LESSON 4.10
Write the Ending

Speeches vs. Written Work

In public speaking, students are often told to—

  • Say what you are going to say
  • Say it
  • Say what you said

It is excellent advice – because the audience is going to leave. Repeating what you already have said helps the information stick with the listeners.

That is not necessary when we write. If readers want to review information, they can reread.

Readers’ Intelligence

If your writing is clear and complete, then repeating yourself at the end implies that the readers are not intelligent enough to understand what you have written. 

How to End

So how do you end an essay?

  1. Be brief.
  2. Don’t repeat what you already said.
  3. Never start an ending with In summary or In conclusion. Those cause your reader to lose attention.

Example 1

Prompt: If you were reborn as an animal, what would you like to be?

If I could be reborn as an animal,

What Statement

Why Statement

OLD

VERB

NEW

BECAUSE

WHY

I

would like to be

one of Israel’s famous  Canaan seeing-eye dogs,

Because

they remind me of a great day I spent in the eighth grade with a gifted schoolmate who was blind.

ENDING

I wish I could say Mike and I became good friends, but we didn’t. We soon drifted apart in that menagerie of a student body; and when ninth grade rolled around, he was gone. I suppose he went to study full-time in the Washington State School for the Blind.

But whenever I see someone with a seeing-eye dog, I think of him … and of the small, smart dog that I met when my family vacationed in Israel.

Those experiences have helped open my eyes.

Example 2

Prompt: If you could be any animal, what would you like to be?

If you could be reborn any animal,

What Statement

Why Statement

OLD

VERB

NEW

BECAUSE

WHY

I

would like to be

a platypus,

because

they remind me of my great-uncle Kim, a World War II hero.

ENDING

The platypus I found and my great-uncle Kim reached similar ends. The platypus was killed by a war against his habitat; Uncle Kim by a war against humanity. 

Task 4.10.1 – Small Group

Brainstorm at least five ideas for endings. Grade them.

Task 4.10.2 – Individual

Choose one of the endings and write an ending. Share it with your classmates. They will critique it.

Task 4.10.3 – Individual

Brainstorm and then write an ending for Ongoing Task 4.10.