A conclusion uses the main points of your assignment to answer the task. It’s usually about 10 per cent of your total word count.

The conclusion is the last thing your marker will read, so it deserves careful attention.

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Essential guidance

 

Drafting your conclusion

 

Try this…

Use the key points from your main body to build one clear answer to the task: this is synthesis. You are synthesising your own points here, just as a literature review synthesises sources. Focus on what your evidence showed or argued, not on the order in which you presented it.

  1. Re-read the main body of your assignment.
  2. Open a new document.
  3. Copy the assignment task or research question at the top.
  4. Set a time limit and a word limit, around 15 minutes and 10 per cent of the total word count.
  5. Write a direct answer to the task based on the key points you remember.

 

The points strongest in your memory are often the most significant. This keeps focus on answering the task rather than summarising the main body.

 

Ask yourself…

Could someone read the task and your conclusion alone and understand your answer? If not, your conclusion is describing your structure rather than your findings.

 

 

What a conclusion does

A strong conclusion:

  • restates the main position or findings in relation to the task
  • identifies the most significant points rather than everything covered
  • shows how those points connect to each other and to the task
  • considers the broader significance or implications of the findings
  • acknowledges where the evidence is incomplete or uncertain

 

It is also acceptable for a conclusion not to reach a firm answer. Not all questions have a clear answer. If that is the case, explain what the evidence does and does not allow you to conclude.

 

 

What a conclusion doesn't do

A strong conclusion does not:

  • introduce new evidence, new sources, or new questions
  • describe the structure of the assignment, for example, "this essay first considered... then examined..."
  • summarise every point covered, section by section
  • overstate the importance or impact of the findings
  • use vague or general statements unrelated to the specific task

 

 

Advanced guidance

This section covers two further approaches to drafting conclusions. It also covers synthesis in more depth. It assumes you have already read the essential guidance above.

 

The thematic approach

  1. Read each paragraph or section of the main body.
  2. Note the key point of each in a few words.
  3. Identify common themes or connections across those points.
  4. Structure the conclusion around those themes rather than the order in which they appeared.

 

This approach often produces stronger synthesis because it focuses on how points connect, not on where they appeared in the main body.

This approach is useful when your main body covers several different angles, sources, or debates. It helps you find the connections between them rather than working through them in order.

 

 

The 'So what?' approach

Once you have a working draft of your conclusion, test it using the 'so what?' approach. For each point you have included, ask: 'So what?' or 'Why does this matter?'

This approach helps you remove points that are present only because they appeared in the main body, rather than because they contribute to the answer.

It also helps you to consider the broader significance of your findings. Ask whether they apply beyond the specific task, in a wider academic or professional context.

 

 

Developing synthesis

Synthesis is more than combining points; it is using them together to make a conclusion that none of them could support alone.

Strong synthesis often involves:

  • showing where sources or ideas agree and what that agreement means for your answer
  • showing where sources or ideas conflict and what that conflict means for your answer
  • drawing a conclusion that acknowledges contradictions or gaps in the evidence

 

If you removed one of your key points and your conclusion would not change, that point may not be genuinely contributing to your synthesis.

 

 

Checklist

  • Have you answered the assignment task or research question directly?
  • Have you focused on the most significant points rather than summarising everything?
  • Have you shown how the key points connect, rather than listing them?
  • Have you avoided introducing new evidence or new questions?
  • Have you considered the broader significance or implications of your findings?
  • Have you acknowledged where the evidence is incomplete or uncertain?
  • If you could not reach a firm conclusion, have you explained why?
  • Have you focused on what your evidence showed or argued, rather than working through your main body section by section?

 

  • If you are writing a report: have you stated the main findings and their interpretation clearly, and noted any recommendations?
  • If you are writing a dissertation or major project: have you confirmed that you fulfilled the aims stated in your introduction, and shown how your thinking developed?

 

 

Page last edited: 22 August 2026
Next review due: 8 August 2029