Conclusions

Conclusions in Analysis Papers

Introduction: Rhetorical Context

Provide the rhetorical context for the social milieu of your text. In other words, you will want to provide relevant contemporaneous information about the issue/debate the speaker is addressing (e.g, war in Iraq, gun control, dedication of a new monument, etc.). Cite sources to help provide context such as historical events, political climate, or biographical information. You want to explain why your author wrote on this topic at the particular moment (s)he chose to write. Your goal is to provide context for your readers who will know less than you about the text and its contemporary historical moment.

Conclusion: Contemporary Significance

Provide the continuing significance of the issue your paper addresses. In other words, you will want to demonstrate contemporary events that make this something we should still talk about and consider or which make the points less relevant today. You can then evaluate your author’s argument based on whether we should continue to heed his/her warning, dismiss him/her for a certain reason, or pay attention to him/her but not for a good reason (maybe they represent a dangerous or problematic viewpoint on the topic that we should strive to avoid).

Introduction	Conclusion
Rhetorical Context of Your Article	Rhetorical Context of Your Paper
Context of author’s time of writing	Context of your time of writing
Why this issue was important at its publication	Why this issue is important today
Why did your author care then?	Why should we care now?

Places to Look for Sources

-Web search on topic
-Library Search (articles, newspaper, books, etc.): http://library.tulane.edu/
-Encyclopedia: http://www.britannica.com/, use Wikipedia to lead you to more reputable sources
-Google Books for historical sources: http://books.google.com/
-Articles in Various Disciplines: http://scholar.google.com/

Sample Conclusions on Andrew Sullivan's "iPod World"

This article, published 7 years ago, foretold of continued growth in iPod sales and a noticeable change in the social interactions between people. In reality, sales of iPods turned out to be much different than was suggested in 2005. In an article published in 2010 one columnist said, “If sales of Apple’s iPod are any indication, the heyday of the MP3 player is over and done with” citing the continued decline in sales of the device after its peak in 2008 (Bonnington). However, it was not because people decided to rid themselves of such devices and interact in a distraction-free environment as Sullivan suggested, instead Apple has introduced consumers to even more alluring devices such as the iPhone. The predicted popularity of the iPod in 2005 pales in comparison to the actual popularity of the iPhone today with Apple having reported almost 250 million iPhones being sold since its introduction in 2007 (Apple Inc). These increased features over an iPod that the iPhone now offers only further the validity of Sullivan’s argument from 2005. Instead of being limited to music with an iPod, people are now able to talk, text, tweet, message, and video chat from almost anywhere at any time. And Sullivan’s prediction is becoming ever more accurate as Apple incessantly tweaks the device to perfect it for optimal consumption of media, accumulation more distractions every time. With these constant advancements, the points Sullivan brings up are more applicable to current society than when his article was first published and reminds us to always realize that it’s not all bad to have some downtime for the mind.


“IPod World” is funny, witty, and overall truly makes you think about the degrading camaraderie in our society and the value we place on simple human interaction. iPods have become such a large aspect of our culture, when Sullivan wrote his article in 2005, 10 million iPods had been sold—by September 2012 the number has increased to 350 million (Costello). This topic of technological isolation is not just a current debate, but has been talked about since the origin of MP3 players. In 1981, Shuhei Hosokawa wrote an article about the “Walkman effect”. This article was written in response to the recent release of the Walkman in 1980 and its effects on the interactions of others—claiming that these new MP3 players were disconnecting society and causing severe “incommunicability” between people (Hosokawa). Thirty-one years later much has changed. Walkmans have turned into iPods and cassettes have become digital files, but the same problem remains; people’s routine detachment from their environment once deafened by their headphones. Now in 2012, iPods aren’t just MP3 players, they’re movie theaters, books, arcades, and even cell phones. Between iPods and iPhones more and more people are loosing touch with their environment and succumbing to their personal virtual bubble. Sullivan’s article, despite being written seven years ago, is even more pertinent in our current society and makes its reader’s think about what they’re missing when they plug themselves in and tune society out.