These tips for writing great conclusions are from one of my regular guest bloggers, Susan Johnston of the Urban Muse. Keep these ways to end your essays, articles, chapters, or blog posts at your fingertips – they’ll come in handy!

Before her tips, a quip:

“There are no dull subjects,” said H.L. Mencken. “There are only dull writers.”

Dull writing makes for dull reading, fellow scribes. To jazz up your writing and improve your writing confidence, click on Stephen King’s On Writing. And, read on for Johnston’s five tips for writing great conclusions… 

5 Tips for Writing Great Conclusions

Many writers (including me) find it agonizingly hard to write strong endings because there’s so much at stake. We want to leave readers with a poignant, thought-provoking conclusion, but we also don’t want it to read too trite or corny.

Here are some tips on writing a compelling conclusion.

1. Use a strong image or quote. There are tons of articles that use quotes or imagery as their conclusion. If you’re using a quote, make sure it’s a good one. In addition to relaying information, it should impart humor and/or wisdom and also be broad enough to sum up the rest of the article. This article about resumes includes a quote that is both upbeat and informative.

2. Go for humor. In this humorous essay by a stay-at-home Dad, the author contrasts his own perspective with that of a father who works in an office. It’s a humorous way to write a great conclusion, and it keeps the essay from sounding too depressed or self-pitying about the author getting laid off. Humor is hard, so if it doesn’t come naturally to you, don’t force it. To write a great conclusion, consider using #1 instead.

3. Refer back to the opening. This creates a nice sense of completeness and unity. For instance, in this article about staying in touch while living abroad, the author mentions Oreos at the beginning, then mention the Oreos again at the very end. Rounding back to the beginning is a great way to write a conclusion.

4. Lop off the last few sentences. Many writers tend to over-write their conclusions, so often you’ll find that once you take a stab at it, you can go back and delete several sentences without losing any of the meaning. It will feel like you’ve come to a natural conclusion instead of easing your way into an endpoint.

5. If you’re really stuck, let it marinate. To write a great conclusion, step away from the computer and do something else. You’ll come up with a good ending when you’re on the treadmill or at the grocery store or some other place when you’re not expecting it. That way your conclusion will come to you organically instead of forcing it out. That’s how I found an ending to this essay about me and my brother.

Of course, many blog posts end with a series of questions designed to open up a conversation.

Any thoughts? What’s you’re favorite tip for writing a great conclusion? And, for more info on writing conclusions, read 10 Short Story Endings to Avoid.

Susan Johnston is a Boston-based freelance writer and blogger who has covered business and lifestyle topics for The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, DailyCandy.com, Yahoo! HotJobs, and many other publications. Want to know more? check out The Urban Muse or follow her on Twitter.

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