UPSC Essays Simplified: How to write a conclusion? – the sixth step

Today, we will focus on Step 6, the second stage of writing stage for UPSC Essays. 

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How to write a ‘good’ conclusion of the Essay?

The conclusion is the last, but certainly not the least important stage for scoring well in your exam because:

• The conclusion to the essay question is your final part of the answer to the question.  Whether it is GS or Essay, when you conclude you should state the conclusion about the topic in the questions. Your final stand (among other insights on the topic and your findings) is presented in the conclusion of the essay– answer for the examiner.

• It is all about the last impression: You might want to make sure that the examiner has happy memories of your writing when they judge you. The last thing the examiner will remember while rating your essay- the answer is what you wrote in the end. And will judge you disproportionately based on the end portion than the rest of your essay. There is a psychological effect called the Recency Effect where the impressions made towards the end of a list of items are most saliently remembered. However, be aware that you can’t overcome a weak essay with a clever conclusion.

What should we keep in mind while writing a conclusion?

Keep the following things in mind while writing conclusions.

• Get to the heart of the topic by briefly telling the reader about the relationship between core concepts as you understood it using Deconstruction (refer to previous article : step 1 on deconstruction)

• Your conclusions must agree with your arguments written in the body of the essay. Remain consistent with the rest of the essay till the end. For instance, if you argue in your essay that –Great power and Great responsibility do not always go together, you must NOT conclude with saying that they do always go together. In other words, do not contradict yourself in the conclusion.

• Ideally, the conclusion should be deduced from arguments in the body of the essay. In other words, the examiner should feel that your conclusion is derived from, and based on, the evidence and facts which you have presented in the body of your essay.

• You can summarize the whole essay in a few lines, in some essay topics but this is not a rule. The reader should feel like you have considered all dimensions of the issue and have arrived at a mature conclusion in the end. But make sure not to repeat your arguments word-to-word in the conclusion.

So how do you make a last good impression on the examiner? Is there a general rule which you can follow to generate great conclusions about ANY topic?

There is and I call it- SCOReF (As in Score an F for fantastic, not fail). It is a technique which you will use to generate conclusions about many of the topics encountered in the UPSC exam.

SCOReF stands for Summarise, Complications, Resolvable, Future- Which will form the 4 main parts of your conclusion.

1. First part – Summarise:

Summarise and reiterate the heart of the topic or the relationship between the core concepts

• Hint: What was the crux of the issue in the essay topic? What was the relationship between the core concepts? If possible, show the other side of the argument also. Bring out the complexity of the topic at hand.

In the essay topic, “With great power comes great responsibility–

The relationship between power and responsivity is a morally complex interplay of many factors. Nevertheless, it must be understood in a world which is changing ever so quickly.

2. Second part- Complications:

While the complications exist, they exist because the present depends on the past and Power and responsibility are affected by human culture and continue to change with time.

• Hint question- What makes the relationship between the core concepts complicated? Why is it important?

In the essay topic, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”

(The essay topic is a debate between prevention vs cure. It speaks about the importance of vigilance and strategic planning.)

“Since we are all subject to the vagaries of nature and the future is uncertain, it is imperative that we should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. However, life is short and not all of it should be spent planning for an uncertain future that may never occur. We must also enjoy the present moment, while we can. Too much emphasis on vigilance can lead to paranoia, while too much emphasis on focussing on the present can lead to laxity.  The relationship between preventive vigilance and relaxation is a difficult choice, in which dosage is key.”

3. Third part- Resolvable:

Optimistic future– if the relationship is turned harmonious. Speculative utopian future — where the problem in the Essay topic has been resolved and there are positive outcomes (message of hope and a bright future).

You might recall, that this is a repetition of the suggestions from the previous step about what to write in the body of your essay (Read Step 5 article here). Just make sure not to use the same words.

• Hint questions- Present an overview of potential solutions. If possible, also highlight the challenges in implementing these solutions.

4. Fourth Part- Future:

Describe the bright future which will occur if the relationship between the core concepts is resolved, and harmony is achieved.

Mention a speculative optimistic conclusion and inspiring vision of the future. You may also add a cautionary note on the amount of work required to bring about the necessary changes.

• Hint question: What type of a future will result if the above is done and harmony is achieved i.e. if the debate is settled constructively?

In the essay topic, “With great power comes great responsibility”

We owe it to the planet and to our future generations to implement these solutions. If we do this, the future is brighter than anyone imagined.

We could have a green and prosperous world where our future generations will be proud of the kind of world that they inherited.

The Essay Exercise

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