon your own findings, inviting future researchers to engage with your work constructively.

Remember the 10% rule

The framework of a conclusion can often deceive authors into funneling as much information as possible into the end of their paper. However, authors should aim to highlight only the necessary points in their conclusion.

A good way to ensure being as concise as possible is to remember the 10% rule. The length of your conclusion, just like the length of your introduction, should be around 10% of the total word count of your research paper.

A good tip would be to copy and paste your introduction above your conclusion while writing. This way, you can easily compare the lengths of each while reminding yourself of your initial research angle and how it may have evolved by your conclusion.

Staying on course with your conclusion

As mentioned, knowing how to write a conclusion can be tricky. There is no specific way to do it, but these tips will help you stay on course as you conclude your research paper.

Remember that by the time you get to the conclusion, most of the hard work has already been done. Stay within the boundaries of your paper and its findings as you discuss the implications of your research and possible ways forward.

Feel comfortable knowing how to write a good conclusion for an academic paper? Try our article on writing good introductions next. To improve your academic writing beyond conclusions and introductions, check out our 5 basic tips for better writing.