Winning Answers - A dissection on Writing Skills

A Podium Finish

A Podium Finish

A race well begun is not great unless you can finish it well and win the prize. Similarly a wonderful introduction may force the examiner to read your entire answer, but will not take you to the final destination of big score.

Examiner awards the mark after finishing the reading of your answer and the last sentence read decides the level of your score. This is where a good conclusion takes you to a podium finish of number one slot.

Thus realising the importance of conclusion, now we have to figure out what a good conclusion is. Many people differ in opinion here. Some thinks a good conclusion is summary of all the things written, yet others opine it is solutions to the problems posed in the answer and so on.

Summary of things written in answer will end up repetetive and intellectually boring for examiner. He will feel that you have wasted 10 to 15 words of a limited word answer for presenting a boring summing up sentence.

On the other hand, Solutions to problems posed in the question is part of answer itself and if it is not addressed in the body of answer, you have failed to answer the question completely. Thinking logically, it also cannot be a good conclusion.

So, the best conclusion should be futuristic, going beyond the topic and presents a greater wisdom. Examiner should feel that you have a far reaching insight about the topic beyond what is written in the answer.

It seems easy to say, but very much difficult to bring out in reality. There are baffling words and phrases 'Greater Wisdom', 'Futuristic', 'Going Beyond the topic', 'Far reaching insight' intending to scare you out.

But ultimately in real sense what does all these things mean?

You conclude the topic saying something that you dont know, that may happen in future if all goes well as per the plans, and presents the better benefits with a scope beyond the narrow scope of subject of essay.

So it will confine to the formula:

If all goes as per plan in essay, it will solve the problem(Topic), and will even achieve something bigger.

An impressive introduction will anyhow pulls the examiner like a fishing hook and forces him to read your essay, but he puts marks just after he finishes reading your conclusion.

So, keep in mind that an impressive conclusion will fetch you good marks as it is the last thing that an examiner reads before giving you marks, unless he is too bored by your essay and decides to stop it midway.

Example:

A holistic approach removing the causes and addressing the concerns will not only tackle the menace of naxalism, but also leads to inclusivity and real popular democracy.

Compare with the formula and understand. Start practice...

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EXERCISE 8

1. Write conclusions for all questions which we have worked on in previous chapters.

2. Write conclusions for

Cybersecurity threats faced by India

Prospects of India-China Relations

Demands for separate states in India