Best fortune cookie message I've opened: "A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking."

What is a conclusion anyway? How do you wrap things up? Many folk just give up when they're tired of thinking. But a conclusion doesn't have to be difficult. If you don't know what else to say, don't just stop with the last body paragraph. Make yourself write one last little paragraph of 5 sentences. The first one can be similar to your thesis statement, reminding us what the paper was all about. The next three could remind us of the main points you made in the body of the paper; this is especially true of reports or argumentative papers. The last sentence can wrap it all up, perhaps by emphasizing the importance of what you've said. It might feel like a conclusion is a bit lame because you have already told us this information, but what would a movie feel like if it ended with the big climax, guns blazing, ships exploding, lovers leaning in for the kiss, without any final scenes where the hero has a last word, the winning ship docks at home, or the lovers walk into the sunset? Even a paper as boring as a report needs to give the reader a sense of completion, of truly getting to the end. ... And there are other methods used in conclusions, like making the reader laugh at the end, calling the reader to action, or showing the reader the deeper meaning of it all. You can read about these options in future posts.