LESSON 4.14
Ending the Essay

Grade 3 (optional for grades 1-2)

Your ending should be short and simple, so readers remember.

Start a new paragraph at the end of the Why Section and write 1-2 sentences that pull everything together. Do not repeat the Summary Statement.

For example, the last two sentences below are the Ending.

  • Amazon rainforest

This covers almost half of South America. It has three million types of plants and animals. A lot of it is being destroyed for raising cattle.

  • Madagascar

A lot of Madagascar used to be rainforest. Now it’s almost all gone. People are turning it for farmland and illegally logging it for its rare wood. Soil erosion is so bad that a great red ring is around the island.

Every tree that is burned down or cut down in rainforests means the death of beautiful animals. Such as the aye-aye lemur

Avoid Boring Endings

Boring Endings are things we have seen many times, such as

  • Stop and smell the roses
  • Try hard and you will succeed
  • Tomorrow is another day
  • Love conquers all

Do not Preach

It’s writers’ jobs to help readers think, not to preach to them.

Never use you. It sounds like preaching.

APPLICATION

  1. With a partner, create an Ending for your essays.
  2. Make any changes your teacher has suggested for the Why Section.
  3. Put your Ending at the end of the Why Section.
  4. Check your spelling.
  5. Turn the rewritten Why Section + the Ending into your teacher.