A conclusion brings a document or report to a close, usually by using one or more of the following strategies (not mutually exclusive):

• restatement of introduction
• statement of results
• statement of decision
• summary
• look to the future

The strategy you use will depend on the purpose of your communcation and the effect(s) you want the conclusion to have on your readers:

• give your readers a sense of closure
• spur them to action
• remind them of the relationship among the various kinds of information you have presented
• empahsize a recommendation you are making
• other . . .

Material adapted from:
Anderson, Paul A. Technical Writing: A Reader-Centered Approach. Fort Worth: Harcourt-Brace. 1995.