How to Write a Thesis Conclusion in Dissertation

It is evident that at this point in your writing, you are about to end your thesis. While this is a reason to celebrate, you should not underestimate the essentiality of the conclusion. A thesis involves intensive research and logical arrangement of facts. And thus, when you end up your research, the conclusion should be such that it becomes memorable for the reader.

The purpose of a conclusion in the thesis is:

• To answer the main research question
• Give a summary and reflection on the research conducted.
• Make recommendations for future research to be made on the same topic.
• Showcase the new knowledge you have contributed to the research area.

Hence, the conclusion should be engaging and concise. The primary aim of a conclusion should be to make your arguments easily interpretable to the readers and take the research further in a more advanced manner. It would not be wrong to say that there exists a thin line between discussion and conclusion of the research done.

Conclusion Vs. Discussion

A conclusion's entity is the same as that of the discussion, and when these two sections get combined, they form part of short papers and journal articles. But, in a thesis, a conclusion is the final chapter. Instead of discussing the results in particular and interpreting the data in detail, in conclusion, the researcher tends to highlight the main insights of his research and sum up the whole research. Hence, the conclusion should not introduce any new concepts, arguments, interpretation, and data.

Therefore, the discussion and conclusion vary from each other by a little margin, and thus, a conclusion showcases the whole research idea that the researcher wants his readers to know. A conclusion sums up the entire thesis. Thus, in many instances, it is observed that the readers, jump straight to the conclusion to get an idea about the whole research. Hence, the conclusion becomes the major attraction of every thesis as it gives a clear picture to the readers about the research conducted.

Understanding how to write a Conclusion

A thesis requires a lot of effort to put the facts logically. Intensive research becomes the basis of any thesis. Every university prescribes a different guideline for the students to follow while formulating the whole research. A student might conduct primary research or secondary research based on the requirements of the research. A thesis entails the following:

• Introduction: It is the beginning part of any thesis. The introduction describes the primary purpose of the research and puts forward the aims and objectives of the research. An introduction is considered to be an overview of the whole research. A researcher ensures that the readers get to understand the concepts of the entire study by reading the introduction. An introduction is the central part of any thesis as it enables a logical interpretation of the study conducted.
• Review of Literature: The second chapter of any thesis is the review of the literature. Research requires the researcher to delve into the past and know more about the history of the topic. The history can help the researcher know more about the topic about which he is about to write. The review of literature thus not only helps the researcher strengthen his knowledge, but it also gives the readers an in-depth insight into the topic. The readers can further take their readings forward based on the literature of their interest. A literature review helps the researcher to address the gap in the research relating to the topic of his choice.
• Methodology: A thesis requires a particular methodology based on primary or secondary research. A methodology involves sampling and the method used in studying. A researcher might conduct a survey or use questionnaires and interviews to collect the responses from his respondents. This would make the research more valid and reliable.
• Data Collection and Analysis: The next step in a thesis involves the collection of data. The data is collected based on the number of respondents, and then the researcher analyses and evaluates the data to arrive at a conclusion.
• Discussion and Conclusion: The last chapter of any thesis is the discussion and conclusion chapter. This chapter entails the complete evaluation of the data collected. The researcher puts all the information together that has been collected during the research process. This enables him to conclude the research with valid and reliable findings.

The conclusion is considered to be an essential part of any thesis as it is the researcher's very own arguments and findings put logically. The readers, by going through the conclusion, can quickly get to know about the whole research. The topic the researcher has argued on also becomes quite evident in the process. 

Thus, all these steps entail a complete thesis. But apart from this, a conclusion is an opportunity, which makes the readers recollect the approach applied in the entire research. The expected findings and the results matching the expectations of the researcher make the thesis stronger and valid.

The arguments put forward in the whole thesis, thus get summarized in conclusion. The researcher tends to reflect on the entire study conducted by him. Therefore, it makes the research more valid and reliable as the researcher's findings become the basis of the conclusion.

How does a thesis look organized?

A thesis becomes appealing when it gets structured logically and constructively. A thesis requires the researcher to divide the whole research into chapters, which starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion. The chapterization of the entire thesis makes the research easily interpretable by the readers.

These chapters get generally based on the researcher's understanding of how he is going to proceed with the research. The researcher ensures that the thesis does not look overloaded with words and hence provides a logical touch to the findings. 

A thesis looks organized and meaningful when all the information gets presented in a logical, systematic, understandable, and organized manner. The readers get gripped to the thesis when they find it interesting. Thus, a researcher's primary job is to collect the information and present it in a manner that is highly appealing to the readers.

The role of Conclusion in thesis

To avoid the repetition of information in the thesis, you must reflect your thoughts in conclusion. A conclusion makes your work easier and logical by merging every chapter's summary into a single chapter. To make a conclusion more attractive for the readers, it becomes essential to remain reflective throughout the entire conclusion. A conclusion marks the end of your research by putting across your opinions for the readers. A conclusion opens the doors for future research also.

A valid conclusion is one that answers the research question and puts across any new questions which come up while conducting the study. The purpose of keeping the conclusion open-ended is to take the research forward in the future. The conclusion can also state the limitations you faced while writing the thesis. A conclusion thus should focus on the positives of the work done.

A conclusion should not only sum up the whole thesis work but should also put forward the recommendations. The conclusion thus is a good place to take the study further, considering the findings of the research for both theory and practice. It is always recommended that there should be no exaggeration in the applicability of the research.

For instance, if your thesis is about policies and business or any practical happenings, it is always better to frame them as suggestions rather than making them dominating. It should always be remembered that academic research is about informing, exploring, and explaining, and not instructing. 

The thesis made should never be underestimated while providing recommendations. Future studies might build up entire research based on your conclusions. Hence, it is always recommended to place your thesis on top, which continues giving relevant recommendations related to the research. The conclusion must reflect your contributions to the research. Your contributions can be strong when the literature review done in the background of your thesis is intensive and rigorous.

Thus, it is always recommended to do your literature review from various sources before proceeding with the thesis work. A literature review can be done from multiple books, journals, articles, magazines, etc. so that the arguments put forward in the thesis are strong and logical. An adequately structured literature review ensures that the gaps in the research get addressed, and a proper finding is reached.

The finding thus confirms the existing theory or assumption. Hence, if the thesis includes discussion as a part of the last chapter, it is recommended that the information should not be repetitive. Instead, the points which place your thesis in a broader perspective should be considered. This would help the readers to have an overview of the points you tried establishing throughout your whole thesis.

Drawbacks to avoid in a thesis conclusion

While writing a thesis conclusion, three significant drawbacks should get avoided, mostly. These include:

• Lingering and Pointless conclusion: A conclusion happens to be protracted when you repeat yourself unnecessarily for several times. The repetitive information happens to be redundant as it gets mentioned in the earlier chapters before the conclusion. Thus, a lingering conclusion happens to be one that does not add on to the information being mentioned. Instead, it keeps repeating the information again and again.
• Short Conclusion: A rambling conclusion indeed wastes a lot of time on the part of your audience. But, a brief conclusion, on the other hand, does not make any logical sense to the audience and hence misses all the vital points in the thesis by using fewer words.
• Far-fetched Conclusion: The conclusion happens to be far-fetched when the arguments seem to be imperative and not suggestions. It is recommended that conclusions should have suggestions instead of being dominating. Any unsubstantiated claim wastes a lot of effort and hard work without arriving at a logical and appealing conclusion.

Any thesis thus requires its conclusion to be highly organized and logical. Hence, the best way to start a conclusion is by reinstating the statement of the thesis. This does not mean copying the statement mentioned in the introduction chapter of the thesis to the conclusion. The statement of the thesis can thus be put in different words to make it sound different than the one stated earlier.

Last, But Not the Least

The conclusion should give the readers a feeling that your thesis has reached its end. Hence, a conclusion should be reflective and should state the findings found while researching for the thesis work. The conclusion, therefore, should not include any references and, thus, should use a tense that reflects all the points mentioned earlier in the introduction of the thesis.

The essential part of a conclusion in the thesis is the explanation the researcher gives to its readers as to why the research conducted by him is relevant. The explanation given by the researcher on the relevance of the thesis work should ensure wrapping up the conclusion for the argument. The explanation should ensure the relevance of your research in the relevant field and the outcomes of the study conducted to fit the same. This shall encourage the readers to reflect on the topic of the thesis, thus leaving no loose ends to the thesis work.

Finally, the conclusion should end with a note to remember comprising of a question, warning, or an action call. This will make the readers wonder how responsible can they be in such a situation. Therefore, there is a chance that the readers shall resort to the information contained in the thesis. The conclusion is entirely dependent on the topic of the thesis as that shall decide the end of the research work.

Therefore, a good conclusion shall not only score high-grades for your thesis but also reflect your cognitive and analytical skills. Academic research thus explores the thinking of an individual and helps in channelizing the thoughts towards fruitful research ahead. Therefore, a conclusion should be coherent and meaningful so that the readers get attracted to further study on the same thesis topic.