Paragraphs

The Closing Paragraph

What to put in the closing paragraph
What not to put in the closing paragraph
Five bad examples of re-stating the thesis and their revisions

The job of theclosing paragraph is to re-state the thesis and give a closing thought and/or a specific example or fact. The closing paragraph comes just before your teacher slaps a grade on your paper, soyou want to have a strong ending.

What to put in the closing paragraph :
It must restate the thesis in different words without changing the meaning.
It must give a sense of completion,not just stop.
It may point out the significance or implications of your thesis.
It may summarize the topic sentence pattern—unless you put this in the opening paragraph.
It may offer afinal specific fact, detail, example, statistic, quotation, or contrast.

What not to put in the closing paragraph :
It does not need a topic sentence.
It should not list the topic sentencesword for word.
It should not tell about specific details or examples that you discussed in the paragraphs of development.
Beware of hedging or changing your mind.

Five bad examples ofre-stating the thesis and their revisions :
Thesis A: Unfortunately all this preparation could not prevent a disappointing trip.
Restatement: In conclusion, our trip turned out to be acomplete disaster.
Comment: Do not overstate your thesis. The trip could not have been a complete disaster unless it ended in tragedy.
Revision: We probably learned some valuable lessons aboutplanning a trip, but that did not lift our sour mood on our long drive home.

Thesis B: Smoking is an unwise choice.
Restatement: For all of these reasons, smoking should be outlawed.Comment: Deciding not to smoke and deciding to outlaw smoking for everyone are different arguments. Pick one and stick with it
Revision: If you don’t smoke, don’t start. And if you smoke, quit.