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Concluding Sentences

CONNECTING TO THE THEME

CONNECTING TO THE THEME
Are you a night owl or an early bird?
What time do you go to bed?
Are you benefitting from the real power of your dreams? Read this paragraph.
A before 12 p.m.
Are the
B after 12 p.m.
numbered statements true or false for you?
What time do you get up?
Scientists are discovering that dreams may help us with our studies. For instance,
1 A before 8 a.m. B after 8 a.m.
some students take a short nap during the day. Research now shows that this can help
them remember what they learned How do you the
before feelnap!
in the morning?
This is especially true if they dream
A Ready
about it, as dreams are a sign that for is
the brain theprocessing
day! the new B Ready for coffee…
information. 2
Also, a
Mostly As = early bird; Mostly Bs: night owl
lot of students tend to study late at night, just before sleeping. Scientists now believe
this improves memory. 3They also found that some students even remember dreaming
about their work when they wake the next day. This research has not solved the complete
mystery of why we dream, but scientists are finding out how dreaming can help us learn.
listen to the latest scientific research and let your dreams improve your studies.
Mostly true: you are making the most of your dreams. Mostly false: you should

A. Skill Presentation
The concluding sentence is usually the last sentence in a paragraph. A concluding sentence can
repeat the main idea of the paragraph (from the topic sentence) using different words. It may start
with “In conclusion”.
Paragraph
t Topic sentence
t Supporting sentences
t Concluding sentence
Read this paragraph about scientists studying why some people feel better when taking fake
medicine (known as the placebo effect).
TScientists are working hard to understand the placebo effect. SThe placebo effect is when
patients get better without drugs or other medical treatment. SPatients believe they are taking
medicine to get better, and they do get better. SIn reality, they are taking a sugar pill – a
placebo. SScientists are not sure how this works. SThey are studying the brain to find out. SIf
they can explain the placebo effect, they believe they could help some sick people get better
just by using their brains. CIt is not difficult to see why scientists are trying to solve this
mystery.
The concluding sentence repeats the idea of the topic sentence but uses different words.

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1 Read the topic sentence from a paragraph about yawning, and check (✓) the correct
concluding sentence.
Topic Sentence: Why people yawn is an unsolved scientific mystery.
Concluding Sentence:
a. People yawn when they are tired.
b. Scientists still are not sure why people yawn.
c. Another unsolved scientific mystery is why people sleepwalk.

2 Match each topic sentence (1–5) with two correct concluding sentences (a–j).
1 There are many unsolved mysteries of the brain.
2 One theory says your brain examines the day’s problems during sleep.
3 The brain has areas for short-term memory and long-term memory.
4 Many elderly people cannot remember things that happened recently.
5 There are many theories about why people walk in their sleep.

a In conclusion, scientists do not completely understand how the brain works.

b In conclusion, this theory states that sleep is a time for the brain to think about problems.
c The theory states that the brain may be able to solve problems as you sleep.
d Scientists give different reasons to explain why people might sleepwalk.
e There are still things scientists do not know about how the brain works.
f In conclusion, as people get older, it is more difficult to remember recent events.
g In conclusion, the brain keeps short-and long-term memories in different places.
h In conclusion, sleepwalking could be caused by a number of different things.
i Older people might have trouble remembering something that just happened.
j Different memories are kept in different areas of the brain.

CHECK!
When you write a paragraph, remember to include a concluding sentence.
1 The concluding sentence is usually the sentence of the
paragraph.
2 It can repeat the idea using different words.

11 Concluding Sentences 43
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1 Read each paragraph and check (✓) the correct concluding sentence.
1 Many scientists are confused about the disappearance of a lake in Chile. In 2007, a
huge lake in Chile was suddenly gone. In its place was a hole with a large piece of ice in it.
Some scientists think that an earthquake made the lake disappear. Other scientists think
that global warming is the cause.
a. In conclusion, some people think the ice melted.
b. In conclusion, scientists are not sure what happened to the lake.
2 For years, people have wondered why the Tower of Pisa leans, and now there is an
answer. As soon as the tower was finished in the 1300s, it started to tilt, or lean. By 1989,
it was leaning 4.5 meters from its center. For years, some people wondered if the tower
leaned because of the way it was built. Finally, the mystery was solved. The tower started
leaning because the ground under it is very soft.
a. There is finally an answer to the mystery of why Pisa’s tower leans.
b. John Burland spent 20 years trying to understand the mystery of the tower.

2 Read each topic sentence and check (✓) the correct concluding sentence.
1 Some scientists think birds use magnetic fields to prevent them from getting lost.
a. In conclusion, scientists have proved why birds do not get lost.
b. In conclusion, birds might not get lost because they can use magnetic fields.
c. In conclusion, some birds travel thousands of miles every year.
2 Photographs show blue and white lights flashing in the sky before an earthquake.
a. Researchers have not found the cause of the blue and white lights.
b. The photos show that colored lights occur before earthquakes.
c. Green lights also appear in the sky in many northern countries.
3 Some dogs can sense when people have diseases.
a. One dog knew that its owner had a serious disease.
b. Dogs can also comfort sick people.
c. Some dogs can detect illnesses in sick people.
4 The recent discovery of a meteorite might prove there was once life on Mars.
a. In conclusion, scientists have done experiments on the meteorite.
b. In conclusion, scientists wonder if there was ever water on Mars.
c. In conclusion, this meteorite may show that Mars had life in the past.
5 Experts are not sure how the Nazca Lines in Peru were made.
a. In conclusion, the lines make pictures of different animals.
b. In conclusion, experts do not know how the lines were created.
c. In conclusion, the lines were probably made more than 2,000 years ago.
6 Bee stings may be able to cure one common disease.
a. Bee stings might help cure a disease that many people have.
b. This type of treatment is called venom therapy.
c. People with allergies should avoid bee stings.

44 Skills for Effective Writing 2

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D. Skill Quiz
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Check (✓) the correct answer for each item.

1 Where is a concluding sentence usually 7 Choose the concluding sentence for this
found? topic sentence: Most people need at least
a. at the beginning of a paragraph eight hours of sleep every night to be healthy.
b. in the middle of a paragraph a. In conclusion, it can be dangerous
c. at the end of a paragraph to not sleep for several days.
b. In conclusion, doctors recommend
2 What is one way to write a concluding that their patients sleep for about
sentence? eight hours a night.
a. Repeat the main idea. c. In conclusion, scientists know why
b. Repeat most of the supporting some people cannot sleep at night.
sentences.
c. Give new information. 8 Choose the concluding sentence for this
topic sentence: Some researchers think the
3 What can you do when you write a Nazca Lines prove people had ways to fly.
concluding sentence? a. It may be possible to make lines
a. Copy the topic sentence exactly. like them using an airplane.
b. Restate the topic sentence with b. Scientists from all over the world
different words. study the Nazca Lines.
c. Write a new idea about the topic. c. People may have had ways to fly,
and some researchers think the
4 Which phrase can start a concluding Nazca Lines show this.
sentence?
9 Choose the concluding sentence for this
a. First of all,
topic sentence: There are cures for many
b. Next,
diseases, but some diseases do not have
c. In conclusion,
cures.
5 Choose the concluding sentence for this a. In conclusion, certain diseases can
topic sentence: People dream during Rapid be cured, but others cannot.
Eye Movement (REM) sleep. b. In conclusion, scientists want to
find cures for all diseases.
a. In conclusion, REM stands for
c. In conclusion, aspirin can help
Rapid Eye Movement.
stop headaches.
b. In conclusion, dreams happen
during REM sleep.
10 Choose the concluding sentence for this
c. In conclusion, many people do not
topic sentence: Many illnesses can be cured
remember their dreams.
without medicine.
6 Choose the concluding sentence for this a. There are ways to get better
topic sentence: Average people sometimes without drugs.
show great strength in a crisis. b. Some illnesses may never have
a cure.
a. For example, a mother once lifted
c. Some doctors should find
a car to save her baby.
new jobs.
b. Scientists are not sure why.
c. A person’s physical power often
increases in times of stress.
11 Concluding Sentences 45