The educational value of a compare and contrast essay is high because it helps students learn how to organize information, reveal something new about the subjects under the study, and make things comprehensible and interesting. Generally speaking, comparing and contrasting is the most natural form of critical thinking, which results in a comprehensive final paragraph. The following guidelines are designed to help students compose decent conclusions for their papers.
A good conclusion is something that you leave your reader with. In other words, this is your chance to make a positive final impression. It closes your paper and shows that you have proven your thesis statement. The readers should understand that you have accomplished what you intended to do and found out something interesting about the topic.
To close your essay in a proper manner, learn the vital characteristics of a qualitative conclusion:
- This piece of writing is the opposite of the introduction.
- It begins specific and moves to general.
- Your conclusion brings only the key points to the readers.
- The thesis statement is provided with fresh and deeper perspective instead of being simply rephrased.
- You should not bring up new ideas and facts in your conclusion.
- Supporting sentences should summarize the main points from your body paragraphs.
- A closing sentence should provide the readers with a sense of closure.
- You should demonstrate the importance of your findings.
- It’s recommended to end on a positive note.
Writing Your Paper Conclusion: Effective Strategies
Some concluding strategies do not work in compare and contrast writing while the others will help you prepare a piece of writing that will make your readers glad that they have read your work. So, try one of the useful strategies described below:
- Answer the “So What?” question.
- Write a qualitative summary.
- Include a course of action.
In your conclusion, answer why other people should care about the similarities and differences that you have examined in your paper. Address the arguments of those readers who may find your essay boring or unconvincing.
This strategy works just fine for a compare and contrast writing. You should sum up all the ideas and write in two or three sentences about something that makes the compared subjects different or vice versa.
After you pull everything together, propose your readers a course of action, e.g. describe what may happen to the subjects under study later: whether they will become more similar or different.