Problems When Writing Conclusion for Argumentative Essay

The conclusion paragraph is critical for any assignment, especially for argumentative essays. How come? Students tend to pay so much attention to finding up-to-date resources to start their writings that they leave no time or energy to finish them pertinently.

However, neglecting the conclusion can create irreversible consequences when dealing with controversial topics. In an argumentative piece of writing, you try to convince the reader that your specific stance has no alternative. Trying to prove to people that you are right is no small feat. That’s why supporting your perspective through well-organized and detailed points that lead to a well-rounded conclusion is crucial.

Several essential steps should be considered to boost your skills in concluding your essay on a high note. So, without further ado, let’s dig in.

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

Have you ever argued with people in your life? When claiming, people list out the points that make them right by shutting down the other person’s arguments as well as they can. Writing an argumentative essay is not that different, with the main contrast being switching spoken words for ink. Even though you are arguing only one side of an issue, you must think about what the other side would say about your opinion.

An argumentative essay is a piece of writing that takes a stance upon a specific topic. Its primary purpose is to coerce the reader into supporting your view through research-based points. To do so, you have to:

• First, state your opinion or belief.
• Next, give grounds to support your argument.
• Finally, argue against the opposite statement.

To convince the audience that your side of the argument is correct, you must do thorough research. Therefore, before you begin writing, you need to have an in-depth knowledge of the topic to back up your arguments.

Secondly, you need to know the basic structure of a task you complete before learning how to conclude an argumentative essay. The most common type of argumentative essay has five or six paragraphs. The frame of your argumentative essay is an introduction, body, and conclusion. A big part of an argumentative essay is the introduction because this is where you can grasp the reader’s attention and establish what the entire paper is about.

Bodies are for stating your points and defending them. Alongside this, you may need to shut down any counter-arguments that could arise by offering a solution for those. Finally, the conclusion is the part that readers remember the most, so it must be captivating. Here, you need to provide the summary of your essay in a few words and finish your argument with a strong closing statement.

Basic Format of Conclusion Paragraph

If you look closely at the conclusion example, you’ll notice several characteristics. First, a typical argumentative essay conclusion example has a format that contains two essential divisions. First is the lead-in unit and then the recap of one of the points from each paragraph. Using this setup when writing an argumentative essay will allow you to sort out some hard facts to re-convince your audience and refresh them on your position.

Then, once you have validated your place, you can bring it to an end with a call to action.

• Restate your topic and its importance.
• Rephrase the thesis in a different way using solid words.
• Produce all the changes for the better after this change is made.
• Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position.
• Call for action or overview of future research opportunities.

Note that your argumentative essay conclusion is meant to be simple enough for the reader to understand your points completely. You get to use proper vocabulary that interests the reader without sacrificing the elegance and style of your writing.

How to Start an Argumentative Essay Conclusion

Start writing a conclusion for an argumentative essay by restating your central argument. One way to rephrase a claim is by employing a rhetorical question. When making your way to the end, make sure you’re doing it coherently and sufficiently. Your speech should smoothly lead the reader to what you are about to say.

Many controversial topics for argumentative essays rely on an emotional appeal to what readers consider correct or incorrect. Such aspects as abortion, women’s rights, the death penalty, and self-driving cars are susceptible. Therefore, the pros and cons of these topics rely primarily on a moral perspective. Regardless of your side, make a compelling argument providing strong reasons for your position.

How to Finish an Argumentative Essay Conclusion

An excellent strategy to tie your urge to action is to press your audience’s emotional state and back up with validities to promote a need to take some steps. Frame your views to give the reader a feeling of no choice but to follow your ideas. Only logic may triumph over arguments. If something doesn’t feel right, you won’t draw people to your perspective.

The closing of your writings plays a fundamental role in getting results. Having substantial issues is not enough. Instead, hammer your points and make the reader agree with your view on the topic. Then, with the proper ending and conclusive points, you can give your reader food for thought to walk away with.

How to Prevent Weak Arguments in Conclusion

There are myriad ways to make the conclusion more persuasive or the argument stronger. However, using phrases like “I feel strongly that,” “In my opinion,” or “I firmly believe” is very popular among students. But do they make them sound convincing? The fact is that this kind of language tends to weaken an essay rather than strengthen it. Now, why is this happening?

Compare this, “I feel that self-driving cars should not be banned” with “Self-driving cars should not be banned.” These two sentences assert very different things. For one thing, the subject and predicate of each sentence are entirely different. In the first sentence, the subject is me, or rather you, the essay’s author, and the predicate is “I feel strongly that self-driving cars should not be banned.” So, the sentence asserts something about how you as an author feel. An argumentative essay is about the pros and cons of something rather than your feelings about it.

Here is the point ― the essay is not about you and your beliefs. The fact that you may feel strongly about it is irrelevant to the conclusion. It carries no argumentative weight whatsoever.

Even if you have a strong voice right up until the conclusion and then start qualifying your argument with “I feel that,” you leave your reader doubtful. Remember that an argumentative essay is not about what you believe but why. From the standpoint of an argumentative essay, where the goal is to provide good reasons for your audience to accept the claim, the fact that you may feel strongly about the claim is not a reason for anyone else to take that claim. That’s the sense in which your feelings about the issue are irrelevant. That’s why expressions like this tend to weaken the argumentative force of your essay and not vice versa.

If your given arguments are good, they should be enough to persuade the reader. That should be the focus of your concluding statement, not your convictions about the conclusion. Switching into this mode can also be distracting because the conclusion’s subject suddenly becomes you and your beliefs. Finally, this can come across as amateurish if you do this a lot in your essay. It will read more like a diary entry rather than an argumentative essay about the issue in question.

So, that’s a long way of saying that you should avoid phrasing like that. And how to end an argumentative essay? Stick with phrasing like “I have argued that,” “I have shown that,” “It was demonstrated that,” or “Reasons were given to believe that.” Here, the emphasis isn’t on the author’s feelings about the conclusion but on the reasons presented in the main body of the essay.

Adhere to the Tips to Make the Grade

As you see, the conclusion paragraph argumentative essay takes serious research. You should provide authentic solutions to the problem according to your investigation. The conclusions should be compelling, persuasive, and coherent. You are to offer your fresh ideas by the conclusion of the essay. It is the part of the research work where your private opinion of view is paramount.

You cannot inscribe arguments in the essay’s body and then prove the opposite in the conclusion. The conclusions should be consistent and connect with the other parts of an argumentative essay.