Concluding Your College Essay Properly
• The Takeaway Idea • Last Impression of Your Personality • Error-Free Conclusion • Structure and Tone Usage
What's the best way to conclude your college essay? The final paragraph should be one of the most important parts of your document. The conclusion can make or break your essay, and it all rests on how you finish.
First impressions count, and last impressions, well, last.
The Takeaway Idea
Having a single, grand idea you want to impress on your reader is key. This idea must be something unique, should have had a fresh sense of innovation expressed in the body of your essay. Your job in the conclusion is to now rehash it a little so it triggers the reader's memory, strengthening it. To do the rehash, mention keywords used previously in the previous specific paragraphs. You can also try single-word sentences as they have more impact. Yes. They do.
Last Impression of Your Personality
Story and narrative aside, the college is assessing you as a person. This means getting a read of your personality and how you will probably act while being a college student. Therefore, the essay needs to give a good impression of your temperament and personality as a person. This part is especially true for the personal statement, but there are always things you can do in an essay that would make it more suitable for the reader.
Highlighting your strong points (i.e. strengths) is a good concluding strategy.
You can reflect on some of the certain points in your past, explain why you have gained confidence in this subject and why it has been important to you. In addition to this, you may want to present your study habits in the essay. Explain why you are a good student, explaining how you study the way you do. Encourage the reader to possess that same drive and determination to achieve their goals with life in general. Teachers hate a class clown.
Error-Free Conclusion
If you make any mistake in the last paragraph, it becomes the most easily detectable mistake in the whole essay. Should the college have criteria on English command, you may score poorly in that aspect.
Other than then English aspect (tone, grammar, etc) and all that mumbo jumbo, you should be informed of the other criteria that affects the grade of your essay.
Structure of Your Concluding Paragraph
The best way to end your college essay application is to demonstrate to your reader that you are confident and know what you've been talking about. Summarize your points by using a line or two that points out the key points, and then include a quote from someone who has inspired you or use an analogy to express yourself. Use these elements of a good conclusion to end your essay without summarizing it too much as it could make the reader confused about your position and views. Do not be over complicated.
Tone to Use in Your Conclusion
The conclusion should exhibit a certain amount of style and distinctiveness that is appealing to the reader. You may want to conclude your college essay with a tribute to a reputable person or source as it shows the writer's general knowledge of the topic and demonstrates how cultured you are. Also, try not to too many clichés such as "I have worked hard thus far in my life, and I will continue to do so." The use of a cliché in writing is generally considered a consequence of inexperience (poor grasp of English) and expresses a shortfall in originality.