Conclusions are often difficult, but keep in mind that ideally conclusions should do two things: remind the reader of the most important point or points of the essay and suggest a link between the material of the essay and the outside world. Consider the following examples of students' conclusions.
There are numerous beautiful places in America as I have shown. These beautiful places are inspiring and peaceful. They also reflect the beauty of America itself. So, by going to some of these places such as Yellowstone National Park, a person can see the beauty of his country and feel the peacefulness there. Memorable places hold dear places in our hearts because they are so fulfilling. National beauty is a very important part of our lives.
This writer has obviously gotten to the end of his essay but has no idea what he wishes to conclude with. Aside from it pedestrian sentence structure, the real fault of this conclusion is that it has no idea where it wants to go or what it wants to say. Do not conclude with random rewritings of sentences from your essay and try to make your conclusion make sense.
Admittedly, there are many places of wonder and beauty in this nation, but for some, a special area holds particularly special meaning and can affect the rest of his life. When I think of the inspirational sights, sounds, and smells I have described, I think of the many lasting impressions they have had on the people who witness them. The endurance of these wonders comes out of their ability to suggest hope for the future and the peace that we all desire. For me, these images are found and kept in my mind for a very long time and are awakened every time I remember the town of Deadwood and the Mount Rushmore National Monument. Thus natural wonders do have a profound effect on our lives. I am living proof, and you can be too if you take the time to look around your country at its beauty and wonder.
Here the writer has done a much better job than our first one at summarizing the main points of his essay. The key point is represented (though it need not normally be mentioned so many times), but the thing lacking is a jump outside the structure of the essay. The writer gives a halfhearted attempt at making a statement about the rest of humanity and its change to enjoy natural beauty, but the message is not very clear or substantial.
Sometimes I think of this wonderful world of nature and family that I create is not very realistic. But who needs to be realistic in his dreams? My dream world, like people's dream worlds throughout the world, is a preferred mix of heaven's blessings and personal blessings. And it is this dream world, not the real world, that gets me through each day.
This writer has done the necessary things in his conclusion: he has summarized his main idea and has provided a link between the rest of the world and his essay. The essay focused on his dream world, but the writer here asserts that his dream world has characteristics that link it with the dreams of every human being. Thus both the summary and the link to the outside world are present.
There is no reason to expect, then, that the world would be safer if we laid down our arms. On the contrary, we could do nothing more foolhardy. We must look to other means of ensuring our security and that of the nations we have agreed to protect.
Here our writer has, in a short but effective conclusion, provided an explicit look to the future beyond the scope of the essay and has effectively summarized his own major point. This conclusion should be printed in the dictionary next to the word "conclusion," since it embodies our definition perfectly.
It seems to me that there is one clear lesson to be drawn from the story of a girl pursued and murdered while thirty-four neighbors looked on. It is this: lest we too become like the neighbor who wanted to "forget the whole thing," we must have the courage to become involved, to act when the need is clear. Unless we do, the blood of the victim will be on our hands for the rest of our lives.
Here our writer has made a plea for careful thought and possible action on the part of the reader. By doing so, the writer has pulled his reader one last time in to the structure of the essay, taught him a lesson, and then sent the reader back in to the world armed with the writer's attitude toward social involvement. Consider asking something of your reader at the end of persuasive essay. If your essay has been persuasive enough, you will have produced a change in the world through your writing.
To say, then that "metaphor is of no particular relevance" to prose is stupefying. My conclusion is that those who have no gift for metaphor and imagery are doubtless wise to keep clear of it but that who have it, whether in writing or in speech, will find few qualities that better repay civilization.
Here our writer has, through his restatement and evaluation of his main point, make a challenge to the reader. The writer asserts that the reader should develop the skills of metaphor and implies that the rewards for doing so will be worthwhile. Thus the writer has both summarized and moved outside his own essay, and here has done so with flair.