I. Introduction

• Thesis: Indicate your topic, your main point about that topic, and the points of discussion for that topic.

II. Body Paragraph 1: Topic sentence goes here.

• Supporting evidence: A paraphrase or quote from one of your sources goes here, along with an in-text citation.

  • Explanation of the meaning of the supporting evidence.

  • So what? A direct statement on how the supporting evidence does in fact support the claim made in the topic sentence.

III. Body Paragraph 2: Topic sentence goes here.

• Supporting evidence

  • Explanation

  • So what?

IV. Body Paragraph 3: Topic sentence goes here.

• Supporting evidence

  • Explanation

  • So what?

V. Conclusion:

• Rephrased Thesis Statement: Rephrase your thesis.

• Strong Closing: Close your paper with the significance of this discussion. Why is this discussion important?

Literary Essay

Alludes to, Attests, Clarifies, Confirms, Connotes, Conveys, Denotes, Depicts, Determines, Displays, Emphasizes, Entails, Establishes, Exemplifies, Explains, Exposes, Expounds, Highlights, Hints, Illustrates, Implies, Indicates, Portrays, Represents, Reveals, Shows, Signifies, Substantiates, Suggests, Typifies, Underscores

Dealing with an expert’s opinion or research studies

Analyzes, Assumes, Concludes, Confirms, Considers, Construes, Deduces, Deliberates, Demonstrates, Examines, Explores, Identifies, Imparts, Indicates, Maintains, Manifests, Misconstrues, Observes, Perceives, Pinpoints, Presumes, Questions, Reasons, Refers, Remarks, Scrutinizes, Speculates, Substantiates, Supports, Supposes, Theorizes, Upholds, Validates, Verifies

Describing beginnings, causes, effects, etc.

Advances, Affects, Commences, Compels, Discovers, Empowers, Forces, Generates, Ignites, Impacts, Imposes, Incites, Includes, Influences, Initiates, Instigates, Introduces, Involves, Kindles, Launches, Leads to, Presents, Pressures, Promotes, Prompts, Provokes, Results in, Sparks, Stimulates, Triggers, Yields

Referring to possibilities of what ideas can do, create, or assist with

Accomplishes, Achieves, Aids, Alleviates, Ameliorates, Assembles, Assists, Attains, Attempts, Augments, Builds, Constructs, Delivers, Develops, Discourages, Emits, Encourages, Engenders, Enhances, Enriches, Establishes, Expands, Facilitates, Grants, Improves, Increases, Manufactures, Offers, Produces, Progresses, Provides, Reaches, Supplies, Transforms

Laws or Legal Proposals

Authorizes, Allows, Averts, Bans, Bars, Consents, Defends, Disallows, Documents, Endorses, Forbids, Guarantees, Guards, Hinders, Inhibits, Licenses, Neglects, Outlaws, Permits, Precludes, Prevents, Prohibits, Protects, Safeguards, Sanctions, Secures, Thwarts

II. The original zombie from Haitian culture – a death-like state or a body without a soul – demonstrates the destructive nature of the institution of slavery, which lead to the creation of the myth of the living dead.

• A brief historical overview of slavery on the island of Haiti by the French.

• The two types of zombies – the broken and the revolutionary – and the duality of fear associated with the enslaved and the enslavers.

  • The linguistic history of the word zombie and how it became synonymous with enslavement and death.

  • The historical relevance of the Haitian revolution, and how despite earning independence, France maintained a strangle-hold over the economic prosperity of the island's people, thus continuing the elements of slavery through subjugation.

• The 20th century US occupation of Haiti created a propaganda campaign to demonize people resisting social and political oppression, which birthed the introduction of cannibalism into the zombie zeitgeist as well as began the popular culture's fascination with the zombie mythos as metaphor. 

Similarity

also, in the same way, just as … so too, likewise, similarly

Exception/Contrast

but, however, in spite of, on the one hand … on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet

Sequence/Order

first, second, third, … next, then, finally

Time

after, afterward, at last, before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then

Example

for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate

Emphasis

even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly

Place/Position

above, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there

Cause and Effect

accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus

Additional Support or Evidence

additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then

Conclusion/Summary

finally, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion, in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, to sum up, in summary

Podcast's Conclusion 

(Again, I am combining everything to give a better impression on what a traditional conclusion would look like.):

“The invincibility of zombies seems to be that they can take on any desired meaning. They can shape-shift into almost anything we want them to.” Kelley Baker states, “So it can be about consumerism with this all-consuming monster. It can be about bio-terrorism and corporations who are negligent. It can be about epidemics and how they can ravage us in some sort of way.” Elizabeth McAlister expands on Baker’s point by explaining, “But the zombie also is, you know, the hordes of brown people at the border. The zombie is a cipher. The zombie, by definition, has no consciousness. The zombie is this empty category into which you can load meaning.” “[McAlister] says there's one consistent theme that keeps zombies relevant. It's always there, looming in the background or sometimes right up in your face and speaks to one of our most fundamental fears”: “Which is that we are all going to die and that everyone who's ever lived dies. So the zombie figure forces the living to face the condition of death, and - which is what religion is there to help humanity do, but the United States is becoming more and more secular. This is a kind of a secular way to contend with, think about, imagine, dress up like and confront the human condition of dying.” “Something that may be on our minds more than usual these days": “Certainly now more than ever, humans are facing the realities of climate change and of the degradation of the ecosystem, and the idea of apocalypse is on the minds of humanity” (McAlister).

“At the same time, because zombies are now everywhere, they've kind of casually integrated themselves into our everyday existence. People have zombie-themed weddings, go on zombie-themed cruises. The CDC has a gag zombie preparedness page on its Web site. And then, of course, there are the people who are just living their best zombie lives. […] Everyone that I interviewed for this story is clearly fascinated with zombies, but to be honest, they're also a little fatigued by the oversaturation and disheartened by a lack of substance - something Kelly [Baker] says zombies have gradually been losing post-Romero”: “George Romero has radical political commentary. It's very much about Americans. It's very much about the racial state in America. It's about the consumerist state. It's about thinking about what we're doing, the systems that we're inhabiting, how they're oppressive. When zombies are everywhere, maybe they've lost some of their radical power. Where they might have been subversive, now they're just mainstream. I mean, if Disney can have a movie about zombies in which a zombie and a cheerleader who is human fall in love...I really feel like we've reached a point where the radical commentary is gone." [...] "[Sylvain] worries that Haiti and the original meaning of the zombie is getting lost in all of this. The American zombie, that brain-eating ghoul, has been exported all over the world. But he wonders how many people know that this horror figure is rooted in his country's history": "Once we've had this globalized figure of the zombie, then the question becomes, who owns it? Does it really belong to Haiti? No. The zombie, again, is a wonderful trope, but we must not forget where it came from, its essence. To lose the genesis of the zombie within trans-Atlantic slavery, that would be a problem."

Breakdown:

The conclusion here is broadening back out a little. The structuring of the metaphorical nature of the zombie in the first paragraph is reframed to discuss the contemporary hollowing out of the signifying property of zombie mythology present in the second paragraph.

• Paragraph 1: The re-establishing of zombie as a signifier/metaphor of complex ideas (consumerism, corporate neglect, racism, etc.).

• Paragraph 2: Oversaturation and lack of representative substance further removes the zombie from its origin in oppression and slavery thus losing its larger importance and historical significance.

Problems:

Just like with all the other examples, this conclusion is far too conversational to use in a traditional essay; it also contains quotations throughout, which is to be avoided when writing an academic paper. The interview format also causes an over-reliance on the words of the experts. When you are writing your own conclusion, it should be all you. You don’t want someone else taking up space in the summation of your essay.