Whatever the scope of your own research, there will always be room for further investigation of related topics, and you’ll often discover new questions and problems during the research process.įinish your paper on a forward-looking note by suggesting how you or other researchers might build on this topic in the future and address any limitations of the current paper. In a more empirical paper, you can close by either making recommendations for practice (for example, in clinical or policy papers), or suggesting directions for future research. Empirical paper: Future research directions If your topic is more theoretical and unsuitable for a call for action, your closing statement should express the significance of your argument-for example, in proposing a new understanding of a topic or laying the groundwork for future research. Farmers, policymakers, and consumers must focus on the future, not just on their own short-term interests, and work to implement this transition now. Transitioning to sustainable vegetable farming will make the Netherlands greener and healthier, setting an example for other European governments. Don’t go into great detail here (you will have presented your in-depth results and discussion already), but do clearly express the answers to the research questions you investigated.ĭescribe your main findings, even if they weren’t necessarily the ones you expected or hoped for, and explain the overall conclusion they led you to. In an empirical paper, this is the time to summarize your key findings. Although this approach would have economic ramifications, from a long-term perspective, it would represent a significant step towards a more sustainable and resilient national economy. As well as dramatically lowering emissions, plant-based agriculture, if approached in the right way, can produce more food with less land, providing opportunities for nature regeneration areas that will themselves contribute to climate targets. The evidence is clear: To create a truly futureproof agricultural sector, Dutch farmers must be incentivized to transition from livestock farming to sustainable vegetable farming. You may also mention any counterarguments you addressed, emphasizing why your thesis holds up against them, particularly if your argument is a controversial one.ĭon’t go into the details of your evidence or present new ideas focus on outlining in broad strokes the argument you have made. In the conclusion, you should restate the thesis and show how it has been developed through the body of the paper.īriefly summarize the key arguments made in the body, showing how each of them contributes to proving your thesis. In an argumentative paper, you will have presented a thesis statement in your introduction, expressing the overall claim your paper argues for. Argumentative paper: Restate your thesis and arguments Having zoomed back in on the problem, it’s time to summarize how the body of the paper went about addressing it, and what conclusions this approach led to.ĭepending on the nature of your research paper, this might mean restating your thesis and arguments, or summarizing your overall findings. The content and placement of your conclusion should make its function clear without the need for additional signposting. Meanwhile, an empirical paper studying the relationship of Instagram use with body image issues might present its problem like this: As social media becomes increasingly central to young people’s everyday lives, it is important to understand how different platforms affect their developing self-conception.Īvoid starting your conclusion with phrases like “In conclusion” or “To conclude,” as this can come across as too obvious and make your writing seem unsophisticated. Ideally, you’ll find a novel way to circle back to the problem from the more detailed ideas discussed in the body.įor example, an argumentative paper advocating new measures to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture might restate its problem as follows: While the role of cattle in climate change is by now common knowledge, countries like the Netherlands continually fail to confront this issue with the urgency it deserves. While you are restating a problem you’ve already introduced, you should avoid phrasing it identically to how it appeared in the introduction. You will have discussed this problem in depth throughout the body, but now the point is to zoom back out from the details to the bigger picture. The first task of your conclusion is to remind the reader of your research problem. Frequently asked questions about research paper conclusions.
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