Writing the Concluding Sentence

Welcome to Advanced English Writing. We have so far reviewed sentence construction, conjunctions and basic paragraph construction. Now we are learning about the 3-paragraph essay.

Remember, each paragraph in your essay must have its own topic sentence. All the other sentences must relate to the topic sentence. If you have information that does not relate to the topic sentence, it must go in another paragraph.

This week, we'll work on conclusions. The third paragraph in a 3-paragraph essay is usually (but not always) about drawing conclusions from the preceding two paragraphs. Sometimes, the third paragraph continues in a logical series, without summing up the previous information. An example might be (Paragraph 1) Stone Age Humans, (Paragraph 2) Humans in 1900 and (Paragraph 3) Humans in the 21st Century. Even in this case, however, the last sentence of the third paragraph should relate to the introductory remarks in the first paragraph.

For instance, suppose my opening sentence was "Human society was extremely difficult and brutal during the Stone Age." I describe the hard life people had then, the violence, disease and poverty. Then I skip to 1900 in the second paragraph and describe the contrast: better diet, more opportunities, real efforts at world peace, longer lifespans, etc. In the 3rd paragraph I note that the 21st century has begun with even more opportunities and even longer lifespans, but also many serious problems. War in the 21st century could easily be nuclear, diseases might sweep the globe killing millions or even billions. And we're running out of all the resources that built our complex civilization. My concluding sentence must fit with the topic sentence of the third paragraph, but should also reflect some progress in the ideas presented in Paragraph 1: "Though we have attained a high level of complexity, there is reason to worry that all our progress may lead back to the simple, violent struggle of Stone Age peoples, unless we can overcome age-old human problems very soon."

This way, the whole composition is unified. It is one idea blossoming out in different ways, like petals of a flower from a single stem. The central idea is that humans have made progress away from our earlier limitations, but those limitations have not been conquered and may easily conquer us.

Here's a sample 3-paragraph essay. Note how the conclusion unifies the essay. Also note that the topic sentence of Paragraph 3 is not the first sentence, but the second.


Getting What I Want

When I have a desire, the natural impulse is to fulfill it as soon as possible. If I am hungry, I look around for food. If I feel attracted to someone or something, and I try to get closer. I feel frustrated if I try to get what I want, and cannot. Commonly, like most people, I will try again. In fact, I may keep trying until it's obvious (even to me) that I cannot succeed.

Buddhism teaches that desire is the cause of suffering, and I believe that is correct. Desires always seem good at the time we have them, but they often lead to troubles. If we do not get what we want, we may be upset. Even if we do achieve our desire, it may not satisfy. Or may satisfy so well, that when it is gone, we are heartbroken. If we cannot stop thinking about what we want, the rest of the world may seem boring and useless by comparison.

I think it's important to enjoy Life as it is, no matter what happens. Everybody experiences frustration and suffering, but why make it worse by crying, just because it's not what we prefer? I have found that, when I let go of strong desires, more good comes my way. Sometimes, I even get what I wanted, after some time goes by. Experience has taught me that, although I naturally want to make my dreams come true, it's best to be content with my lot, and see what heaven has in store for me.