conclusion dissertation britannicus

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Sujet zéro 2020 - Français - Corrigé - Dissertation

Voie générale – Sujet zéro 2020

Dissertation portant sur une œuvre et le parcours associé

Œuvre  : Racine, Britannicus Parcours  : « Tragique et tragédie à l’âge classique » Sujet  : Qui incarne le héros tragique dans Britannicus  ?

• Remarques préliminaires sur le sujet

Pour réussir le sujet de dissertation , vous devez analyser rigoureusement les éléments du sujet, puis leur association afin de comprendre la problématique dans son ensemble.

« Un héros tragique »  : ce groupe nominal renvoie au genre du théâtre , et plus particulièrement le théâtre classique du XVII e  siècle. Ce dernier s’appuie sur un retour aux textes des anciens (de l’Antiquité). La tragédie classique est un sous-genre du théâtre qui s’inspire de la Poétique d’ Aristote , texte grec dans lequel l’auteur théorise la tragédie. Elle se fonde sur l’histoire d’un héros tragique : il peut être issu de la mythologie (comme Antigone, ou Phèdre) ou de l’histoire factuelle (comme Britannicus). C’est un personnage qui doit être d’origine noble . Il·Elle est paradoxal·e, ce qui explique ce pourquoi on ne comprend pas tous ses sentiments ou ses actions. Il·Elle se doit d’être médiocre, c’est-à-dire ni trop bon, ni trop mauvais . Enfin, il·elle est porteur·se d’une faille qui le·la pousse vers ses passions démesurées ( hybris ) et qui le·la conduit à un terrible destin , faisant ressentir au lecteur/spectateur terreur et pitié .

« Qui »  : la question peut paraître étrange dans le cadre d’une dissertation, mais cela signifie que la personnalité de celui·celle qu’on croit être le·l’ héros·héroïne tragique ne répond peut-être pas entièrement à toutes les catégories citées ci-dessus. Ou alors qu’il·elle les partage avec d’autres personnages pouvant eux aussi prétendre à ce titre.

«  Britannicus  »  : la pièce de Racine sera le principal objet d’études, mais il est précisé dans la consigne de « prendr[e] appui […] sur les textes et les documents que vous avez étudiés en classe ». Il faudra donc parler de mises en scènes (par exemple) et d’autres textes, de Racine ou non.

Attention toutefois à faire la différence entre « héros » et « héros tragique ». Un héros tragique n’aura pas les valeurs positives du héros classique. Il faudra aussi rappeler le contexte  : le héros tragique pour Aristote n’est pas exactement le même que celui de Racine puisque Racine écrit selon les règles du théâtre classique du XVII e  siècle (règles d’ unité de temps , de lieu , d’action , vraisemblance , bienséance , plaire et instruire ) et à la Cour du Roi (Néron serait donc un potentiel reflet du gouvernement !).

• Reformulez la problématique

Avec vos propres mots :

• Dans quelle mesure [jusqu’à quel point] existe-t-il un seul héros tragique dans Britannicus  ?

Le devoir rédigé ici n’est qu’un exemple. D’autres idées pourraient être évoquées.

• L’introduction

Elle débute par une accroche qui amène le sujet en le situant dans un contexte afin d’aboutir à la problématique. Elle présente le sujet, montre les enjeux et permet d’annoncer le plan.

L’introduction se compose de 4 parties :

• une présentation du sujet (ou accroche) qui permet de le contextualiser. Il convient donc de parler de la pièce Britannicus , du contexte dans lequel elle a été écrite et de la résumer brièvement. On peut rappeler les caractéristiques du théâtre de Racine.

Attention aux banalités ! Évitez de commencer par « Depuis la nuit des temps, la tragédie… ».

• l’annonce du sujet : le sujet est recopié tel quel, introduit par une amorce. « Nous pouvons nous demander si… », « Cela nous amène à nous interroger sur… » ;
• l’analyse de la problématique qui va reprendre votre analyse des termes du sujet et poser le problème ou reformuler la problématique ;
• l’annonce du plan, en 2 ou 3 parties (n’annoncez pas les sous-parties).

Introduction :

Britannicus , parue en 1669, est la première tragédie romaine de Racine. Dramaturge déjà reconnu à la cour de Louis XIV , il propose des pièces classiques, prenant ainsi le contrepied de Corneille , son grand rival. Unité de temps , de lieu , d’action , bienséance et vraisemblance sont ainsi respectées dans Britannicus . La pièce revient sur l’histoire de Néron, empereur romain, qui craint que son demi-frère, Britannicus, ne lui vole le pouvoir. Épris de la même femme, la belle Junie, les deux hommes se détestent. Celle-ci aime Britannicus et s’oppose à Néron. De ce fait, la luttes est double, puisqu’à la fois politique et amoureuse. Elle est guidée par la cruelle Agrippine et aboutit au meurtre de Britannicus par Néron. Dès le résumé de l’histoire, un problème se pose : qui est au centre de la pièce ? le jeune Britannicus ? le féroce Néron ? Ou les deux femmes qui travaillent en secret ? Il devient difficile de savoir qui incarne le héros tragique.

L’expression, très codifiée, renvoie à Aristote dont l’ouvrage principal définit la bonne tragédie ; la Poétique est suivie à la lettre par les tragédiens classiques qui se doivent de s’inspirer des anciens. Plus qu’un épicentre, le héros tragique est celui qui est soumis aux lois de la tragédie. Selon ce que dit le philosophe, c’est un être paradoxal à la fois attiré par le bon et le mauvais. En cela, il est « médiocre » . Il est aussi porteur d’une faille qui le pousse à suivre ses passions. Celles-ci l’entraînent vers un terrible destin, nous faisant ressentir terreur et pitié. Avec cette définition et après lecture de la pièce, on peut se demander dans quelle mesure il existe un héros tragique dans Britannicus . Dans une première partie, nous tenterons de voir en quoi Britannicus, héros éponyme peut l’incarner. Une deuxième partie cherchera à mettre en lumière l’existence d’autres potentiels héros. Enfin, une troisième partie dépassera l’enjeu humain en montrant que seule l’action tragique constitue le véritable héroïsme de la pièce.

Pour vous aider à visualiser le corrigé, nous allons mettre des titres aux différentes parties : vous ne devez bien sûr pas les écrire sur votre copie le jour de l’épreuve. Mais vous pouvez les noter sur votre brouillon pour vous aider à structurer vos idées.

Le plan de cette dissertation que tu pourras inscrire sur ton brouillon correspondra à ceci :

• I. Britannicus héros éponyme de la pièce tragique ?
• a. Un personnage valeureux au centre de toutes les préoccupations
• b. Un héros selon les règles d’Aristote ?
• II. Mais il existe d’autres potentiels héros tragiques qui sont en réalité des anti-héros
• a. L’omniprésence du terrible Néron
• b Non pas un héros mais deux héroïnes
• III. Le sacre de l’action tragique
• a. Le déchaînement des passions ou l’impossible héroïsme
• b. La fatalité comme incarnation de l’héroïsme tragique

Dans le développement , chaque partie présente deux ou trois arguments qui soutiennent l’idée générale de cette partie. Chaque argument est illustré par un exemple précis et développé. Cherchez des exemples variés : auteur·e·s, époques etc.

Un exemple ne remplace pas un argument.

Britannicus, héros éponyme de la pièce tragique

Considérons dans un premier temps que Britannicus puisse incarner le véritable héros tragique de la pièce, ne serait-ce que parce que celle-ci porte son nom. Dès la préface, Racine écrit que les critiques furent scandalisés « qu [’il] eusse choisi un homme aussi jeune que Britannicus pour le héros d’une tragédie » . Cette citation marque la volonté même du dramaturge : Britannicus est bien, d’après lui, le héros. En outre, le jeune homme se retrouve au centre des préoccupations de chacun et semble ainsi incarner le personnage principal : l’action démarre sur l’enlèvement de Junie dont Agrippine nous apprend (acte I scène 1) qu’elle est l’amante de Britannicus. C’est donc l’intrigue amoureuse qui déclenche l’action tragique et qui place Britannicus en son centre. À partir du moment où Agrippine comprend que Néron a enlevé Junie, elle devine la suite des événements : la mort future de Britannicus et sa propre disgrâce. C’est donc par ce rapt amoureux que Néron engage une guerre contre son demi-frère, dont ce dernier va devoir se défendre. Ainsi, l’intrigue politique découle de l’intrigue amoureuse. Toujours dans sa préface, Racine rappelle que les censeurs ont statué que « la pièce est finie au récit de la mort de Britannicus » . Ce constat situe l’apogée de la tragédie au moment du meurtre : terreur et pitié doivent donc s’éteindre avec Britannicus. « Jugez combien ce coup frappe tous les esprits »  (v. 1633), dira Burrhus au moment de raconter la mort du jeune homme. Britannicus peut être le héros tragique puisque son destin scelle le commencement et la fin de la pièce.

Mais Britannicus peut aussi incarner ce héros tragique en ce qu’il porte certaines valeurs chères à Aristote et que Racine applique, comme il se doit pour un dramaturge de son époque. En effet, à l’acte I scène 4, Britannicus évoque sa place au sein de l’empire :

« Je renonce à l’empire, où j’étais destiné Mais je suis seul encor. Les amis de mon père Sont autant d’inconnus que glace ma misère. Et ma jeunesse même écarte loin de moi Tous ceux qui dans le cœur me réservent leur foi. »

(v. 322 à 326)

Le héros, seul contre tous, fait face à un renversement de fortune : alors qu’il était censé succéder à son père à la tête de l’empire, un autre l’a détrôné et détourne de lui tous ses alliés. Sa situation est pathétique, et sa souffrance va s’accroître jusqu’à la chute finale. La conjonction de coordination « mais » marque bien cette rupture entre ce qu’aurait dû être sa destinée et ce qu’elle est. Dans sa tirade , Britannicus fait aussi référence à sa « jeunesse » , qui constitue l’une de ses failles : ses partisans hésitent à mettre au pouvoir un adolescent qui abandonne si facilement son trône. Dans la préface, Racine rappelle qu’il a voulu que le héros tragique ait « quelque imperfection » et que celle-ci se manifeste, chez Britannicus, dans son jeune âge : à dix-sept ans, il a « beaucoup de cœur, beaucoup d’amour, beaucoup de franchise et beaucoup de crédulité, qualités ordinaires d’un jeune homme » . Cet excès marqué par la répétition du mot « beaucoup » marquerait l’hybris de Britannicus. Pour autant, c’est bien le seul moment où ce personnage est auréolé d’ hyperboles , le reste du texte nous montre un personnage que qualifie plutôt la mesure. On remarque dès lors un paradoxe : en réalité Britannicus semble manquer d’hybris, ainsi que de caractère. De plus, il n’est pas le premier détenteur de la parole dans la pièce. Or, au théâtre, celui qui détient la parole détient le pouvoir ; et c’est Néron qui semble plutôt répondre à cette exigence. D’autres figures de héros tragiques seraient dès lors envisageables.

Héros ou anti-héros tragiques ?

Il est possible que d’autres personnages incarnent le héros tragique : la définition d’Aristote met en avant des principes qui sont loin d’être des qualités, ou alors qui sont celles d’un anti-héros. Selon cette définition, Néron pourrait tout à fait incarner le héros tragique de la pièce. Non seulement parce qu’il est le personnage dont les apparitions sont les plus fréquentes, mais également parce qu’il est celui dont le nom est prononcé le plus de fois dans la pièce, que ce soit dans les didascalies ou les discours. La pièce s’ouvre d’ailleurs sur son prénom, prononcé par Albine : « Quoi ! tandis que Néron s’abandonne au sommeil »  (v. 1). C’est lui qui impulse en réalité l’intrigue : le lecteur/spectateur veut savoir qui obtiendra les faveurs de Junie, mais aussi qui accèdera au pouvoir ; et Néron se bat pour les deux quand Britannicus ne participe qu’à la lutte pour le cœur de la jeune femme. L’intrigue politique, quant à elle, s’épanouit sur fond d’histoire familiale et Néron est de nouveau le premier — voir le seul — à y jouer un rôle. Il joue ainsi sur tous les plans et se retrouve confronté à tous les autres personnages. Enfin, selon Aristote, le héros tragique est un héros complexe, ni tout à fait innocent, ni tout à fait coupable. Jusqu’au meurtre, Néron n’est coupable de rien. Il a bien sûr une faille, son égo démesuré, mais il est avant tout amoureux et veut se battre pour gagner le cœur de Junie. Lui aussi est une victime de son destin qui le va le faire devenir ce « monstre naissant » qui inspire la terreur. Toute la pièce se concentre en réalité sur la construction de ce personnage ambigu que nous pourrions qualifier de « héros tragique ». Cependant, le meurtre de Britannicus par Néron empêche sa complicité avec le public : il ne déclenche pas la catharsis attendue.

Ce sont les femmes qui vont déclencher cette catharsis. Deux d’entre elles peuvent prétendre à ce rôle : Agrippine et Junie. En effet, ce sont leurs états d’âme qui ouvrent et ferment la pièce. Ceux-ci ne déclenchent ou ne résolvent pas d’action mais ils sont les premiers et les derniers à être évoqués. La scène 1 de l’acte I met en scène Agrippine au désespoir de comprendre son fils ; tandis que dans la dernière scène Burrhus raconte le départ de Junie. Les deux femmes encerclent la pièce et définissent au moins deux des intrigues fondamentales déjà évoquées : l’intrigue amoureuse et l’intrigue familiale. Mais Junie n’est pas un personnage « médiocre » car elle est « très sage » , comme le soulignent les censeurs de Racine. Junie est en effet profondément vertueuse, ce qui ne peut pas en faire une héroïne tragique. Certes, elle perd l’amour de sa vie mais elle ne se suicide pas, ni se résout à épouser Néron. Enfin, Junie n’occupe que très peu de place sur la scène, bien que son nom soit beaucoup prononcé, elle est seulement présente onze scènes sur trente-trois, soit un tiers de la pièce, ce qui est moins que Narcisse par exemple. C’est alors plutôt Agrippine qui se fait centre des regards. Elle est d’ailleurs celle qui détient le plus la parole dans toute la pièce : présente dans dix-sept scènes, c’est à elle que reviennent les tirades les plus longues. Lors de l’acte IV, scène 2, elle se confronte à son fils Néron. C’est elle qui va mener la plus grande bataille entre les deux Néron : Auguste , c’est-à-dire le bon empereur, contre Octave , le mauvais. La didascalie qui ouvre la scène « s’asseyant » est une des rares didascalies du théâtre classique du XVII e  siècle. Elle rappelle la plus connue qui est celle de Phèdre , autre pièce de Racine : lors de la scène de l’aveu, Phèdre, affligée par le poids de la destinée, « s’assied ». Phèdre étant l’héroïne tragique par excellence, cette similitude des actions et cette importance montrent bien qu’Agrippine aussi peut incarner l’héroïne tragique. D’ailleurs, elle aussi a un hybris démesuré : c’est grâce à ses machinations pour le pouvoir que son fils occupe le trône. Victime du destin, elle subit une grande inversion de fortune. Son impuissance face à son fils, et la disgrâce dans laquelle elle se retrouve, permettent l’introduction de la terreur et de la pitié propices au phénomène cathartique. Mais encore une fois, celle-ci est contrée par les crimes dont le personnage se rend coupable. Si le doute s’installe pour tous les personnages, reste-t-il vraiment des possibilités d’héroïsme ?

Le sacre de l’action tragique

Nous pourrions alors revenir plus simplement à la notion de héros : une pièce a-t-elle besoin d’un héros si l’action suffit à entretenir la dimension tragique ? À la lecture de Britannicus , on constate en effet l’impossible existence d’un véritable héros tragique. Selon Aristote, le héros est censé être médiocre, c’est-à-dire ni trop bon, ni trop mauvais. Or, aucun personnage de la pièce n’est en mesure d’incarner cette médiocrité puisque chacun semble dévoré par ses passions. Britannicus est aveuglé par l’amour, seule passion susceptible de le faire réagir aux attaques de Néron. Junie est dans le même cas. Néron est brûlé intérieurement par son ambition politique et son amour pour la jeune femme :

« Ta fureur s’irritant soi-même dans son cours D’un sang toujours nouveau marquera tous tes jours. »

, dira Agrippine à son sujet (v. 1685-1686). Le mot « fureur » marque de manière hyperbolique la tempête qui se déroule dans l’esprit du nouveau César. Néron quittera même le monde des humains lorsqu’il embrasera Rome plus tard. Dans La Vie des douze César , Suétone raconte la mort de celui-ci : au lieu d’affronter le Sénat, il se suicide, n’assumant plus les conséquences de son hybris. Enfin, Agrippine est portée par un désir trop grand et trop violent de pouvoir : elle conspire à trop de meurtres. Le déchaînement des passions empêche l’héroïsme qui est alors à chercher ailleurs.

Aucun personnage ne semble digne d’être sacré héros. Cependant, un autre personnage, invisible, est en réalité présent : la fatalité. Celle-ci pourrait être le héros tragique de Britannicus . La fatalité correspond au poids du destin qui conduit à la mort. Si fatalité et mort ne sont pas des personnes, elles sont une présence permanente dans la pièce. Elles contribuent à l’avancée de la machine violente. Ainsi, Britannicus meurt empoisonné quand Junie « meurt au monde » en partant vivre chez les Vestales. Néron meurt à lui-même puisque, dans son combat entre le bien et le mal, il choisit son camp et fait mourir une partie de lui. Enfin, si Agrippine ne meurt pas, elle sait que sa disgrâce la conduira à sa perte. La fatalité agit sur tous et est au centre de toutes les discussions. Chaque personnage prononce au moins une fois le mot « destin » ou « destiné·e ». Lorsque celui-ci est positif, il est détruit par les circonstances : comme chez Britannicus qui rappelle qu’il a abandonné sa destinée d’empereur ou chez Junie qui explique qu’elle « fu [t] destinée » à Britannicus. L’emploi du passé simple indique une rupture nette avec ce possible positif. La fatalité prend alors la place de la destinée et conduit nos personnages à leur perte. C’est donc elle qui peut être tenue pour héroïne tragique de la pièce.

La conclusion propose un bilan du devoir. Il s’agit de reformuler les idées essentielles. Puis vous devez proposer une ouverture vers une autre problématique. Soignez votre conclusion : c’est la dernière chose que votre correcteur lira et vous devez lui laisser une bonne impression.

Conclusion :

En somme, Britannicus est une pièce qui pose la question du héros tragique. Défini par Aristote, celui-ci s’incarne à la fois dans le personnage éponyme mais aussi dans d’autres figures comme celles de Néron ou d’Agrippine. Mais chacun semble dévoré par ses passions et la fatalité. Il ne reste alors qu’à cette dernière le poids de l’héroïsme. Elle est à la fois la faille, la faute, le destin, la terreur et la pitié de chacun des personnages. Racine est ainsi un dramaturge puissant qui arrive à mettre en scène une force invincible et invisible, dont Phèdre se fera la première réelle incarnation, huit ans plus tard.

Dans la mise en scène de Stéphane Braunschweig pour la Comédie française en 2018, le décor représente une salle de réunion dans un bureau moderne : le metteur en scène signifie-t-il que la fatalité est encore ce qui règne dans le monde du pouvoir aujourd’hui ?

Britannicus de Racine : résumé, analyse et interprétation de la pièce

I- présentation de la tragédie.

Racine emprunte le sujet de Britannicus (1669) à l’histoire romaine, plus précisément à Tacite. Les libertés qu’il prend avec l’historien, en particulier dans le personnage de Junie, répondent aux nécessités dramatiques et traduisent la vision janséniste du monde et de l’histoire, qui l’influence durablement. Britannicus, le fils de Claude et de Messaline, le frère d’Octavie, a été écarté du trône par les intrigues d’Agrippine. Veuve de l’obscur Domitius Aenobarbus, le père de Néron, elle a réussi à se faire épouser en secondes noces par Claude, à faire adopter son fils, marié à Octavie, par l’empereur malade, puis à l’imposer comme héritier de l’empire, au détriment du fils de Messaline.

II- Résumé de Britannicus : Histoire d'une chute programmée

Au début de la pièce, Néron, pour des raisons essentiellement politiques, a fait enlever Junie, promise à Britannicus, et la retient prisonnière au Palais, provoquant l’inquiétude et la colère d’Agrippine qui n’a pas été consultée sur cette décision. Il craint probable­ment que le mariage de la jeune fille, qui descend d’Auguste, avec le fils de Claude, ne renforce le poids politique du jeune prince. Comme ce mariage est un projet d’Agrippine, l’enlèvement de Junie est un coup d’éclat : non seulement il montre le peu de cas que l’empereur fait de son jeune frère adoptif, mais il marque la volonté d’indépendance d’un fils à l’égard d’une mère trop possessive, qui refuse d’abandonner son pouvoir et son autorité. Cependant, la vue de Junie trouble si profondément Néron que la passion vio­lente qui naît de leur rencontre transforme radicalement la situation dramatique. Britan­nicus n’est plus seulement un prétendant possible, il est un rival, d’autant plus détesté qu’il est davantage aimé. En refusant de s’effacer devant l’empereur, en rappelant à Néron ses origines, moins glorieuses que les siennes, Britannicus provoque le ressentiment et la haine de son rival et scelle son destin ; dissimulant ses véritables sentiments, prétextant un désir de réconciliation, Néron l’invite à un festin où il le fait empoisonner froide­ment ; mais Junie, se réfugiant chez les Vestales sous la protection du peuple, échappe pour toujours à la passion d’un prince fou de douleur.

III- Analyse : les personnage de Britannicus

Le personnage de Britannicus, s’il est profondément attachant, manque toutefois de relief et de densité. Il semble n’avoir aucun des desseins politiques que lui prête son frère : il a accepté le sort qui l’écarte du trône et ne retrouve ses ambitions que pour défendre l’objet de son amour. Il ne manque ni de courage ni de noblesse (dans la scène 8 de l’acte III, qui l’oppose à Néron), mais l’aveuglement et l’inconscience qui le caractéri­sent l’empêchent d’agir sur les événements.

Il manque totalement de lucidité : lui qui a toujours vécu à la cour, il n’en soupçonne ni les hypocrisies ni les dangers ; il n’est pas capable d’analyser la situation dans laquelle il se trouve, encore moins de la maîtriser. La confiance qu’il place en Agripppine, qui ne songe qu’à l’utiliser comme un pion dans le jeu qu’elle conduit pour garder le pouvoir (scène 3 de l’Acte III), frise le ridicule (scène 4 de l’Acte I), alors même qu’il sait le rôle qu’elle a joué dans la mort de son père et dans sa propre disgrâce. Ayant provoqué Néron avec une dureté d’autant plus blessante qu’elle se fonde sur la vérité, il n’écoute pas les conseils de Junie qui le pousse à la prudence, et marche le cœur en paix vers la mort. Britannicus manque non seulement de sens politique, mais il est complètement dépourvu de sens psy­chologique ; il est, dans son rapport avec les êtres, d’une naïveté désarmante ; la seule per­sonne dont il se méfie est la jeune fille qu’il aime, parce qu’elle a joué la froideur et l’indifférence, afin de le protéger (scène 6 de l’Acte II), alors qu’il se confie avec une totale sincérité à Narcisse, le méprisable affranchi qui l’espionne pour le compte de Néron. Bri­tannicus, c’est l’innocence dans la fragilité et l’illusion d’une éternelle adolescence.

Britannicus apparaît donc davantage comme une victime que comme un héros tra­gique, dont il n’a ni les faiblesses ni les grandeurs, parce qu’il n’en possède ni la volonté ni la lucidité. La critique a depuis longtemps observé que le couple des monstres (Agrippine-Néron) est beaucoup plus fascinant que le couple des victimes (Britannicus-Junie) et que, dans ce dernier, la jeune fille fait preuve d’une force d’âme et montre une tension tragique bien supérieure à celle de son amant. On peut s’étonner, par conséquent, que Britannicus ait donné son titre à la tragédie. C’est probablement parce qu’il est l’occasion, plus encore que l’obstacle, qui déclenche le mécanisme dont la pièce assure le développe­ment. Le sujet de la pièce, c’est la naissance d’un monstre : il fallait donc que la victime soit parfaitement innocente, pour souligner le caractère monstrueux d’un crime qui annonce tous les autres, de même qu’il fallait que le drame ne s’arrête pas à la mort de Britannicus, mais s’achève avec la fuite de Junie chez les Vestales, pour manifester l’échec du tyran et le redoublement de la haine dans le désespoir.

IV- Interprétations de la pièce

Deux interprétations méritent notre attention : celle de L. Goldmann et celle de R. Barthes.

Lecture de Lucien Goldmann :  

Pour L. Goldmann ( Le Dieu caché ), la vision tragique oppose, chez Racine, un monde d’êtres sans conscience authentique et sans grandeur humaine et un personnage tragique, dont la grandeur consiste précisément dans le refus de ce monde et de la vie (p. 352). Au centre, il y a le monde, représenté par les fauves (Agrippine et Néron), les fourbes (Narcisse), les irréa­listes (Burrhus), les victimes pures, passives, sans aucune force intellectuelle ou morale (Britannicus) ; à la périphérie, il y a le personnage tragique, Junie, dressée contre le monde et repoussant jusqu’à la pensée du moindre compromis ; il y a un dernier personnage, absent et pourtant plus réel que tous les autres, à savoir Dieu (p. 363). Britannicus n’est donc pas le personnage principal de la pièce, ce n’est qu’un des multiples personnages qui constituent le monde et sa mort n’est qu’un épi­sode dont la seule importance est de déclencher le dénouement (p. 367). Le véritable sujet de la tra­gédie est le conflit entre funie et le monde, qui sera résolu par l’entrée de la jeune fille chez les Vestales, c’est-à-dire par sa fuite hors du monde et son entrée dans le règne de Dieu. « Tant que Dieu reste muet et caché, le personnage tragique est rigoureusement seul puisque aucun dialogue n’est jamais possible entre lui et les personnages qui constituent le monde ; mais cette solitude sera dépassée à l’instant même où résonnera dans le monde la parole de Dieu. Comme Esther entourée des filles juives, comme Joas entouré des lévites, Junie, qui n’a jamais pu réaliser un dialogue, ni avec Néron ni avec Britannicus, trouvera pour la pro­téger, lorsqu’elle sera entrée dans le temple de Dieu, un peuple entier qui tuera Narcisse et chassera Néron. Il n’y a pas de place pour les fauves dans l’Univers de Dieu » (p. 368-369).

Interprétation de Britannicus par Roland Barthes :  

D’une manière analogue, R. Barthes (Sur Racine) place Junie au centre de l’intrigue. Il y a une symétrie parfaite entre Néron et Britannicus, dans le conflit existentiel qui les oppose et dont Junie est à la fois l’enjeu et l’arbitre. « Pouvoir pleurer avec Junie, tel est le rêve néronien, accompli par le double heureux de Néron, Britannicus. Entre eux, la symétrie est parfaite : une épreuve de force les lie au même père, au même trône, à la même femme ; ils sont frères, ce qui veut dire, selon la nature racinienne, ennemis et englués l’un à l’autre ; un rapport magique (et, selon l’Histoire, érotique) les unit : Néron fascine Britannicus, comme Agrippine fascine Néron. Issus du même point, ils ne font que se reproduire dans des situations contraires : l’un a dépossédé l’autre, en sorte que l’un a tout et l’autre n’a rien » (p. 92). Mais celui qui a tout (Néron) n’est pas, et celui qui n’a rien (Britannicus), par la grâce de l’amour, est véritablement. C’est Junie qui a fait exister Bri­tannicus et repousse Néron vers le néant. « Entre Néron et Britannicus, junie est l’arbitre absolu et absolument gracieux. Selon une figure propre au Destin, elle retourne le malheur de Britannicus en grâce et le pouvoir de Néron en impuissance, Y avoir en nullité et le dénuement en être » (p. 94).

Ainsi, par la grâce de Junie, la fécondité promise à Néron par l’amour devient stérilité éter­nelle. A peine éclos, par et dans le désir, Néron est frappé de la plus horrible des frustrations : la Femme, qui représente pour lui la vie, meurt sans mourir, en disparaissant dans le temple. C’est pourquoi le désespoir final de l’empereur « n’est pas celui d’un homme qui a perdu sa maîtresse ; c’est le désespoir d’un homme condamné à vieillir sans jamais naître » (ibid).

Source:  Dictionnaire de culture générale

Bibliographie

• L. Goldmann, Le dieu caché, Gallimard, «Tel», 1959.
• R. Barthes, Sur Racine, Le Seuil, 1963.

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Andromaque, tragédie de Racine : résumé et analyse

Iphigénie de Jean Racine : Résumé et analyse des personnages

Bérénice de Jean Racine : résumé et analyse de la tragédie

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• How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion

How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion | Checklist and Examples

Published on 9 September 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on 10 October 2022.

The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation . It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question .

In it, you should:

• Clearly state the answer to your main research question
• Summarise and reflect on your research process
• Make recommendations for future work on your topic
• Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
• Wrap up your thesis or dissertation

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Table of contents

Discussion vs. conclusion, how long should your conclusion be, step 1: answer your research question, step 2: summarise and reflect on your research, step 3: make future recommendations, step 4: emphasise your contributions to your field, step 5: wrap up your thesis or dissertation, full conclusion example, conclusion checklist, frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.

While your conclusion contains similar elements to your discussion section , they are not the same thing.

Your conclusion should be shorter and more general than your discussion. Instead of repeating literature from your literature review , discussing specific research results , or interpreting your data in detail, concentrate on making broad statements that sum up the most important insights of your research.

As a rule of thumb, your conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.

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Depending on whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your length will vary. Generally, a conclusion should make up around 5–7% of your overall word count.

An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion, concisely stating the main findings and recommendations for future research. A humanities topic or systematic review , on the other hand, might require more space to conclude its analysis, tying all the previous sections together in an overall argument.

Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address. This is your final chance to show that you’ve done what you set out to do, so make sure to formulate a clear, concise answer.

• Don’t repeat a list of all the results that you already discussed
• Do synthesise them into a final takeaway that the reader will remember.

An empirical thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

A case study –based thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

In the second example, the research aim is not directly restated, but rather added implicitly to the statement. To avoid repeating yourself, it is helpful to reformulate your aims and questions into an overall statement of what you did and how you did it.

Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.

To avoid repetition , consider writing more reflectively here, rather than just writing a summary of each preceding section. Consider mentioning the effectiveness of your methodology , or perhaps any new questions or unexpected insights that arose in the process.

You can also mention any limitations of your research, but only if you haven’t already included these in the discussion. Don’t dwell on them at length, though – focus on the positives of your work.

• While x limits the generalisability of the results, this approach provides new insight into y .
• This research clearly illustrates x , but it also raises the question of y .

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You may already have made a few recommendations for future research in your discussion section, but the conclusion is a good place to elaborate and look ahead, considering the implications of your findings in both theoretical and practical terms.

• Based on these conclusions, practitioners should consider …
• To better understand the implications of these results, future studies could address …
• Further research is needed to determine the causes of/effects of/relationship between …

When making recommendations for further research, be sure not to undermine your own work. Relatedly, while future studies might confirm, build on, or enrich your conclusions, they shouldn’t be required for your argument to feel complete. Your work should stand alone on its own merits.

Just as you should avoid too much self-criticism, you should also avoid exaggerating the applicability of your research. If you’re making recommendations for policy, business, or other practical implementations, it’s generally best to frame them as ‘shoulds’ rather than ‘musts’. All in all, the purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore – not to demand.

Make sure your reader is left with a strong impression of what your research has contributed to the state of your field.

Some strategies to achieve this include:

• Returning to your problem statement to explain how your research helps solve the problem
• Referring back to the literature review and showing how you have addressed a gap in knowledge
• Discussing how your findings confirm or challenge an existing theory or assumption

Again, avoid simply repeating what you’ve already covered in the discussion in your conclusion. Instead, pick out the most important points and sum them up succinctly, situating your project in a broader context.

The end is near! Once you’ve finished writing your conclusion, it’s time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps:

• It’s a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind.
• Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly formatted. To speed up the process, you can use our free APA citation generator .
• Once you’ve added any appendices , you can create a table of contents and title page .
• Finally, read through the whole document again to make sure your thesis is clearly written and free from language errors. You can proofread it yourself , ask a friend, or consider Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .

Here is an example of how you can write your conclusion section. Notice how it includes everything mentioned above:

V. Conclusion

The current research aimed to identify acoustic speech characteristics which mark the beginning of an exacerbation in COPD patients.

The central questions for this research were as follows: 1. Which acoustic measures extracted from read speech differ between COPD speakers in stable condition and healthy speakers? 2. In what ways does the speech of COPD patients during an exacerbation differ from speech of COPD patients during stable periods?

All recordings were aligned using a script. Subsequently, they were manually annotated to indicate respiratory actions such as inhaling and exhaling. The recordings of 9 stable COPD patients reading aloud were then compared with the recordings of 5 healthy control subjects reading aloud. The results showed a significant effect of condition on the number of in- and exhalations per syllable, the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable, and the ratio of voiced and silence intervals. The number of in- and exhalations per syllable and the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable were higher for COPD patients than for healthy controls, which confirmed both hypotheses.

However, the higher ratio of voiced and silence intervals for COPD patients compared to healthy controls was not in line with the hypotheses. This unpredicted result might have been caused by the different reading materials or recording procedures for both groups, or by a difference in reading skills. Moreover, there was a trend regarding the effect of condition on the number of syllables per breath group. The number of syllables per breath group was higher for healthy controls than for COPD patients, which was in line with the hypothesis. There was no effect of condition on pitch, intensity, center of gravity, pitch variability, speaking rate, or articulation rate.

This research has shown that the speech of COPD patients in exacerbation differs from the speech of COPD patients in stable condition. This might have potential for the detection of exacerbations. However, sustained vowels rarely occur in spontaneous speech. Therefore, the last two outcome measures might have greater potential for the detection of beginning exacerbations, but further research on the different outcome measures and their potential for the detection of exacerbations is needed due to the limitations of the current study.

Checklist: Conclusion

I have clearly and concisely answered the main research question .

I have summarized my overall argument or key takeaways.

I have mentioned any important limitations of the research.

I have given relevant recommendations .

I have clearly explained what my research has contributed to my field.

I have  not introduced any new data or arguments.

You've written a great conclusion! Use the other checklists to further improve your dissertation.

In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:

• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5-7% of your overall word count.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:

• A restatement of your research question
• A summary of your key arguments and/or results
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

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Conclusion de commentaire, Britannicus, Racine.

Par azertyuiopz44   •  7 Novembre 2016  •  Commentaire de texte  •  363 Mots (2 Pages)  •  3 886 Vues

Cette scène est donc caractéristique d’un « art de commencer » qui cherche à combiner information et vraisemblance, information et action. Le spectateur reçoit rapidement une information très dense qui lui permet d’imaginer la suite de l’action : il voit se dessiner les principaux affrontements en perspective (l’affrontement entre Néron et Britannicus, entre Néron et Agrippine), il peut faire des hypothèses sur l’issue de la tragédie. Bien sûr, cette technique de la « scène d’exposition » suppose une bonne part d’artifice mais la « situation de communication » imaginée par l’auteur rend vraisemblable cet apport d’information. En outre, le spectateur est directement plongé dans l’intrigue, il surprend en plein drame un des personnages principaux de la pièce. La scène est vivante. Cette scène est donc caractéristique d’un « art de commencer » qui cherche à combiner information et vraisemblance, information et action. Le spectateur reçoit rapidement une information très dense qui lui permet d’imaginer la suite de l’action : il voit se dessiner les principaux affrontements en perspective (l’affrontement entre Néron et Britannicus, entre Néron et Agrippine), il peut faire des hypothèses sur l’issue de la tragédie. Bien sûr, cette technique de la « scène d’exposition » suppose une bonne part d’artifice mais la « situation de communication » imaginée par l’auteur rend vraisemblable cet apport d’information. En outre, le spectateur est directement plongé dans l’intrigue, il surprend en plein drame un des personnages principaux de la pièce. La scène est vivante. Cette scène est donc caractéristique d’un « art de commencer » qui cherche à combiner information et vraisemblance, information et action. Le spectateur reçoit rapidement une information très dense qui lui permet d’imaginer la suite de l’action : il voit se dessiner les principaux affrontements en perspective (l’affrontement entre Néron et Britannicus, entre Néron et Agrippine), il peut faire des hypothèses sur l’issue de la tragédie. Bien sûr, cette technique de la « scène d’exposition » suppose une bonne part d’artifice mais la « situation de communication » imaginée par l’auteur rend vraisemblable cet apport d’information. En outre, le spectateur est directement plongé dans l’intrigue, il surprend en plein drame un des personnages principaux de la pièce. La scène est vivante.

How To Write The Conclusion Chapter

The what, why & how explained simply (with examples).

By: Jenna Crossley (PhD Cand). Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | September 2021

So, you’ve wrapped up your results and discussion chapters, and you’re finally on the home stretch – the conclusion chapter . In this post, we’ll discuss everything you need to know to craft a high-quality conclusion chapter for your dissertation or thesis project.

Overview: Dissertation Conclusion Chapter

• What the thesis/dissertation conclusion chapter is
• What to include in your conclusion chapter
• How to structure and write up your conclusion chapter
• A few tips  to help you ace the chapter

What exactly is the conclusion chapter?

The conclusion chapter is typically the final major chapter of a dissertation or thesis. As such, it serves as a concluding summary of your research findings and wraps up the document. While some publications such as journal articles and research reports combine the discussion and conclusion sections, these are typically separate chapters in a dissertation or thesis. As always, be sure to check what your university’s structural preference is before you start writing up these chapters.

So, what’s the difference between the discussion and the conclusion chapter?

Well, the two chapters are quite similar , as they both discuss the key findings of the study. However, the conclusion chapter is typically more general and high-level in nature. In your discussion chapter, you’ll typically discuss the intricate details of your study, but in your conclusion chapter, you’ll take a   broader perspective, reporting on the main research outcomes and how these addressed your research aim (or aims) .

A core function of the conclusion chapter is to synthesise all major points covered in your study and to tell the reader what they should take away from your work. Basically, you need to tell them what you found , why it’s valuable , how it can be applied , and what further research can be done.

Whatever you do, don’t just copy and paste what you’ve written in your discussion chapter! The conclusion chapter should not be a simple rehash of the discussion chapter. While the two chapters are similar, they have distinctly different functions.  

What should I include in the conclusion chapter?

To understand what needs to go into your conclusion chapter, it’s useful to understand what the chapter needs to achieve. In general, a good dissertation conclusion chapter should achieve the following:

• Summarise the key findings of the study
• Explicitly answer the research question(s) and address the research aims
• Inform the reader of the study’s main contributions
• Discuss any limitations or weaknesses of the study
• Present recommendations for future research

Therefore, your conclusion chapter needs to cover these core components. Importantly, you need to be careful not to include any new findings or data points. Your conclusion chapter should be based purely on data and analysis findings that you’ve already presented in the earlier chapters. If there’s a new point you want to introduce, you’ll need to go back to your results and discussion chapters to weave the foundation in there.

In many cases, readers will jump from the introduction chapter directly to the conclusions chapter to get a quick overview of the study’s purpose and key findings. Therefore, when you write up your conclusion chapter, it’s useful to assume that the reader hasn’t consumed the inner chapters of your dissertation or thesis. In other words, craft your conclusion chapter such that there’s a strong connection and smooth flow between the introduction and conclusion chapters, even though they’re on opposite ends of your document.

Need a helping hand?

How to write the conclusion chapter

Now that you have a clearer view of what the conclusion chapter is about, let’s break down the structure of this chapter so that you can get writing. Keep in mind that this is merely a typical structure – it’s not set in stone or universal. Some universities will prefer that you cover some of these points in the discussion chapter , or that you cover the points at different levels in different chapters.

Step 1: Craft a brief introduction section

As with all chapters in your dissertation or thesis, the conclusions chapter needs to start with a brief introduction. In this introductory section, you’ll want to tell the reader what they can expect to find in the chapter, and in what order . Here’s an example of what this might look like:

This chapter will conclude the study by summarising the key research findings in relation to the research aims and questions and discussing the value and contribution thereof. It will also review the limitations of the study and propose opportunities for future research.

Importantly, the objective here is just to give the reader a taste of what’s to come (a roadmap of sorts), not a summary of the chapter. So, keep it short and sweet – a paragraph or two should be ample.

Step 2: Discuss the overall findings in relation to the research aims

The next step in writing your conclusions chapter is to discuss the overall findings of your study , as they relate to the research aims and research questions . You would have likely covered similar ground in the discussion chapter, so it’s important to zoom out a little bit here and focus on the broader findings – specifically, how these help address the research aims .

In practical terms, it’s useful to start this section by reminding your reader of your research aims and research questions, so that the findings are well contextualised. In this section, phrases such as, “This study aimed to…” and “the results indicate that…” will likely come in handy. For example, you could say something like the following:

This study aimed to investigate the feeding habits of the naked mole-rat. The results indicate that naked mole rats feed on underground roots and tubers. Further findings show that these creatures eat only a part of the plant, leaving essential parts to ensure long-term food stability.

Be careful not to make overly bold claims here. Avoid claims such as “this study proves that” or “the findings disprove existing the existing theory”. It’s seldom the case that a single study can prove or disprove something. Typically, this is achieved by a broader body of research, not a single study – especially not a dissertation or thesis which will inherently have significant and limitations. We’ll discuss those limitations a little later.

Step 3: Discuss how your study contributes to the field

Next, you’ll need to discuss how your research has contributed to the field – both in terms of theory and practice . This involves talking about what you achieved in your study, highlighting why this is important and valuable, and how it can be used or applied.

In this section you’ll want to:

• Mention any research outputs created as a result of your study (e.g., articles, publications, etc.)
• Inform the reader on just how your research solves your research problem , and why that matters
• Reflect on gaps in the existing research and discuss how your study contributes towards addressing these gaps
• Discuss your study in relation to relevant theories . For example, does it confirm these theories or constructively challenge them?
• Discuss how your research findings can be applied in the real world . For example, what specific actions can practitioners take, based on your findings?

Be careful to strike a careful balance between being firm but humble in your arguments here. It’s unlikely that your one study will fundamentally change paradigms or shake up the discipline, so making claims to this effect will be frowned upon . At the same time though, you need to present your arguments with confidence, firmly asserting the contribution your research has made, however small that contribution may be. Simply put, you need to keep it balanced .

Step 4: Reflect on the limitations of your study

Now that you’ve pumped your research up, the next step is to critically reflect on the limitations and potential shortcomings of your study. You may have already covered this in the discussion chapter, depending on your university’s structural preferences, so be careful not to repeat yourself unnecessarily.

There are many potential limitations that can apply to any given study. Some common ones include:

• Sampling issues that reduce the generalisability of the findings (e.g., non-probability sampling )
• Insufficient sample size (e.g., not getting enough survey responses ) or limited data access
• Low-resolution data collection or analysis techniques
• Researcher bias or lack of experience
• Lack of access to research equipment
• Time constraints that limit the methodology (e.g. cross-sectional vs longitudinal time horizon)
• Budget constraints that limit various aspects of the study

Discussing the limitations of your research may feel self-defeating (no one wants to highlight their weaknesses, right), but it’s a critical component of high-quality research. It’s important to appreciate that all studies have limitations (even well-funded studies by expert researchers) – therefore acknowledging these limitations adds credibility to your research by showing that you understand the limitations of your research design .

That being said, keep an eye on your wording and make sure that you don’t undermine your research . It’s important to strike a balance between recognising the limitations, but also highlighting the value of your research despite those limitations. Show the reader that you understand the limitations, that these were justified given your constraints, and that you know how they can be improved upon – this will get you marks.

Next, you’ll need to make recommendations for future studies. This will largely be built on the limitations you just discussed. For example, if one of your study’s weaknesses was related to a specific data collection or analysis method, you can make a recommendation that future researchers undertake similar research using a more sophisticated method.

Another potential source of future research recommendations is any data points or analysis findings that were interesting or surprising , but not directly related to your study’s research aims and research questions. So, if you observed anything that “stood out” in your analysis, but you didn’t explore it in your discussion (due to a lack of relevance to your research aims), you can earmark that for further exploration in this section.

Essentially, this section is an opportunity to outline how other researchers can build on your study to take the research further and help develop the body of knowledge. So, think carefully about the new questions that your study has raised, and clearly outline these for future researchers to pick up on.

Step 6: Wrap up with a closing summary

Quick tips for a top-notch conclusion chapter

Now that we’ve covered the what , why and how of the conclusion chapter, here are some quick tips and suggestions to help you craft a rock-solid conclusion.

• Don’t ramble . The conclusion chapter usually consumes 5-7% of the total word count (although this will vary between universities), so you need to be concise. Edit this chapter thoroughly with a focus on brevity and clarity.
• Be very careful about the claims you make in terms of your study’s contribution. Nothing will make the marker’s eyes roll back faster than exaggerated or unfounded claims. Be humble but firm in your claim-making.
• Use clear and simple language that can be easily understood by an intelligent layman. Remember that not every reader will be an expert in your field, so it’s important to make your writing accessible. Bear in mind that no one knows your research better than you do, so it’s important to spell things out clearly for readers.

Hopefully, this post has given you some direction and confidence to take on the conclusion chapter of your dissertation or thesis with confidence. If you’re still feeling a little shaky and need a helping hand, consider booking a free initial consultation with a friendly Grad Coach to discuss how we can help you with hands-on, private coaching.

Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

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17 Comments

Really you team are doing great!

Your guide on writing the concluding chapter of a research is really informative especially to the beginners who really do not know where to start. Im now ready to start. Keep it up guys

Really your team are doing great!

Very helpful guidelines, timely saved. Thanks so much for the tips.

This post was very helpful and informative. Thank you team.

A very enjoyable, understandable and crisp presentation on how to write a conclusion chapter. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Jenna.

This was a very helpful article which really gave me practical pointers for my concluding chapter. Keep doing what you are doing! It meant a lot to me to be able to have this guide. Thank you so much.

Nice content dealing with the conclusion chapter, it’s a relief after the streneous task of completing discussion part.Thanks for valuable guidance

Thanks for your guidance

I get all my doubts clarified regarding the conclusion chapter. It’s really amazing. Many thanks.

Very helpful tips. Thanks so much for the guidance

Thank you very much for this piece. It offers a very helpful starting point in writing the conclusion chapter of my thesis.

It’s awesome! Most useful and timely too. Thanks a million times

Bundle of thanks for your guidance. It was greatly helpful.

Wonderful, clear, practical guidance. So grateful to read this as I conclude my research. Thank you.

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Writing the Dissertation - Guides for Success: The Conclusion

• Writing the Dissertation Homepage
• Overview and Planning
• The Literature Review
• The Methodology
• The Results and Discussion
• The Conclusion
• The Abstract
• Getting Started
• Annotated Example
• What to Avoid

Overview of writing the dissertation conclusion

The conclusion is the final chapter of the dissertation. It serves to reinforce your main argument and findings, before considering the wider implications of your research. Along with the introduction, it’s often the shortest chapter in a dissertation, but it is a chapter in its own right and should be given due care and attention.

Even so, the conclusion of a dissertation is sometimes hastily thrown together, culminating in a perfunctory and uninspiring end to such a substantial piece of work. Just like how nobody likes a bad ending to a movie, you want your conclusion to be an accurate and positive reflection of your dissertation that leaves your reader with a clear and satisfying end to the work.

Disciplinary differences

Please note: this guide is not specific to any one discipline. The conclusion can vary depending on the nature of the research and the expectations of the school or department, so please adapt the following advice to meet the demands of your project and department. Consult your supervisor for further guidance.

Guide contents

As part of the Writing the Dissertation series, this guide covers the essentials of writing a strong conclusion, giving you the necessary knowledge, tips and guidance needed to leave a positive impression on your markers! Here’s what to expect:

• Getting Started  - Defines the overarching purpose of the conclusion.
• Structure  - Breaks down the conclusion's 'narrow to broad' structure in two main parts.
• Annotated Example - Provides a sample conclusion with notes to highlight the strategies the writer uses.
• What to Avoid  - Covers a few frequent mistakes you'll want to...avoid!
• FAQs  - Guidance on first- vs. third-person, use of secondary literature and more.
• Checklist  - Includes a summary of key points and a self-evaluation checklist.

Training and tools

• The Academic Skills team has recorded a Writing the Dissertation workshop series to help you with each section of a standard dissertation, including a video on writing the dissertation conclusion  (embedded below).
• The dissertation planner tool can help you think through the timeline for planning, research, drafting and editing.
• iSolutions offers training and a Word template to help you digitally format and structure your dissertation.

What is the conclusion?

The conclusion isn’t simply a brief recap of your previous chapters. Instead, the conclusion revisits your primary research purpose – your research question(s) and/or hypotheses – and summarises and synthesises the main research findings, or areas of discussion, to reinforce how your dissertation responds to that purpose: how does it answer question X or prove argument Y to be correct?

The conclusion then moves beyond the immediate confines of your research to engage with the wider impact and relevance of your work. That is to say, you feed the work you have completed back into the wider context to emphasise how your research has advanced our understanding of this area. This is your final opportunity to leave a positive and lasting impression on your reader, so it’s important that your conclusion captures the essential information in your dissertation and emphasises its value in the relevant profession or field of research.

Structuring a conclusion

Whilst the conclusion of a dissertation is a chapter in its own right, it’s important to consider the role that the conclusion plays in the entire structure of your dissertation. You might recognise the shape below – what is sometimes called an ‘hourglass’ structure. This represents a typical structure for an essay or dissertation. Below, we'll explore what this shape suggests about earlier sections of the dissertation as well as the conclusion.

Figure 1: The ‘hourglass’ shape that symbolises the broad-to-narrow, then narrow-to-broad structure of a dissertation, and academic writing in general.

Introduction and literature review

• Broad to narrow – eases the reader into the discussion by introducing them to the broad situation within which your research sits.
• Narrows the focus through the literature review whilst maintaining a direct interest in the wider research context.
• Arrives at a narrow focus towards the end by clearly stating what your focus is, what research problem you are going to address, how you are going to address that problem and what your argument and findings are.

Main body (methodology, results and discussion)

• Narrow focus – provides the finer details of your dissertation by isolating particular aspects to discuss and scrutinise, such as the details of how your study was designed.
• Driven by the results of your study, with secondary material used to contextualise the meaning and significance of your findings.
• Narrow to broad – reinforces your main argument and findings, then...
• Broadens out by considering the wider implications of your work for the relevant profession or field of research.

A structure in two main parts

We’re going to break the conclusion down into two main parts:

1) A summary and synthesis of your main findings or discussion points that directly respond to, and address, your research question(s) and/or hypotheses. For this reason, it’s often useful to start by briefly repeating the research problem you’ve addressed. This constitutes the narrow part of the conclusion.

2) Engagement with the impact and relevance of your research to the wider, relevant context . This constitutes the broader part of the conclusion.

Let’s look at both in more detail.

Summary and synthesis

To write an effective conclusion for your dissertation, you need to do more than simply repeat the main points and findings of your research. Instead, you need to summarise and synthesise (definition below) your main findings and points of discussion, forming a cohesive picture for your reader that brings the different elements of your research together. This helps your reader to understand how you have reached a certain answer, or why you think your argument is correct.

It’s often useful to start with a brief recap of the research problem before stating how your dissertation has responded, in some way, to this problem by synthesising the main findings and discussion points. For example:

Despite extensive research on the application of tool X, this dissertation has noted an absence of rigorous research on how this tool can be applied to demographic Y. Considerable research demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of applying this tool when working with various demographics, particularly A and B, but the different demands associated with demographic Y restrict the suitability of these findings for this age group. In response, this dissertation has…

Following this, you need to outline how your dissertation has responded to this problem by summarising and synthesising your main findings and/or discussion points and reinforcing your main argument. Try summarising every one of your main findings or discussion points – keep it brief (one or two sentences) – and then, where possible, try and condense and connect this information to form a brief portrait of your dissertation. See ' Annotated example' for more on this.

Wider, relevant context

Once you have reinforced your research focus and your argument by summarising and synthesising your main findings, you need to relate your research to a wider, relevant context . This might include:

‘Returning’ to the introduction

As stated earlier, you conclusion shares a close relationship with your introduction with both acting as bookends that frame your entire dissertation – like the first scene and last scene of a film. For this reason, you need to return back to your introduction by revisiting the broad, but relative, themes that opened your dissertation as a way of contextualising your argument and results.

Ask yourself the question, ‘What do we now know that we didn’t at the start?’ The argument and findings won’t be a revelation to your reader, but framing them in this slightly broader context helps to reinforce the significance and contribution of your work. This brings your work ‘full circle’ and creates a neat symmetry to your work – a narrative thread for your reader to follow.

Recommendations for future research

Where necessary, it’s a good idea to include some suggestions for relevant future research that you think will help to further advance our knowledge of the research area. Don’t commit too many words to this. You simply need to state what contributions to the research field might be worth pursuing in the future and how this might further enrich our understanding of the topic. This serves to emphasise that your work is part of an evolving landscape of research, thus engaging with the wider context. This can often feature in the discussion chapter, rather than the conclusion (see our Writing the Results and Discussion guide for more).

Recommendations for practitioners

Depending on the nature of your research, it might be necessary to suggest some recommendations for relevant professionals and industry practitioners based on your findings. Remember these are only recommendations, and they must be consistent with your findings. Briefly mention how each recommendation would serve to address and, potentially, solve a problem faced by professionals. This helps your reader to understand the real-world implications and relevance of your work. Like recommendations for future research, this can often feature in the discussion. Consult your supervisor for discipline-specific guidance.

Annotated example

Take a look at this annotated example to see how the structural components discussed in the 'Structure' tab fit together to form a conclusion. This is only a short example, and your conclusion might be longer and slightly more detailed, but this gives you an idea of the flow and structure.

By focussing on the Arab Spring uprising, this dissertation has demonstrated the ways in which social media animates forms of civil empowerment through collective political action. Whilst other examples could have been used, this dissertation has highlighted how participants in the Arab Spring coordinated a strategic network of communication, drawing on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in both distinct and interrelated ways. By adopting social media in such a way, the Arab Spring not only demonstrates that social media can have a profound impact on forms of civil empowerment, but can also become a powerful political tool when deployed in a strategic and coordinated manner.

As outlined in Chapter 3: Methodology and Chapter 4: Results, this study collected quantitative data, such as the number of likes, retweets and views, to measure the reach of social media interactions on the Arab Spring uprising during a three month period. Qualitative data was also collected through the language and rhetoric employed by citizens posting comments, and the content of videos posted on the social media sites in question. This mixed-methods approach, along with the focus on three social media platforms, provided a triangulation of data that strengthened the depth of the research and allowed for a more nuanced portrait of how social media, when deployed in a coordinated way for a particular event, forms an interconnected network of channels through which information can flow freely. As evidenced by the quantitative data, with posts and retweets reaching their millions, the use of social media had a cumulative power with the Arab Spring by spreading the civil unrest and galvanising support for the cause.

Whilst the Arab Spring only represents one case of the relationship between social media and civil empowerment, this case study shows how the Arab Spring played an influential role in the mobilisation of the hashtag movement and the digitisation of civil activism. This is most clearly exemplified by the Me Too movement, supporting the fight against sexual harassment and assault, and Black Lives Matter, fighting against the racial oppression of black people. In examining the role of social media on these and other such cases of civil activism, perhaps a systematic comparison between social media and traditional forms of media, such as newspapers, would provide further opportunities to assess the relationship between social media and social activism.

Future research should also further explore the tension between social media and political censorship. Indeed, despite social media’s obvious potential as a tool for civil empowerment, Chapter Five: Discussion also pointed to the dangers of how oppressive governments can respond to the apparent threat of civil activism through aggressive forms of censorship. Moving forward, social media platforms must defend the freedom of its users to engage in socially active ways, and understanding the intersection between social media and political censorship is crucial to defending this freedom. Only by preserving this freedom can social media, and the internet in general, continue to realise its primary function as an open sources of communication that evades the restrictive censorship of traditional gatekeepers.

What to avoid

This portion of the guide will cover some common missteps you should try to avoid in writing your conclusion.

Excessive detail

The conclusion isn’t the place to repeat detailed statistics or retrace the finer nuances of an argument. You simply need to reinforce the main findings and the essential information in your dissertation. Only you can determine what you think is a necessary level of detail in your conclusion, but look at the following two examples as a guide:

• Excessive:  The results showed a considerable increase from Sample A to Sample E. As expected, Sample A started low with only 6 per cent. Sample B then showed an increase of 20 per cent, with Sample C then reaching 36 per cent to show a further increase of 16 per cent. Sample D furthered this trend, reaching 59 per cent. Sample E then reached 82 per cent, showing a 23 per cent increase from the previous sample.
• Improved: The results showed a considerable increase of 76 per cent from Sample A (6 per cent) to Sample E (82 per cent) with samples C to D and samples D to E both showing the largest increase of the study with a 23 per cent rise.

New information

You should avoid presenting any new information, such as primary data or theories, when writing your conclusion. Any primary or secondary material you deem important enough to state in the conclusion (although avoid excessive detail as stated above) should be evident in your results and/or discussion chapters.

'In conclusion...'

Whilst it might seem logical to start your conclusion with ‘In conclusion’, it’s best to avoid this. It’s not strictly wrong to start with ‘In conclusion’, ‘To summarise’, or some other variation of such phrases, but it reflects a somewhat lazy and clichéd approach given its excessive use.

The start of your conclusion should be obvious for two main reasons. Firstly, the chapter heading ‘Conclusion’ serves as a clear indication to your reader! Secondly, your conclusion should signal a rhetorical shift in your writing to a more reflective register. For example:

This dissertation has considered the complex ways in which…

The use of the present perfect tense here signals this shift to a reflective register.

Don’t state your core argument and main observations for the first time in the conclusion chapter. This is sometimes mistakenly employed as a way of maintaining a sense of mystery before the grand reveal at the end – like the dramatic third act of a play or the final twist in a film. Academic writing is not driven by the same intrigue as narrative storytelling. Instead, the ‘end’ or conclusion in a dissertation or written assignment should be clearly signposted early on – the abstract and the introduction – as a way of focusing the reader’s attention.

Q: How long should the conclusion be?

A: Roughly 5-10% of the dissertation’s word count (usually nearer the 5% end). So, for a 10,000 word dissertation, you should aim for anything between 500 words to 1,000. You should, however, be flexible with this. As always, it depends on the nature of your dissertation and the expected conventions in your department or school. It’s always worth seeking advice from your supervisor, but it’s safe to say that – along with the introduction (again dependent on the nature of the dissertation) – it’s often the shortest chapter in the dissertation.

Q: Should the conclusion include references to secondary literature?

A: Yes, but only when necessary. As noted in ' What to avoid' , you shouldn’t be bringing in new data, theories or information, which means you will likely revisit previously discussed work in light of your own findings and argument. Although you have already mentioned and cited the original work, it’s good practice to cite them again. This is also imperative in cases where you have cited more than one piece of work from the same author or authors. So, for example:

These findings support the work of Jones (2010) in which X and Y were both seen to…

Q: Should the conclusion be in the first-person or third?

A: It depends what you’ve been using throughout your dissertation – it’s important to be consistent. Typically, third-person is used in academic writing, although first-person is accepted in some disciplines. For instance, certain genres, such as reflective writing, demand the first-person. Consult your supervisor for further guidance.

The conclusion is your final chance to leave a positive impression on your reader, so it’s important that you conclude in a clear and engaging manner. Rather than simply repeating the main content from your previous chapters, you should be summarising and synthesising your main findings and discussion points and bringing them together to reinforce your central argument and respond to any research questions or hypotheses you have. You should then engage with the wider, relevant context by returning back to where you started in your introductory chapter to answer and consider the question,  ‘What do we now know that we didn’t before?’

Here’s a final checklist for writing an effective conclusion. Remember that not all of these points will be relevant for your conclusion, so make sure you cover whatever’s appropriate for your dissertation. The asterisk (*) indicates any content that might not be relevant for your dissertation. To save your own copy of the checklist to edit, please use the Word document, below.

• Conclusion self-evaluation checklist

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How to write an excellent thesis conclusion [with examples]

Restate the thesis

Review or reiterate key points of your work, explain why your work is relevant, a take-away for the reader, more resources on writing thesis conclusions, frequently asked questions about writing an excellent thesis conclusion, related articles.

At this point in your writing, you have most likely finished your introduction and the body of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper . While this is a reason to celebrate, you should not underestimate the importance of your conclusion. The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable.

A good conclusion will review the key points of the thesis and explain to the reader why the information is relevant, applicable, or related to the world as a whole. Make sure to dedicate enough of your writing time to the conclusion and do not put it off until the very last minute.

This article provides an effective technique for writing a conclusion adapted from Erika Eby’s The College Student's Guide to Writing a Good Research Paper: 101 Easy Tips & Tricks to Make Your Work Stand Out .

While the thesis introduction starts out with broad statements about the topic, and then narrows it down to the thesis statement , a thesis conclusion does the same in the opposite order.

• Restate the thesis.
• Review or reiterate key points of your work.
• Explain why your work is relevant.
• Include a core take-away message for the reader.

Tip: Don’t just copy and paste your thesis into your conclusion. Restate it in different words.

The best way to start a conclusion is simply by restating the thesis statement. That does not mean just copying and pasting it from the introduction, but putting it into different words.

You will need to change the structure and wording of it to avoid sounding repetitive. Also, be firm in your conclusion just as you were in the introduction. Try to avoid sounding apologetic by using phrases like "This paper has tried to show..."

The conclusion should address all the same parts as the thesis while making it clear that the reader has reached the end. You are telling the reader that your research is finished and what your findings are.

I have argued throughout this work that the point of critical mass for biopolitical immunity occurred during the Romantic period because of that era's unique combination of post-revolutionary politics and innovations in smallpox prevention. In particular, I demonstrated that the French Revolution and the discovery of vaccination in the 1790s triggered a reconsideration of the relationship between bodies and the state.

Tip: Try to reiterate points from your introduction in your thesis conclusion.

The next step is to review the main points of the thesis as a whole. Look back at the body of of your project and make a note of the key ideas. You can reword these ideas the same way you reworded your thesis statement and then incorporate that into the conclusion.

You can also repeat striking quotations or statistics, but do not use more than two. As the conclusion represents your own closing thoughts on the topic , it should mainly consist of your own words.

In addition, conclusions can contain recommendations to the reader or relevant questions that further the thesis. You should ask yourself:

• What you would ideally like to see your readers do in reaction to your paper?
• Do you want them to take a certain action or investigate further?
• Is there a bigger issue that your paper wants to draw attention to?

Also, try to reference your introduction in your conclusion. You have already taken a first step by restating your thesis. Now, check whether there are other key words, phrases or ideas that are mentioned in your introduction that fit into your conclusion. Connecting the introduction to the conclusion in this way will help readers feel satisfied.

I explored how Mary Wollstonecraft, in both her fiction and political writings, envisions an ideal medico-political state, and how other writers like William Wordsworth and Mary Shelley increasingly imagined the body politic literally, as an incorporated political collective made up of bodies whose immunity to political and medical ills was essential to a healthy state.

Tip: Make sure to explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research.

Although you can encourage readers to question their opinions and reflect on your topic, do not leave loose ends. You should provide a sense of resolution and make sure your conclusion wraps up your argument. Make sure you explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research and how your research intervenes within, or substantially revises, existing scholarly debates.

This project challenged conventional ideas about the relationship among Romanticism, medicine, and politics by reading the unfolding of Romantic literature and biopolitical immunity as mutual, co-productive processes. In doing so, this thesis revises the ways in which biopolitics has been theorized by insisting on the inherent connections between Romantic literature and the forms of biopower that characterize early modernity.

Tip: If you began your thesis with an anecdote or historical example, you may want to return to that in your conclusion.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as:

• a call to action
• a recommendation
• a gesture towards future research
• a brief explanation of how the problem or idea you covered remains relevant

Ultimately, you want readers to feel more informed, or ready to act, as they read your conclusion.

Yet, the Romantic period is only the beginning of modern thought on immunity and biopolitics. Victorian writers, doctors, and politicians upheld the Romantic idea that a "healthy state" was a literal condition that could be achieved by combining politics and medicine, but augmented that idea through legislation and widespread public health measures. While many nineteenth-century efforts to improve citizens' health were successful, the fight against disease ultimately changed course in the twentieth century as global immunological threats such as SARS occupied public consciousness. Indeed, as subsequent public health events make apparent, biopolitical immunity persists as a viable concept for thinking about the relationship between medicine and politics in modernity.

Need more advice? Read our 5 additional tips on how to write a good thesis conclusion.

The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable. To write a great thesis conclusion you should:

The basic content of a conclusion is to review the main points from the paper. This part represents your own closing thoughts on the topic. It should mainly consist of the outcome of the research in your own words.

The length of the conclusion will depend on the length of the whole thesis. Usually, a conclusion should be around 5-7% of the overall word count.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as a question, warning, or call to action. Depending on the topic, you can also end with a recommendation.

In Open Access: Theses and Dissertations you can find thousands of completed works. Take a look at any of the theses or dissertations for real-life examples of conclusions that were already approved.

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• Dissertation

How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion

Published on September 6, 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on November 20, 2023.

The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation . It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question .

In it, you should:

• Clearly state the answer to your main research question
• Summarize and reflect on your research process
• Make recommendations for future work on your thesis or dissertation topic
• Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
• Wrap up your thesis or dissertation

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Table of contents

Discussion vs. conclusion, how long should your conclusion be, step 1: answer your research question, step 2: summarize and reflect on your research, step 3: make future recommendations, step 4: emphasize your contributions to your field, step 5: wrap up your thesis or dissertation, full conclusion example, conclusion checklist, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.

While your conclusion contains similar elements to your discussion section , they are not the same thing.

Your conclusion should be shorter and more general than your discussion. Instead of repeating literature from your literature review , discussing specific research results , or interpreting your data in detail, concentrate on making broad statements that sum up the most important insights of your research.

As a rule of thumb, your conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.

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Depending on whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your length will vary. Generally, a conclusion should make up around 5–7% of your overall word count.

An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion, concisely stating the main findings and recommendations for future research. A humanities dissertation topic or systematic review , on the other hand, might require more space to conclude its analysis, tying all the previous sections together in an overall argument.

Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address. This is your final chance to show that you’ve done what you set out to do, so make sure to formulate a clear, concise answer.

• Don’t repeat a list of all the results that you already discussed
• Do synthesize them into a final takeaway that the reader will remember.

An empirical thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

A case study –based thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

In the second example, the research aim is not directly restated, but rather added implicitly to the statement. To avoid repeating yourself, it is helpful to reformulate your aims and questions into an overall statement of what you did and how you did it.

Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.

To avoid repetition , consider writing more reflectively here, rather than just writing a summary of each preceding section. Consider mentioning the effectiveness of your methodology , or perhaps any new questions or unexpected insights that arose in the process.

You can also mention any limitations of your research, but only if you haven’t already included these in the discussion. Don’t dwell on them at length, though—focus on the positives of your work.

• While x limits the generalizability of the results, this approach provides new insight into y .
• This research clearly illustrates x , but it also raises the question of y .

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You may already have made a few recommendations for future research in your discussion section, but the conclusion is a good place to elaborate and look ahead, considering the implications of your findings in both theoretical and practical terms.

• Based on these conclusions, practitioners should consider …
• To better understand the implications of these results, future studies could address …
• Further research is needed to determine the causes of/effects of/relationship between …

When making recommendations for further research, be sure not to undermine your own work. Relatedly, while future studies might confirm, build on, or enrich your conclusions, they shouldn’t be required for your argument to feel complete. Your work should stand alone on its own merits.

Just as you should avoid too much self-criticism, you should also avoid exaggerating the applicability of your research. If you’re making recommendations for policy, business, or other practical implementations, it’s generally best to frame them as “shoulds” rather than “musts.” All in all, the purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore—not to demand.

Make sure your reader is left with a strong impression of what your research has contributed to the state of your field.

Some strategies to achieve this include:

• Returning to your problem statement to explain how your research helps solve the problem
• Referring back to the literature review and showing how you have addressed a gap in knowledge
• Discussing how your findings confirm or challenge an existing theory or assumption

Again, avoid simply repeating what you’ve already covered in the discussion in your conclusion. Instead, pick out the most important points and sum them up succinctly, situating your project in a broader context.

The end is near! Once you’ve finished writing your conclusion, it’s time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps:

• It’s a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind.
• Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly formatted. To speed up the process, you can use our free APA citation generator .
• Once you’ve added any appendices , you can create a table of contents and title page .
• Finally, read through the whole document again to make sure your thesis is clearly written and free from language errors. You can proofread it yourself , ask a friend, or consider Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .

Here is an example of how you can write your conclusion section. Notice how it includes everything mentioned above:

V. Conclusion

The current research aimed to identify acoustic speech characteristics which mark the beginning of an exacerbation in COPD patients.

The central questions for this research were as follows: 1. Which acoustic measures extracted from read speech differ between COPD speakers in stable condition and healthy speakers? 2. In what ways does the speech of COPD patients during an exacerbation differ from speech of COPD patients during stable periods?

All recordings were aligned using a script. Subsequently, they were manually annotated to indicate respiratory actions such as inhaling and exhaling. The recordings of 9 stable COPD patients reading aloud were then compared with the recordings of 5 healthy control subjects reading aloud. The results showed a significant effect of condition on the number of in- and exhalations per syllable, the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable, and the ratio of voiced and silence intervals. The number of in- and exhalations per syllable and the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable were higher for COPD patients than for healthy controls, which confirmed both hypotheses.

However, the higher ratio of voiced and silence intervals for COPD patients compared to healthy controls was not in line with the hypotheses. This unpredicted result might have been caused by the different reading materials or recording procedures for both groups, or by a difference in reading skills. Moreover, there was a trend regarding the effect of condition on the number of syllables per breath group. The number of syllables per breath group was higher for healthy controls than for COPD patients, which was in line with the hypothesis. There was no effect of condition on pitch, intensity, center of gravity, pitch variability, speaking rate, or articulation rate.

This research has shown that the speech of COPD patients in exacerbation differs from the speech of COPD patients in stable condition. This might have potential for the detection of exacerbations. However, sustained vowels rarely occur in spontaneous speech. Therefore, the last two outcome measures might have greater potential for the detection of beginning exacerbations, but further research on the different outcome measures and their potential for the detection of exacerbations is needed due to the limitations of the current study.

Checklist: Conclusion

I have clearly and concisely answered the main research question .

I have summarized my overall argument or key takeaways.

I have mentioned any important limitations of the research.

I have given relevant recommendations .

I have clearly explained what my research has contributed to my field.

I have  not introduced any new data or arguments.

You've written a great conclusion! Use the other checklists to further improve your dissertation.

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In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:

• Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the discussion section and results section
• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion …”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g., “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:

• A restatement of your research question
• A summary of your key arguments and/or results
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

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Wells Fargo: The Removal Of The Asset-Cap In 2025 May Unlock The Necessary Optimism

• Wells Fargo surpassed earnings estimates in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, driving a 14.94% stock price increase.
• Despite regulatory constraints, Wells Fargo remains undervalued, with a fair price of $71.49 and a future projection of $123.41, offering 19.5% annual returns through 2029.
• While lagging in deposit coverage compared to JPMorgan and Bank of America, Wells Fargo remains solvent and capable of meeting its debt obligations.

RiverNorthPhotography/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

In my previous article covering Wells Fargo & Company ( NYSE: WFC ), I assigned it a buy rating citing that the estimated fair price stood at around $54.73, which was a 10.6% upside from the then stock price of $49.50, and that the estimated fair price for 2029 stood at around $94.86, which translated into annual returns of 18.3% throughout the projected period 2023-2028.

In Q4 2023 earnings (released on January 12, 2024), Wells Fargo reported an EPS of $1.29, which was 18.34% higher than the estimated PES of $1.09. The company also reported revenues of $20.48B, which was $100M greater than what was estimated. This caused the stock price to climb to $56.90, which represents a 14.94% gain since the previous article. Then, Wells Fargo reported Q1 2024 earnings on April 12, 2024, where it again beat EPS estimates by 15.59% and revenue estimates by $710M.

After re-evaluating the stock, I concluded that the stock remains undervalued, the fair price stands at around $71.49 (which is 25.6% above the current stock price), and the future stock price for 2029 stands at $123.41. This last one implies annual returns of around 19.5% throughout 2029. For this reason, I upgrade the stock from "buy" to "strong buy".

Growth Plan

Wells Fargo's growth plan is to comply with regulators in hopes that the $1.95 asset cap (imposed by the FED in 2018) is removed. Wells Fargo expects the asset cap to be in place throughout 2025 . This means that, currently, Wells Fargo can only do the following things: 1) Share buyback programs, 2) increase dividends, and 3) Cut expenses as much as possible to boost net income. To do this, they may close poor-performing branches and open new ones in places where they think they could perform better.

How does Wells Fargo Compare against Peers?

Wells Fargo is currently the least financially strong among its peers JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( JPM ), and Bank of America Corporation ( BAC ). The bank can currently cover 43% of deposits with its cash reserves, whereas JPMorgan can cover 58% and Bank of America 72%. Nevertheless, in what concerns debt, the three banks can cover almost the entirety of their debt.

Author's Calculations

Industry Outlook

The Traditional US Banking Market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.44% throughout 2028. This market includes retail banking and commercial banking. Then, global investment banking is expected to grow its market volume by 1.4% annually throughout the same period. When summing up both markets, the addressable revenue to be made stands at around $1.03T.

The Worldwide Asset Management and Wealth Management , are estimated to grow at an annual pace of 4.40% and 5.90% respectively. The addressable revenue of asset management stands at $402.98B, and wealth management addressable assets stand at $120.96T.

Adding all this, it can be deduced that the current addressable revenue stands at around $1.43T (when including traditional banking, investment banking, and asset management). Then, in wealth management, there is an addressable asset base of $120.96T. For 2028, these figures are expected to climb to $1.56T and $158.71T, respectively.

To value Wells Fargo, I will use a residual earnings model. In the table below, you can see the CAPM model that I will use to get the RRR. The beta for Wells Fargo is from MarketWatch .

The first step is to calculate revenue. The first thing I will do is to put in the box labeled "growth rate %" the growth rate of the respective market of each segment. These growth rates can be found in this article's "Industry Outlook" subsection. This will leave wealth management and investment banking constantly growing. However, consumer & commercial banking will have ups and downs due to interest rates.

In 2022, when interest rates started to increase, it caused spending to decrease, and this caused Wells Fargo's revenue to decrease by 12.54%. However, after that, those higher interest rates made revenue increase by 6.85% (in 2023), and currently revenue is standing at 7.17% (on a TTM basis) when compared to 2023. In the table below, you can see that the cells marked in red mean that revenue will fall by 12.54% and those in green mean that revenue will grow by 6.85%. The ones in white will grow as specified by the row labeled "Growth Rate %".

For net income, I will calculate it through margins. The starting margin for 2024 will be the current TTM net income margin of 21.25%. Then, as consumption revitalizes due to lower interest rates in 2025, the margin will increase by 6.55% (as it did in 2023), and then it will increase again to 28.35% since interest rates will continue to be low by that year. However, in 2027, I expect the cycle to start again, and this means that as interest rates are increased, net income margin will decrease by 7.84% (as it did in 2022). Still, then it will increase again by 6.55% as higher interest profitability. Still, if rates increase, then the margin will contract by 3.54% as high-interest rates cause consumption to decrease and outweigh the benefit in profitability from high interest rates.

Then, I need to calculate operating income, for which I will just need to calculate how much would Wells Fargo have paid in taxes due to the net income targets previously mentioned. Currently, the tax rate stands at 27.07%.

Lastly, the model will also suggest which could be the future stock price for 2029. To do this I will be using the cash flows previous to the discounting process, which you can see in blue in the model, which is below.

As you can see, the model suggests that Wells Fargo is significantly undervalued more specifically by 25.6%, which indicates that the present fair share price stands at around $71.49. Meanwhile, the future stock price for 2029 stands at around 123.41, which translates into 19.5% annual returns throughout 2029.

What brought this huge increase in fair price compared to my previous target of $54.73 and future price of $94.86, is that in this model I took out the year 2023 and added the year 2029, which increased the overall amount of cash flows. Furthermore, there was also an increase in my previous targets on the grounds of Wells Fargo's Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 beats.

How Do My Estimates Compare Against the Average Consensus?

If I did a model completely based on analysts' estimates, I would get a fair price per share of $61.06, which is a 7.3% upside from the current stock price of $56.90, and a future price per share of $103.15, which translates into 13.5% annual returns throughout 2029.

My EPS estimates are overall 1.09% higher than the average EPS consensus. In the table below, you can observe a more detailed view of each year. However, my net income margins are higher than those implied by the average consensus. You will notice that because my revenue estimates are overall 7.42% lower than the average revenue estimates.

However, it's worth noting that the distribution of my targets compared with the average consensus is what makes both fair price results significantly apart, since the discounted amount in years nearer to the present will always be lower than those that are the farthest.

Risks to Thesis

The main risk is that Wells Fargo has been trading cheaply due to the asset cap moving all hopes for growth. The company remained intrinsically undervalued. However, sentiment is necessary to achieve any estimate. Because of that, if that asset cap is not removed in 2025, as the bank estimates, the stock could remain suppressed as it has been doing.

The second risk is that Wells Fargo has not been able to grow its cash reserves as BofA and JPMorgan because it has an asset cap of $1.97T. Nevertheless, this still puts it at a disadvantage because M&As will cost more to Wells Fargo as a percentage of its cash reserves, and it's less prepared in case of any banking panic.

Lastly, the bank still has quite a bad reputation. Therefore, it needs to shake it off to expand rapidly after its asset cap is removed in 2025.

Wells Fargo has been trading at a surprising valuation after many scandals and the 2018 asset cap imposed by the Fed. This last, completely erased optimism in the stock. According to my calculations, the stock remains undervalued, but what's important is that opportunities are aligning for Wells Fargo. If the asset cap is removed in 2025, this will unlock the necessary optimism to make Wells Fargo's stock shoot. After that, Wells Fargo could start aggressive expansion across the states where it doesn't operate .

After the valuation process, I concluded that the stock's fair price per share stands at around $71.49, which is a 25.6% upside from the current stock price of $56.90. The future price stands at $123.41, which implies annual returns of 19.5% throughout 2029. For these reasons, I upgrade the stock from "buy" to "strong buy".

This article was written by

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in WFC over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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