## Bringing to a conclusion 

In your final paragraph draw all the loose ends together and bring your essay to a logical conclusion. Make sure that you have already mentioned the points to which you are refer- ring. Don’t introduce new material in the last paragraph. 

## PLOTTING THE SHORT STORY 

Although you will probably not need to do any research if you are writing a short story, it is still important to plan your work carefully. 

## Planning the work 

Write down an outline of the main events of your story in chronological order. Then decide where the story is to begin and how it is to develop. Will the events lead to an inevitable conclusion or will you use the ‘twist-in-the-tale’ device? The unexpected ending can be very effective if well done. 

There will not be room for any detailed description as every- thing that is written must move the story on. Your reader will want to know what happens next. In a short story there is no room for any unnecessary words so descriptions of people and places have to be by implication. There is no room for long ‘flowery’ passages of description (‘purple prose’). 

## Writing dialogue 

Dialogue is important in the short story as it can be used to give information to the reader. (See Chapter 4 to learn how to set out dialogue.) It can also set the scene and help to create believable characters. Effective short stories often 

