How to write a killer conclusion

When it comes to advice on writing copy for the web, introductions get the most attention. But what about conclusions? How you finish an article is just as important as reeling in readers as a great introduction or headline. OK, so those finishing remarks may not attract readers initially, but well-crafted, logical or even amusing last remarks can mean earning a loyal set of readers who revisit you often to read your content.

So how best to beef up your conclusions?

1. Finish with a statistic

If your preceding article is so full of quotes and different standpoints  that it’s not clear how to tie them all together, try finding a killer statistic that cuts through the complexity. This might mean that you take a viewpoint by choosing the statistic you quote (lies, damn lies and all that), but your readers will probably value your perspective – especially if you have reported a number of perspectives and opinions.

2. Leave off with a quote

Likewise, if your article is full of statistics and information, a well-sourced quote from an industry insider or expert analyst will offer both contrast and some narrative interpretation. Alternatively, you can take a quote from a good dictionary of quotations, although you run the risk of sounding flippant or irrelevant.

3. Copy Kevin McCloud

As any regular viewer of Grand Designs may have noticed, presenter Kevin McCloud loves his epilogues to camera. These essentially tie together each episode’s threads and let Kevin evaluate what has been achieved by the show’s protagonists – whether in terms of the environment, the design process or the hardships of manufacture and project management. Handled with a care that avoids generalisations and banality, you can do a McCloud and offer a perspective on ‘what it all means’

4. Ask a question

In some cases, the information you have reported, the quotes you have gathered and the arguments you have presented paint such a complex scene that you better off not trying to wrap things up at all. So if all else fails, ask a question.

For instance, how should this article conclude?

Editor's pick

Most popular