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AP Lit Conclusion Strategies

This document provides guidance on writing effective conclusions for AP Literature essays. It discusses techniques such as circling back to echo an interesting word or phrase from the introduction, connecting the essay to a universal theme to extend the ideas, and cautions against simply restating the thesis or summarizing the paper. The goal is for students to craft conclusions that bring closure to an idea or push the reader's thinking further through specific feedback and examples, rather than treating conclusions as an afterthought.

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Laura Wiggins Douglas
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78 views1 page

AP Lit Conclusion Strategies

This document provides guidance on writing effective conclusions for AP Literature essays. It discusses techniques such as circling back to echo an interesting word or phrase from the introduction, connecting the essay to a universal theme to extend the ideas, and cautions against simply restating the thesis or summarizing the paper. The goal is for students to craft conclusions that bring closure to an idea or push the reader's thinking further through specific feedback and examples, rather than treating conclusions as an afterthought.

Uploaded by

Laura Wiggins Douglas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

AP Literature Mrs.

Douglas

CONCLUSION

Reflect on the importance of this writing piece as a whole; describe the impression the
piece has made on you as a reader.

The Circle Back / Echo


Ask students if they can identify an interesting word or phrase from the introduction or
early in their first body paragraph that they can link back to in their conclusion. We
certainly want to avoid regurgitating thesis statements and summarizing what’s already
been stated; that’s not the goal of this strategy. The circle back method requires some
finesse and stylistic nuance—because in order for it to be effective, it should only be a
whisper or an echo from the opening. But when executed skillfully, the echo can give
the paper a cyclical completeness, and possibly even serve as a wow-moment.

Universal Truths / Extend the Idea


Another way to concluding an essay is to connect the essay to a universal theme. This
includes big picture ideas which expand and extends the essay forward to push the
reader to consider broad implications about humanity. When forming this type of
conclusion, students should consider what universal truth they want the reader to be
thinking about at the end of the essay then explain how the essay relates to this
universal truth. These conclusions answer the “so what” and the “larger why” of the
analysis.
Meredith Lawrence from Round Rock, TX has her students think about organizing
essays using the following questions. This format lends itself perfectly to end with a
conclusion about a universal theme.
 What’s the answer to the question? (introduction)
 How does the author develop this? (body paragraphs)
 Why is this important? (conclusion)

Conclusion Cautions
In conclusion, avoid beginning conclusions paragraphs with the phrase “In conclusion.”
 Don’t repeat the thesis verbatim in the conclusion.
 Don’t throw in a random current event to make the paper relevant.
 Avoid summarizing the paper.

There is no one right way to write a conclusion since conclusions are crafted from
individual writers with different styles and voices. Our goal as teachers is to provide
students with tools for writing effective conclusions through mentor texts, workshop, and
specific feedback. In doing so, students will not view conclusions as an afterthought but
rather a way to either bring closure to an idea or push the reader even further into
thought. That’s all, folks. (Please tell your students not to end a paper this way).

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