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Courtesy the Odegaard Writing & Research Center
http://www.depts.washington.edu/owrc
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE PARAGRAPH #2, 3, 4 etc.
o Repeat above
COUNTERARGUMENT PARAGRAPH
o PURPOSE: To anticipate your reader’s objections; make yourself sound more
objective and reasonable.
o Optional; usually 1-2 paragraphs tops
o What possible argument might your reader pose against your argument
and/or some aspect of your reasoning? Insert one or more of those
arguments here and refute them.
o End paragraph with a concluding sentence that reasserts your paper’s claim
as a whole.
CONCLUSION PART 1: SUM UP PARAGRAPH
o PURPOSE: Remind readers of your argument and supporting evidence
o Conclusion you were most likely taught to write in High School
o Restates your paper’s overall claim and supporting evidence
CONCLUSION PART 2: YOUR “SO WHAT” PARAGRAPH
o PURPOSE: To illustrate to your instructor that you have thought critically
and analytically about this issue.
o Your conclusion should not simply restate your intro paragraph. If your
conclusion says almost the exact same thing as your introduction, it may
indicate that you have not done enough critical thinking during the course of
your essay (since you ended up right where you started).
o Your conclusion should tell us why we should care about your paper. What is
the significance of your claim? Why is it important to you as the writer or to
me as the reader? What information should you or I take away from this?
o Your conclusion should create a sense of movement to a more complex
understanding of the subject of your paper. By the end of your essay, you
should have worked through your ideas enough so that your reader
understands what you have argued and is ready to hear the larger point (i.e.
the "so what") you want to make about your topic.
o Your conclusion should serve as the climax of your paper. So, save your
strongest analytical points for the end of your essay, and use them to drive
your conclusion
o Vivid, concrete language is as important in a conclusion as it is elsewhere--
perhaps more essential, since the conclusion determines the reader's final
impression of your essay. Do not leave them with the impression that your
argument was vague or unsure.
o WARNING: It's fine to introduce new information or quotations in your
conclusions, as long as the new points grow from your argument. New points
might be more general, answering the "so what" question; they might be
quite specific. Just avoid making new claims that need lots of additional
support.