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1.4: Concluding Sentences

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    151201
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    Concluding Sentences

    Typically, the last sentence in a paragraph is the concluding sentence, and its job is to help the reader feel that the writer has expressed a complete and finished idea. It closes the paragraph by helping the reader move from the small details of the supporting sentences back to the big picture of the topic sentence or controlling idea. There are many simple and creative ways to end a paragraph.

    The concluding sentence can…

    • give advice or make a suggestion about the topic to the reader
    • make a prediction or offer hope for the future
    • give the writer’s feelings or opinion about the topic
    • restate the main idea from the topic sentence
    • summarize the main points from the supporting sentences
    Exercise 6

    Look back at the two paragraphs in Exercise 4. Does each paragraph have a concluding sentence?

    Paragraph A yes / no

    Paragraph B yes / no

    Exercise 7

    Look again at the concluding sentence in the paragraph in Exercise 3.

    “With careful consideration, buying a house can be one of the best investments a person can make in their future.”

    This concluding sentence…(check ✓ all that apply)

    ❐ … gives advice or a suggestion

    ❐ … makes a prediction or offer hope

    ❐ … gives the writer’s feelings or opinion

    ❐ … restates the main idea

    ❐ … summarizes the main points

    Exercise 8
    Choose the best concluding sentence for each paragraph.

    It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings; in other words, they get a tattoo to show and express their individuality. A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on the arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. Lovers may tattoo each other's names over their hearts. _______________________________.

    A. A person’s friends and the media will affect their decision to get a tattoo.

    B. The unfortunate fact about tattoos is that they are impossible to remove.

    C. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person's life.

    The human brain is very mysterious and only partially understood. Many questions about the brain have not yet been answered. For example, why do we need to sleep or why do we dream? There is a lot about the brain that we do not yet understand. In fact, people used to think of the brain as useless stuffing. Of course, scientists now know the brain is our control center. Scientists also know about the basic functions of the different parts of the brain. The surface of the brain is called the cerebral cortex. It is the part of the brain that makes us intelligent, and it consists of four parts called lobes. The front lobe is where much of our thinking and feeling happens. The top lobe processes information which is coming from parts of our bodies, such as our skin and muscles. The side lobe plays an important role in hearing, speech and long-term memories while the back lobe processes images from our eyes. _______________________________________________________________.

    Write two different concluding sentences for the paragraph about the brain.

    a) Restate the main idea from the topic sentence.
    _____________________________________________________________________
    _____________________________________________________________________

    b) Make a prediction about the brain.
    ____________________________________________________________________
    _____________________________________________________________________


    1.4: Concluding Sentences is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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