Amanda Voll

English 388V
How to Write a Good Conclusion

Objective: SWBAT
● Write a good conclusion, this includes good organization, a good wrap up, and a thought
provoking concluding line
● Apply this knowledge to their inquiry and position papers later in the semester (and
hopefully take this skill with them throughout their college classes)

Outline of Lesson: I will start off by asking students what they’ve learned about writing a
concluding paragraph before today. They’ll discuss ways they’ve been previously taught to write
a conclusion. I’ll ask them to pull up their inquiries and look at their concluding paragraph. They
will be able to analyze their concluding paragraph using a handout. From there, they will make
revisions and peer edit one another.

Closure: From there, I’ll teach them good ways to structure a concluding paragraph and have a
thought provoking last sentence. I want the students to start brainstorming their own ideas for
their ending, and then peer share to get feedback on them. I’ll stress the importance of a good
conclusion paragraph by reminding them it is the ‘cherry on top’ of their essay.

Time Estimate: Approx 30 minutes

● 0- 5 - asking students what they’ve learned about writing a concluding paragraph before,
have them discuss the ways their teachers taught them in the past. Put the students in a
circle to facilitate discussion. If students are quiet, consider smaller groups or pairing off.
○ Have them discuss what did and didn’t work for them
○ Have them discuss what are useful tips and what they wish they never heard
● 5-10 - hand out resources, ask them to look over their own papers
○ Have them think about what they could’ve done better when comparing their
papers to the handout
○ Ask students to make at least one comment on their own paper to improve their
conclusion
● 10-30 - Have the students peer share and ask that before reading each other's conclusions
they read the introduction first and see how well the two fit together
○ Does the intro/conclusion combo make sense ?
■ If not, how could they improve ? What is missing ? What could be added?
○ Do they touch on all of the same ideas?
■ The essay should be fluent and read easily. A conclusion and an intro
should somewhat ‘match up’
○ Is the ending line strong or weak ? How could they improve it ?
Group Feedback: The students can give each other feedback on their conclusions and I can walk
around and talk with them about their ideas. While doing this, I’ll talk with them about whether
or not the lesson was helpful. The students will write one thing they changed in their own
conclusion on a notecard and turn it in at the end of class.

Instructional Materials: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/ print out most

of this article and hand it out for students to refer to when editing or if they need ideas/tips.
Allow students to keep the handout for future use.

Reflection: The talk given by Grant Wiggins helped me come up with this lesson. I’m giving the
students practice by allowing them to review their paper in class and give feedback to other
students. I’m also having them discuss their past ideas on what a good conclusion is, which
allows them to change their ‘game plan’ so to speak. In the future, they’ll hopefully use the tips
given by the resource I provide. I think by discussing what are and are not good tips for a
conclusion they can also get a sense of what their peers are doing, which will in turn help them
write a better paper. In addition to this, they get to apply their knowledge to their paper in class
rather than just ‘practice’ using it.
Another impact on my lesson plan was the lecture given by Dr.Davidson on the paradigm shift in
higher education. I tried to gear my lesson more towards a learning paradigm by including
discussion and peer review. This way I don’t spend the whole time in front of the class reading
off a paper or simply instructing what to do. The students will have hands (keyboard) on learning
experience with this lesson plan.