Level 3 Conclusion Writing Short Text At Level 2 you could, to an extent, get away with a fairly light conclusion

n so long as your paragraphs were strong. This isnt so much the case at Level 2 you need to be seen to be making a concerted effort to use the conclusion to authentically conclude your argument. This means a return to the thesis and a desire to bring together all youve discussed to reflect on how what youve brought to the analysis allows you to conclude that your thesis is true. This means there should be: - Some recap of the main points. This should be framed as a re-cap in connection to the thesis itself. Ideally, youre looking to re-phrase/summarise around how the points youve made prove your argument. - Clear connection back into the topic. Again, look to bring the thinking that youve developed across the essay back in, this time in relation to the topic itself. - Some final reflection on the argument itself. Some thinking about the value of the exploration youve done in the essay. How is new knowledge formed? How are you affected as a reader? To what extent are the authors successful in their work? What are implications of your analysis, especially in terms of the ongoing impact on the reader?

Example This conclusion imagines that I have responded the following topic and that the following thesis has been argued throughout: Short story writers shy away from presenting works that are difficult and dark. To what extent do you agree with this view? I would argue that Ford confronts the difficult complexity of existence, exposing its bleak, dark nature because he wants to create world that represents the truth of the modern human condition. As can be seen across both Fords and Carvers work, there is never any desire to shy away from difficulty and darkness. Fords Rock Springs gives us Earl, a character who drifts, suffers from endless uncertainty and who seems to have no control over his own existence. He is much the same as the lead character he gives us in Great Falls. Jackie watches as everything he was once certain of is stripped away from him, leaving him alienated and marginalized in his existence. Both characters come to represent Fords attitude towards the modern condition his belief that it is defined by alienation. Yet when placed next to Carver, Ford seems a light touch. Carver alienates the reader by giving them only sparse outlines at best, forcing the reader to experience the alienation that Ford simply demands we reflect on. While Carvers The Bath is certainly bleaker, both authors leave the reader in a dark place, a place without purpose, without easy meaning, and ultimately in a place where existence lacks immediate significance. Yet I doubt either Ford or Carver would have it any other way, for this is how they see the modern condition, and the value of their writing is that allows us to confront this very darkness, this very difficulty, rather than live a lie by hiding from it. As I finish writing this, I realize that this may not be an ideal example, mainly because this conclusion assumes Ive only talked about character across the entire essay. Its important that you are talking about a range of techniques throughout your whole essay. However, Im leaving it as it is because the structure of the conclusion is what is important in this document. Keep that in mind though, that you should never end up with a conclusion that references only one technique.
Stuart Henderson 27/3/12 8:48 PM Comment [1]: Connection back into the topic. Stuart Henderson 27/3/12 8:46 PM Comment [2]: This would be a re-cap of paragraph one simple connection to story and main point of the use of character. Stuart Henderson 27/3/12 8:47 PM Comment [3]: Re-cap of paragraph two the use of character in Great Falls. Stuart Henderson 27/3/12 8:47 PM Comment [4]: A re-cap of the third integrated paragraph. The assumption here is that Ive talk about the way character is used differently across the three texts. Stuart Henderson 27/3/12 8:48 PM Comment [5]: Connecting again to the topic, with some relevance to the thesis. Stuart Henderson 27/3/12 8:50 PM Comment [6]: I final flourish that offers a little of my personal opinion, some connection to the topic, a connection to the thesis and a little bit of thinking about why engaging with the texts has been valuable (it allows me to live more truthfully by confronting the truth of the modern condition).