by: Devon Geary
One of the most important parts of a passage is the conclusion. Conclusions can give the reader a chance to make sure they understood the passage, as the author restates how they connect to the thesis. There are several ways the author can invoke a response from the reader using the conclusion, including using emotion, teaching a lesson, and/or calling the reader to action.
Call the Reader to Action
The author could take the opportunity at the end to ask people to share the post with other people, or they could ask the reader to think about the lesson that was being taught in the post. The author could also encourage an action that helps others. Maybe the post is about the environment, so the author could ask the reader to share the information and commit to recycling and doing things that would help keep the environment safe. They could also ask for comments at the end of the post, to keep in touch with what their readers are interested in.
To Invoke Emotions
The author can use rhetoric to do so. Lessons also apply here because the type of lesson can influence the reader’s emotions. Maybe it’s about how people can get through a rough patch in their life. That can remind readers of something they went through or are currently going through. Key words to use for this include: Joy, fear, anger, ruin, and senseless. Say the passage is about environmentalism again, if the conclusion has the words ruin and senseless in it to describe the damage to the planet, the reader is likely to feel anger or sadness about what’s happening.
Length of the Passage/Genre
It is recommended that the conclusion be about 10% of the overall word count. For an essay, the conclusion may range between a paragraph and even multiple pages, depending upon how much is needed to reach the goal. For an essay conclusion, there could be quotes, questions, implications of studies, and be parallel to the introduction. Remember, do not add a brand-new point into the conclusion. For stories, make sure to wrap up the story in the conclusion. A cliffhanger is fine, but make sure not too much of the plot is left unfinished. The readers need to feel satisfied after reading it. For example, if the characters are solving a mystery throughout the book, then the main mystery should be solved in the conclusion, do not leave that as a cliffhanger. If one wants to leave them with curiosity about the next story, have the villain run away or give hints that there’s another mystery to be solved next time.
Conclusions are a necessary for all types of work, as they summarize the passage, and there are several optional goals, such as invoking emotion, teaching a lesson, and calling for action. A powerful ending can be influential. The last words the author writes to the reader stay with them, its important to get that right.