How to Write the Conclusion Chapter of a Thesis

The conclusion marks the final chapter of a thesis or dissertation. It generally gives a summary of the main research results and findings, and restates the answers to the research questions and hypotheses established in the first chapter of the thesis. The nature of the conclusion is determined by the type and nature of research, the research topic, design, and style of the research paper.

Nevertheless, most of these conclusions are meant to review the general lessons learned throughout the thesis, acknowledge weaknesses, and recommendations for future studies. In order to leave the reader with a positive impression and clear understanding of the main ideas explored by the scholar, the conclusion has to be brief and appealing. This article gives information on how to write an effective thesis conclusion.

The Importance of a Conclusion Chapter in a Thesis

Regardless of the discipline, there is always a common purpose served by the conclusion chapter when winding up a thesis. Basically, this chapter should achieve the following:

• Guide the reader into getting an overview of the main objectives, ideas, and findings of a research even without reading the entire thesis.
• It gives answers to the research questions, which were generated during data analysis.
• An effective conclusion portrays excellence in one’s writing skills, ability to think critically, and interpret results logically.
• It acts as the executive summary of the research that gives readers a brief and comprehensive overview of the thesis.
• It gives a reflection on the research, and gives recommendations for further relevant studies on the topic.

Type of Conclusions

The following are the types of conclusion that one can choose depending on their research topic and style of the paper.

1. Summarizing Conclusion

This type of conclusion is the most commonly used and aims at clearly summarizing the overall topic ideas discussed in the thesis. Persuasive essays, problem, and solution-oriented research papers, scientific, and historical thesis are the common types of research papers that require summarizing conclusions.

2. Externalizing Conclusions

Externalizing conclusions inspire readers to think in unique and innovative ways about the implications of the research topic; by offering new ideas that establish off the original topic of research. These ideas may not have been factored in when the research and thesis were being presented.

3. Editorial Conclusion

This type of conclusion mainly applies when dealing with theses that present opinions, humanistic approaches, or controversial material. It involves linking the scholar’s thoughts to the research, the outcomes, or the overall topic of research.

Regardless of the type of conclusion that one is writing, its length should normally range between five and seven percent of the total word count of the thesis. This chapter should be shorter and more general, highlighting comprehensive statements that summarize the most significant perceptions and insights of the research. No new information, analyses, or opinions should be introduced at the conclusion stage of a thesis.

Steps to Follow When Writing a Thesis Conclusion

The process of writing a conclusion for a thesis can be simplified by following the following steps.

1. Restate the Research Problem or Topic

The introductory task of the concluding section of a thesis gives the reader a recap of the problem or topic being researched on. However, one must always avoid repeating or copy-pasting from the statements made at the introduction chapter. Instead, they should come up with an ideal strategy to paraphrase the problem from the details already discussed in the other chapters without sounding redundant.

2. Give a Summary of the Research Paper

After restating the research problem or topic, the next step should involve summarizing how the other chapters of the paper contributed in addressing it and the conclusions drawn from the process. What to summarize at this level is determined by the nature of the research conducted.

If the research paper was argumentative in nature, then the scholar would be required to restate their thesis and arguments stated in the introduction chapter and demonstrate how they have been established throughout the paper. The main arguments and their general role towards proving or refuting the thesis should be briefly summarized.

However, if the research paper was empirical in nature, one should give an overview of the findings without having to go into details. This is because such details have already been presented in the results and discussion chapter, hence including them in the conclusion amounts to unnecessary repetition.

3. Give the Answers to the Research Question

This step gives the last opportunity for one to demonstrate that the thesis achieved the objectives it was meant to. The answers provided for the research question should be clear and concise. It is important to find a way of expressing these them without repeating exactly as stated in the discussion chapter. An excellent strategy to help in avoiding repetition here is simply synthesizing the answers into a final and overall “take-home” message that the readers will easily remember.

4. Summary and Reflection of the Research

This involves reminding the readers about the reasons behind the research approach adopted, and matching the obtained results with one’s expectation from the research. Repetition must be avoided by all means. This is achievable through a reflection of the appropriateness of the adopted methodology in answering the posed research questions, or internalizing any unforeseen perceptions or new queries arising from the process. Being optimistic about one’s research leaves a positive impression on the readers, but this does not mean that limitations should not be acknowledged.

5. Research Contributions and Recommendations for Future Studies

Considering the implications of the research findings on real-life situations and theory, the conclusion section gives an opportunity to forecast and elaborate on possible recommendations for future researchers. These recommendations should be presented as suggestions rather than requirements because the aim of academic researches is to inform, explain, or explore, and not to give instructions.

Furthermore, recommending further research should not imply that one’s research is incomplete or undermine it, but the impression is that, further studies conducted in future might approve, develop, or add into this particular research but not a requirement to make it whole.

The reader should be left with a strong positive impression on the thesis’ knowledge contribution in that particular field. This can be achieved by giving a clear explanation of the role of the research in solving the problem stated at the introduction, demonstrating how the gaps in the literature review have been addressed or discussing how the findings relate with existing theories and hypotheses. At this level, the scholar must always strive to eliminate repetition of what has already been covered in the discussion chapter

6. Finalize the Thesis Writing

Having expressed the main ideas, practical or theoretical situation of the research, the final step should be wrapping up the thesis. Because the research concept is still fresh in the scholar’s mind, this is the best time to write the abstract, arrange the reference list in the correct format, create the title page, and the table of contents.

The process of writing a conclusion would not be deemed complete without editing and proofreading. One may decide to do this themselves, or opt to consult conclusion writing experts who can edit the chapter and make sure that is clear and free from all sorts of errors.

General Tips to Make the Conclusion Chapter More Effective

In addition to understanding the steps on how to write the conclusion chapter of a thesis, having the following tips in mind helps in making the work easier and the chapter more effective. These tips include:

• Being clear and concise when writing the summary for the major points and facts presented in the research.
• Not using basic statements that are commonly used to begin the conclusion chapter because they may sound redundant to the reader.
• Maintain a straightforward format of summarizing when writing the conclusion.
• Only the most significant ideas and arguments in the research paper should feature in the thesis conclusion.
• Ensure that the conclusion is not a repetition of the discussion chapter.
• The scholar should embrace the principle of reflection to demonstrate what message they would like to convey to the readers, if they (the readers) got a chance to read the conclusion only.

Characteristics of an Effective Thesis Conclusion

After the hard work of writing a conclusion for a thesis, one can use the following qualities to judge whether their conclusion chapter is effective, appealing, and can leave a lasting impression the minds of the readers.

• An excellent conclusion restates the thesis statement without repeating the same words used in the introduction.
• It paraphrases the topic sentences from progressive paragraphs, ensuring no repetition.
• A good conclusion gives an opportunity to make predictions or suggest solutions when appropriate.
• It uses appropriate transitional terms that alerts the reader of the end of the ideas.
• It uses a consistent tone in alignment with the rest of the paper.
• An effective thesis conclusion should synthesize arguments demonstrating their convergence in addressing the research question and achieving its general objectives, without simply summarizing or restating the findings.

Mistakes to Avoid when Writing the Conclusion Chapter for a Thesis

1. Repetitive Statements

If the methodology and discussion chapters had been correctly and adequately written, the readers should be already aware of the findings. Repeating the same in the conclusion will only cause boredom. Instead, one should only make a recap of the findings rather than unnecessarily long restatement.

2. Introducing New Ideas or Subtopics in the Conclusion

The conclusion should only demonstrate a review of what has already been discussed throughout the dissertation and not an introduction of new materials. It seeks to fulfill particular research objectives and illustrates the role the research has play in filling the gap identified in literature on that topic. An effective conclusion should clearly link the empirical findings and results to those pre-discussed objectives and gaps.

3. Exaggerating and Over-generalization

One way to attract poor grades or failing to meet the thesis objectives is pretending that the thesis does more than what is demonstrated from its findings. The results of the research should be presented exactly as they are without any intentional or unintentional exaggeration. It is necessary to focus on specific contributions and acknowledge what the paper did not achieve because no thesis is perfect.

4. Having Too Long or Short Conclusion

The length of the conclusion also matters depending on one’s course. A very long conclusion may be boring and the audience may consider it a time waster. On the other hand, a very short conclusion may just ramble on the facts, leaving out major ideas or arguments and without demonstrating any logical conclusion. The chapter five of a thesis should range between five percent and seven percent, depending on the field of research.

5. Presenting a Doubtful or Implausible Conclusion

Implausible conclusions occur when scholars present desolate conclusions that only confuse the mind of the reader, and claims that are not backed up by evidence from their research findings. if there is any link between what they claim and the facts generated from the research, it only happens to be very minimal. It is better to stick to the point and display humility in the conclusion rather than wasting a lot of time making unsubstantiated claims.

6. Submitting Work that Contains Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious offense on academic writing that threatens the scholar’s reputation and their research work, regardless of whether committed intentionally or unintentional. One should make sure that their thesis is plagiarism free before submitting to the supervisor or committee. It is very important to strictly adhere to the specified guidelines for citations and an organized process of writing without just coping and pasting information from other sources. Plagiarism-free thesis boosts the impression and credibility to the eyes of the reader or supervisor.

7. Ignoring the Importance of Editing and Proofreading

It is a very important practice to edit a conclusion chapter and all other chapters of a thesis before submitting. It would be mistake to assume that, one is a great and perfect scholar and writer to ignore reviewing the final draft for spelling and grammatical errors, which can be easily detected and corrected through editing and proofreading.

It is one’s choice to do this themselves or seek thesis chapter five writing help from professional thesis conclusion writers who have excellent editing and proofreading skills. Consulting conclusion writing experts assures the scholar of the best thesis conclusion writing service where the final copy is free of any spelling, typing, grammar, and all types of errors. These experts also ensure that the document is correctly structured and referenced according to the subject.

For a conclusion to be excellent and satisfactory, it has to explain the contribution, demonstrate a recap, and focus on the entire thesis with the reader in mind. It should wrap up the entire research clearly, and without repetition, stating the answers and demonstrating the contribution of the work in indisputable terms. Many scholars choose to hire a person to write a thesis conclusion or the entire thesis document for them.

Still, others may opt to buy a thesis conclusion chapter from professional thesis conclusion writers. Whichever option that they may choose, one must make sure that they get the best thesis conclusion writing service that will give the best final copy of the conclusion chapter that addresses its main objectives and is informative enough to the reader. Ideally, an effective conclusion for a thesis should be able to convey a complete message about the whole thesis, even if it was the only section the reader got a chance to read.