just be filtered

Read Through

Read through the material and gain a basic understanding of what’s in front of you. Make sure you’re actively reading by annotating and asking yourself questions about what you’re reading. Also  look at the questions if there is some in the textbook.  This way you’ll know what you’re going to be writing!

Highlight

Go back over what you’ve read and highlight or mark the most important pieces of information.  Make sure you’re not over-highlighting! Only highlight words or sentances, not whole paragraphs!

Summarise

Summarise what is most important, the keywords, what you find difficult, what you’ll need to know. Filter what you do and don’t need. Here’s an example:

     What you need.                                     

Keywords                                            

Explanation of keywords

Diagrams

You don’t need to do this on paper, just do it in your head so you know how you’re going to start when you begin to write!

Write

Create a list of keywords, all the concepts and critical data.  Write brief and concise explanations to each keyword.  It’s also good to write a brief summary of the whole chapter. This will help to remind you of the context when you go to revise. 

Review

So I found this caterpillar on my way to class

i made him a tube room

Your essay’s conclusion can make or break your argument. The impression it leaves the reader with can stay with them long after they finish reading it. Despite it’s importance, the conclusion can be one of the most difficult sections to write, but it can be critical in transforming a standard essay into a compelling one. Here are a few things to think about when writing your next conclusion:

Mountain and funnel analogy The best english lit teacher I ever had once said your essay is like a mountain; your introduction and body paragraphs are your climb to the summit, and your conclusion is your chance to reflect on the journey. What parts stuck out the most? How did the journey contribute to what you see at the summit? Alternatively, she also offered the view of looking at your essay like a funnel. Each idea funnels down from its body paragraph to the conclusion, all contributing to the main idea of the essay or thesis. This is what your conclusion should highlight.

Do more than just reiterate the overview of your main arguments  Don’t just give a basic overview of the main arguments, as if reading off a shopping list. This is the opportunity to draw links between ideas which were previously detached from one another. Demonstrate the subtleties of the ideas, how they are all interconnected on some level, and how they support your thesis.

Reference a counter argument or limitation A more insightful conclusion might give reference to a counter argument or limitation explained in a previous body paragraph. This shows to the reader you are capable of higher order thinking and recognising that your approach is not the only one. 

Give your essay a sense of completeness A strong conclusion will leave the reader with a feeling of satisfaction which comes from completion. There are a few ways you can go about this:

Restate or echo your thesis - reuse key words in your thesis or the essay question throughout the conclusion to indicate to the reader that you have successfully answered the question

A final sentence largely composed of single syllables implies finality

Use compound or parallel sentences

Of course, these are only a few ways. There are many more!

Highlight the implications of your findings What is the significance of your findings? How does this reflect reality/current times? What is its relevance? These types of questions go beyond the scope of the essay and allow you to draw more profound conclusions of greater importance.

Look to the future Pose solutions to the problem, a potential course of action, or questions for further study! These can direct your reader to draw their own conclusions or to realise the larger implications.

What to avoid

rewriting your introduction - your conclusion is more than a rehash of your introduction; try to include any of the above topics to avoid this!

overused and clunky phrases such as ‘to conlcude’ and ‘in summary’ - these can be redundant and trite in writing and should be reserved for oral presentations

introducing new information or ideas - these should all ready be presented in the body paragraphs

overly sentimental or emotional remarks - this would be highly out of place in an analytical essay

restating your thesis from the introduction without any development - your thesis should evolve in the body paragraphs to allow you to draw insightful conclusions

I hope this is helpful for writing future essay conclusions! My inbox is open if you have any questions!!