Conclusions

　　Most argument questions hinge， either directly or indirectly， on determining

　　the conclusion of the argument. The conclusion is the main idea of the argu

　　ment. It is what the writer tries to persuade the reader to believe. Most of

　　ten the conclusion comes at the end of the argument. The writer organizes th

　　e facts and his opinions so that they build up to the conclusion. Sometimes，

　　however， the conclusion will come at the beginning of an argument， rarely d

　　oes it come in the middle， and occasionally， for rhetorical effect， the conc

　　lusion is not even stated.

　　Example：

　　The police are the armed guardians of the social order. The blacks are the c

　　hief domestic victims of the American social order. A conflict of interest e

　　xists， therefore， between the blacks and the police.——Eldridge Cleaver， Soul

　　on Ice

　　Here the first two sentences anticipate or set up the conclusion. By changin

　　g the grammar slightly， the conclusion can be placed at the beginning of the

　　argument and still sound natural：

　　A conflict of interest exists between the blacks and the police because the

　　police are the armed guardians of the socialsgroupsand the blacks are the ch

　　ief domestic victims of the American social order.

　　The conclusion can also be forcedsintosthe middle：

　　The police are the armed guardians of the social order. So a conflict of int

　　erest exists between the blacks and the police because the blacks are the ch

　　ief domestic victims of the American social order.

　　It is generally awkward， as in the previous paragraph， to place the conclusi

　　on in the middle of the argument because then it cannot be fully anticipated

　　by what comes before nor fully explained by what comes after. On the rare o

　　ccasion when a conclusion comes in the middle of an argument， most often eit

　　her the material that comes after it or the material that comes before it is

　　not essential.