Writing a Conclusion

Conclusions have two mains aims.
The first is to provide a condensed version of the essay�۪s core argument or thesis and if possible provide absences in your argument that could be explored in future work. A conclusion should take up no more than 10% of the essay. Put simply, the conclusion should leave the reader with a clear impression of the subject under discussion or argument, what it is about, what you believe and why you believe this. At an ���introductory level standard a conclusion�۝ is usually expected to demonstrate an ability to summarize the content of the essay clearly.
The second aim is to give a final comment or judgement on this. The final comment may also include making suggestions for improvement and speculating on future directions.
In dissertations and research papers, conclusions are more complex and will also include sections on the significance of the findings and results, and recommendations for future work.


Excerpts of Phraseology presented by Dr.John Morley.
Restatement of aims
This paper has argued that ��_
This study set out to determine ��_
This essay has discussed the reasons for ��_
In this investigation, the aim was to assess ��_
The main goal of the current study was to determine ��_
The purpose of the current study was to determine ��_
This project was undertaken to design ��_ and evaluate ��_
The present study was designed to determine the effect of ��_
Returning to the hypothesis/question posed at the beginning of this study, it is now possible to state that ��_

Summarising research findings
This study has identified ��_
This study has shown that ��_
The research has also shown that ��_
The second major finding was that ��_
These experiments confirmed that ��_
X made no significant difference to ��_
This study has found that generally ��_
The investigation of X has shown that ��_
The results of this investigation show that ��_
X, Y and Z emerged as reliable predictors of ��_
Multiple regression analysis revealed that the ��_
The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that ��_
The relevance of X is clearly supported by the current findings.
One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that ��_

Suggesting implications for the field of knowledge
In general, therefore, it seems that ��_
The results of this study indicate that ��_
These findings suggest that in general ��_
The findings of this study suggest that ��_
Taken together, these results suggest that ��_
An implication of this is the possibility that ��_
The evidence from this study suggests that ��_
Overall, this study strengthens the idea that ��_
The current data highlight the importance of ��_
The findings of this research provide insights for ��_
The results of this research support the idea that ��_
These data suggest that X can be achieved through ��_
The theoretical implications of these findings are unclear.
The principal theoretical implication of this study is that ��_
This study has raised important questions about the nature of ��_
The following conclusions can be drawn from the present study ��_
Taken together, these findings suggest a role for X in promoting Y.
The findings of this investigation complement those of earlier studies.
These findings have significant implications for the understanding of how ��_
Although this study focuses on X, the findings may well have a bearing on ��_

Significance of the findings or contribution of the study
This research extends our knowledge of ��_
This research will serve as a base for future studies and ��_
This research provides a framework for the exploration of ��_
This research has several practical applications. Firstly, it points to ��_

These findings enhance our understanding of ��_
The findings of this thesis could be used to help ��_
The current findings add to a growing body of literature on ��_
Taken together, these findings suggest a role for X in promoting Y.
The findings of this investigation complement those of earlier studies.

A key strength of the present study was the ��_
The present study makes several noteworthy contributions to ��_
The present study should prove to be particularly valuable to ��_
The present study provides additional evidence with respect to ��_
The present study confirms previous findings and contributes additional evidence that suggests ��_

The key strengths of this study are its long duration and ��_
The empirical findings in this study provide a new understanding of ��_
The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of ��_
The study has confirmed the findings of Smith et al. (2001) which found that ��_
The findings from this study make several contributions to the current literature. First,��_

This is the first study to investigate the effect of ��_
This is the first time that X has been used to explore ��_
This study has demonstrated, for the first time, that ��_
This is the first study reporting an advantage in those who ��_
This is the largest study so far documenting a delayed onset of ��_

The contribution of this study has been to confirm ��_
This work contributes to existing knowledge X by providing ��_
The analysis of X undertaken here, has extended our knowledge of ��_
The methods used for this X may be applied to other Xs elsewhere in the world.
The X that we have identified therefore assists in our understanding of the role of ��_

Significance of the findings with a qualification
Notwithstanding these limitations, the study suggests that ��_
Whilst this study did not confirm X, it did partially substantiate ��_
Despite its exploratory nature, this study offers some insight into ��_
Although the current study is based on a small sample of participants, the findings suggest ��_

Limitations of the current study
A limitation of this study is that ��_
Being limited to X, this study lacks ��_
The small sample size did not allow ��_
The major limitation of this study is the ��_
This study was limited by the absence of ��_
X makes these findings less generalisable to ��_
Thirdly, the study did not evaluate the use of ��_
It is unfortunate that the study did not include ��_
The scope of this study was limited in terms of ��_
The study is limited by the lack of information on ��_
The most important limitation lies in the fact that ��_
The main weakness of this study was the paucity of ��_
Since the study was limited to X, it was not possible to ..
An additional uncontrolled factor is the possibility that ��_
It was not possible to assess X; therefore, it is unknown if ��_
An issue that was not addressed in this study was whether��_
The generalisability of these results is subject to certain limitations. For instance, ��_
One source of weakness in this study which could have affected the measurements of X was ��_

Recommendations for further research work
More research using controlled trials is needed to ��_
What is now needed is a cross-national study involving ��_
More broadly, research is also needed to determine ��_
More research is required to determine the efficacy of ��_
More research is needed to better understand when implementation ends and ��_
This research has thrown up many questions in need of further investigation.

It would be interesting to assess the effects of ��_
It would be interesting to compare experiences of individuals within the same ��_ .
It is recommended that further research be undertaken in the following areas:
It is suggested that the association of these factors is investigated in future studies.

A further study could assess the long-term effects of ��_
Further work needs to be done to establish whether ��_
Further studies need to be carried out in order to validate ��_
Further experimental investigations are needed to estimate ��_
Further studies regarding the role of X would be worthwhile/interesting.
Further investigation and experimentation into X is strongly recommended.

Further research might explore ��_
could usefully explore how ��_
should focus on determining ��_
is required to determine whether ��_
in this field would be of great help in ��_
should be carried out to establish the ��_
should be undertaken to explore how ��_
on these questions would be a useful way of ��_
needs to examine more closely the links between X and Y.
could also be conducted to determine the effectiveness of ��_


Future trials should assess the impact of ��_
A future study investigating X would be very interesting.
In terms of directions for future research, further work could ��_
Future research should therefore concentrate on the investigation of ��_
Another possible area of future research would be to investigate why ��_
A number of possible future studies using the same experimental set up are apparent.

The study should be repeated using ��_
A natural progression of this work is to analyse ��_
Considerably more work will need to be done to determine ��_.
These findings provide the following insights for future research: ��_
The precise mechanism of X in insects remains to be elucidated.

This would be a fruitful area for further work.
Large randomised controlled trials could provide more definitive evidence.
A greater focus on X could produce interesting findings that account more for ��_
The issue of X is an intriguing one which could be usefully explored in further research.

If the debate is to be moved forward, a better understanding of X needs to be developed.
I suggest that before X is introduced, a study similar to this one should be carried out on ��_
More information on X would help us to establish a greater degree of accuracy on this matter.

Implications or recommendations for practice or policy
Other types of X could include: a), b). ��_
There is, therefore, a definite need for ��_
Greater efforts are needed to ensure ��_
Provision of X will enhance Y and reduce Z.
Another important practical implication is that ��_
Moreover, more X should be made available to ��_
The challenge now is to fabricate Xs that contain ��_
Unless governments adopt X, Y will not be attained.
These findings suggest several courses of action for ��_
A reasonable approach to tackle this issue could be to ��_
Continued efforts are needed to make X more accessible to ��_
The findings of this study have a number of practical implications.
There are a number of important changes which need to be made.
Management to enhance bumble-bee populations might involve ��_
This study suggests that X should be avoided by people who are prone to ��_
A key policy priority should therefore be to plan for the long-term care of ��_
This information can be used to develop targetted interventions aimed at ��_
Taken together, these findings do not support strong recommendations to ��_
Ensuring appropriate systems, services and support for X should be a priority for ��_
The findings of this study have a number of important implications for future practice.
Restatement of aims
This paper has argued that ��_
This study set out to determine ��_
This essay has discussed the reasons for ��_
In this investigation, the aim was to assess ��_
The main goal of the current study was to determine ��_
The purpose of the current study was to determine ��_
This project was undertaken to design ��_ and evaluate ��_
The present study was designed to determine the effect of ��_
Returning to the hypothesis/question posed at the beginning of this study, it is now possible to state that ��_

Summarising research findings
This study has identified ��_
This study has shown that ��_
The research has also shown that ��_
The second major finding was that ��_
These experiments confirmed that ��_
X made no significant difference to ��_
This study has found that generally ��_
The investigation of X has shown that ��_
The results of this investigation show that ��_
X, Y and Z emerged as reliable predictors of ��_
Multiple regression analysis revealed that the ��_
The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that ��_
The relevance of X is clearly supported by the current findings.
One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that ��_

Suggesting implications for the field of knowledge
In general, therefore, it seems that ��_
The results of this study indicate that ��_
These findings suggest that in general ��_
The findings of this study suggest that ��_
Taken together, these results suggest that ��_
An implication of this is the possibility that ��_
The evidence from this study suggests that ��_
Overall, this study strengthens the idea that ��_
The current data highlight the importance of ��_
The findings of this research provide insights for ��_
The results of this research support the idea that ��_
These data suggest that X can be achieved through ��_
The theoretical implications of these findings are unclear.
The principal theoretical implication of this study is that ��_
This study has raised important questions about the nature of ��_
The following conclusions can be drawn from the present study ��_
Taken together, these findings suggest a role for X in promoting Y.
The findings of this investigation complement those of earlier studies.
These findings have significant implications for the understanding of how ��_
Although this study focuses on X, the findings may well have a bearing on ��_

Significance of the findings or contribution of the study
This research extends our knowledge of ��_
This research will serve as a base for future studies and ��_
This research provides a framework for the exploration of ��_
This research has several practical applications. Firstly, it points to ��_

These findings enhance our understanding of ��_
The findings of this thesis could be used to help ��_
The current findings add to a growing body of literature on ��_
Taken together, these findings suggest a role for X in promoting Y.
The findings of this investigation complement those of earlier studies.

A key strength of the present study was the ��_
The present study makes several noteworthy contributions to ��_
The present study should prove to be particularly valuable to ��_
The present study provides additional evidence with respect to ��_
The present study confirms previous findings and contributes additional evidence that suggests ��_

The key strengths of this study are its long duration and ��_
The empirical findings in this study provide a new understanding of ��_
The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of ��_
The study has confirmed the findings of Smith et al. (2001) which found that ��_
The findings from this study make several contributions to the current literature. First,��_

This is the first study to investigate the effect of ��_
This is the first time that X has been used to explore ��_
This study has demonstrated, for the first time, that ��_
This is the first study reporting an advantage in those who ��_
This is the largest study so far documenting a delayed onset of ��_

The contribution of this study has been to confirm ��_
This work contributes to existing knowledge X by providing ��_
The analysis of X undertaken here, has extended our knowledge of ��_
The methods used for this X may be applied to other Xs elsewhere in the world.
The X that we have identified therefore assists in our understanding of the role of ��_

Significance of the findings with a qualification
Notwithstanding these limitations, the study suggests that ��_
Whilst this study did not confirm X, it did partially substantiate ��_
Despite its exploratory nature, this study offers some insight into ��_
Although the current study is based on a small sample of participants, the findings suggest ��_

Limitations of the current study
A limitation of this study is that ��_
Being limited to X, this study lacks ��_
The small sample size did not allow ��_
The major limitation of this study is the ��_
This study was limited by the absence of ��_
X makes these findings less generalisable to ��_
Thirdly, the study did not evaluate the use of ��_
It is unfortunate that the study did not include ��_
The scope of this study was limited in terms of ��_
The study is limited by the lack of information on ��_
The most important limitation lies in the fact that ��_
The main weakness of this study was the paucity of ��_
Since the study was limited to X, it was not possible to ..
An additional uncontrolled factor is the possibility that ��_
It was not possible to assess X; therefore, it is unknown if ��_
An issue that was not addressed in this study was whether��_
The generalisability of these results is subject to certain limitations. For instance, ��_
One source of weakness in this study which could have affected the measurements of X was ��_

Recommendations for further research work
More research using controlled trials is needed to ��_
What is now needed is a cross-national study involving ��_
More broadly, research is also needed to determine ��_
More research is required to determine the efficacy of ��_
More research is needed to better understand when implementation ends and ��_
This research has thrown up many questions in need of further investigation.

It would be interesting to assess the effects of ��_
It would be interesting to compare experiences of individuals within the same ��_ .
It is recommended that further research be undertaken in the following areas:
It is suggested that the association of these factors is investigated in future studies.

A further study could assess the long-term effects of ��_
Further work needs to be done to establish whether ��_
Further studies need to be carried out in order to validate ��_
Further experimental investigations are needed to estimate ��_
Further studies regarding the role of X would be worthwhile/interesting.
Further investigation and experimentation into X is strongly recommended.

Further research might explore ��_
could usefully explore how ��_
should focus on determining ��_
is required to determine whether ��_
in this field would be of great help in ��_
should be carried out to establish the ��_
should be undertaken to explore how ��_
on these questions would be a useful way of ��_
needs to examine more closely the links between X and Y.
could also be conducted to determine the effectiveness of ��_


Future trials should assess the impact of ��_
A future study investigating X would be very interesting.
In terms of directions for future research, further work could ��_
Future research should therefore concentrate on the investigation of ��_
Another possible area of future research would be to investigate why ��_
A number of possible future studies using the same experimental set up are apparent.

The study should be repeated using ��_
A natural progression of this work is to analyse ��_
Considerably more work will need to be done to determine ��_.
These findings provide the following insights for future research: ��_
The precise mechanism of X in insects remains to be elucidated.

This would be a fruitful area for further work.
Large randomised controlled trials could provide more definitive evidence.
A greater focus on X could produce interesting findings that account more for ��_
The issue of X is an intriguing one which could be usefully explored in further research.

If the debate is to be moved forward, a better understanding of X needs to be developed.
I suggest that before X is introduced, a study similar to this one should be carried out on ��_
More information on X would help us to establish a greater degree of accuracy on this matter.

Implications or recommendations for practice or policy
Other types of X could include: a), b). ��_
There is, therefore, a definite need for ��_
Greater efforts are needed to ensure ��_
Provision of X will enhance Y and reduce Z.
Another important practical implication is that ��_
Moreover, more X should be made available to ��_
The challenge now is to fabricate Xs that contain ��_
Unless governments adopt X, Y will not be attained.
These findings suggest several courses of action for ��_
A reasonable approach to tackle this issue could be to ��_
Continued efforts are needed to make X more accessible to ��_
The findings of this study have a number of practical implications.
There are a number of important changes which need to be made.
Management to enhance bumble-bee populations might involve ��_
This study suggests that X should be avoided by people who are prone to ��_
A key policy priority should therefore be to plan for the long-term care of ��_
This information can be used to develop targetted interventions aimed at ��_
Taken together, these findings do not support strong recommendations to ��_
Ensuring appropriate systems, services and support for X should be a priority for ��_
The findings of this study have a number of important implications for future practice.