How to Write a Conclusion/Literary Essay Lesson Plan

Conclusion writing can be challenging for students.

For students, the conclusion of a literary essay can be just as challenging as the introduction. As teachers, we need to give them tools and suggestions to make their first conclusion-writing experiences as easy as possible. Writing a lesson plan that provides students with samples and opportunities for practice before asking them to compose and submit their own graded conclusion as part of a larger literary essay will make them more confident in their ability to end their essays effectively.

Things You'll Need

• Review of thesis statements
• Ideas for good endings
• Samples of good student-written conclusions
• 1-2 partial essays with conclusions missing

Instructions

How to Write a Conclusion

1. Review how to write a thesis statement with students. The thesis statement must be reworded and included in the conclusion, so students need to be reminded of the different ingredients that go into the statement, including the subject, the author's attitude toward the subject and the main points covered in the essay.

2. Explain the importance of the conclusion. Students must understand why they need a conclusion to their essays. You can ask students for their ideas, write them on the board and discuss them to keep the class involved and interested. Some possible reasons to address include summarizing the main points for the reader, reminding the reader of what the writer wanted to prove and leaving the reader with a positive final impression of the writer.

3. Give students some ideas of what they can incorporate into their conclusions to make them interesting, such as quotes from the book or story. Explain that anything the student uses in the conclusion must be connected to the rest of the essay and to the main points expressed in the thesis statement.

4. Show and discuss several examples of conclusions, including some written by students in other classes, if possible. When you are showing the samples, be sure to point out the restated thesis statement and explain why each sample conclusion is effective. You could also show poorly written conclusion samples and ask students to identify the problems.

5. Let students practice their conclusion-writing skills alone or in pairs. Provide students with essays that are completely written except for the conclusion. Ask students to write an appropriate conclusion for the essay. Share the finished conclusions aloud. Give students concrete feedback on how they can improve their conclusions in their own literary essays.

Tips & Warnings

• Teach students about writing the conclusion after they have mastered the other sections so they do not get confused or feel overwhelmed by the essay requirements.

• Show students your grading rubric for conclusions and discuss your specific expectations with them so they have clear guidelines when beginning to write their own.

• Remind students that the conclusion of a literary essay is not the place to bring up new information. Explain that new details cannot be fully fleshed out in the short amount of space available in the conclusion.

• Do not let students simply cut and paste their thesis statement from the introduction into the conclusion.

References

• University of North Carolina: Conclusions
• SmartThinking.com: Writing Introductions and Conclusions