Writing a Dissertation Conclusion: What to Include

The conclusion is the last thing your examiners read before they decide how to think about the whole project. It is your chance to say plainly what you did, what you found and why it matters, in a way that the busiest reader can use. Many students rush it, because they are tired and the deadline is close, and it shows.

This guide explains what a dissertation conclusion should do, how to structure it and how to avoid the common slips. It assumes you have already written your results and discussion chapters.

What the conclusion is for

A conclusion has five jobs.

1. Remind the reader of the aim and what you did.
2. Answer each research question directly.
3. State the contribution your study makes.
4. Show the implications for theory, practice or policy.
5. Look ahead, with limitations and suggestions for future work.

It should be possible to read the conclusion alone and understand what the dissertation achieved.

Conclusion versus discussion

In some programs, the discussion and conclusion are combined into one chapter. Our guide to writing the results and discussion chapters explains the chapter that comes before.

A typical structure

Opening summary

Begin with a short paragraph that reminds readers of the problem, the aim and what you did. Keep it brief, since they have just read the whole document. A few sentences are enough.

This study examined how a unit-based mentoring program relates to first-year retention among new graduate nurses in two community hospitals, and how nurses experienced it. A mixed-methods design combined retention records with interviews.

Answer the research questions

This is the heart of the conclusion. Take each research question in turn and answer it directly, in one or two sentences, with the main supporting evidence.

Research question 1: Retention among nurses who took part in the program was higher than among earlier cohorts, though the difference was modest and the design cannot show cause.

Research question 2: Nurses described mentoring as most valuable when mentors had protected time and when pairing took account of their unit.

(The findings are illustrative.) Use the same wording as your questions so that readers can match them. If a question was only partly answered, say so.

State the contribution

Say what your study adds, in proportion to its scale. A contribution might be new evidence in a setting that had not been studied, a test of a theory in a new context, a practical tool or recommendation or a clearer understanding of an experience. Be specific, and avoid inflated claims. Examiners value honest, accurate statements of contribution over grand ones.

Implications

Explain what follows from your findings.

• For theory: does it support, extend or challenge existing ideas?
• For practice: what could practitioners do differently?
• For policy: what might decision makers consider?
• For education or training: what does it suggest for how people are prepared?

Keep implications tied to your evidence. If a recommendation goes beyond what the study showed, label it as speculation.

Limitations

Briefly restate the main limitations, such as sample size, setting, design or measures, and say how they affect what you can conclude. You will have covered them in detail in the discussion, so the conclusion can be short. The aim is accuracy, not apology. Show that you understand the boundaries of your claims.

Future research

Suggest specific next steps that follow from your findings and limitations. Instead of "more research is needed", say what kind: a larger sample, a comparison across hospital sizes, a longer follow-up, a different method or a test with a different population. Specific suggestions show that you can see where the field should go.

The final statement

End with a short, clear closing message. It might return to the problem you began with, state the central takeaway or point to the broader importance of the work. Avoid dramatic flourishes, new ideas or a long summary. A single well-chosen paragraph is enough.

Writing tips

• Write it with fresh eyes, after you have finished the other chapters.
• Use the same language as your questions and aims.
• Be concise. Resist the urge to repeat the discussion.
• Stay confident but proportionate.
• Avoid new citations unless essential.
• Read it alongside the introduction to check that they match.

Check that the conclusion and introduction line up: the problem raised at the start should be visibly addressed at the end. Our guide to writing a dissertation introduction describes the other half of the pair.

A short example

This dissertation set out to understand whether peer mentoring supports new graduate nurses in small community hospitals. The findings suggest that retention was somewhat higher among mentored nurses and that nurses valued mentors who had protected time. The study contributes evidence from a setting that has received little attention, and offers practical guidance on how to structure mentoring in hospitals with limited staffing. Its limits, including a small sample and a single time frame, mean that the results should be treated as indicative, and future studies should follow cohorts for longer across different hospital sizes. For managers in small hospitals, the central message is that mentoring works best when it is given time and attention, not just assigned.

(The study is illustrative.)

Writing for different readers

Your examiners will read the conclusion closely, but other readers may read it first or alone: a future student looking for a similar project, a practitioner wanting recommendations or a funder checking whether the work delivered. Write so that any of them can find the answers they need. Use plain language for the recommendations, avoid unexplained abbreviations and keep the section headings clear. If your project is applied, consider a short practical summary of what the organization or community could do next.

A last check against the introduction

Before you finish, print the aim and research questions from your introduction and put them beside your conclusion. For each, find the sentence in the conclusion that answers it. If you cannot find one, either the conclusion is missing something or the introduction no longer describes the project. Fix whichever is out of step. Also check that any claim in the conclusion appears in the results or discussion, because a conclusion that introduces new claims confuses readers and may worry examiners.

Common mistakes

• Introducing new evidence or arguments.
• Repeating the discussion at length.
• Not answering the research questions directly.
• Overclaiming the contribution.
• Vague future research such as "more studies are needed".
• Ignoring limitations, or dwelling on them.
• A weak or abrupt ending.
• Mismatch with the introduction.

A quick checklist

• Does it restate the aim and approach briefly?
• Does it answer each research question directly?
• Does it state the contribution honestly?
• Are the implications tied to the evidence?
• Are the limitations brief and accurate?
• Are the suggestions for future work specific?
• Does it end clearly, and match the introduction?

Feedback before you submit

Ask your supervisor to read the conclusion alongside the introduction and abstract, since examiners often read these three together. An additional reader on a finished conclusion helps, and editing for graduate theses is one way to get one.

Final thoughts

A conclusion is a promise kept: you said at the start what you would do, and now you show that you did it. Answer your questions plainly, state what you added in honest terms and point to what comes next. Write it carefully and last, and let it give your examiner a clear final impression of the project.