Can anyone help me with my concluding statement?What would be a good concluding statement for this paragraph? "In the short story “The...

Hello there, Oliviax3.  I would be happy to try to help you with your paragraph.  Ready to work?  Roll up your sleeves!

First, your paragraph has a few problems that you should probably attend to before you try to think of an appropriate ending.  It has the sound of an introductory paragraph...like the first one in an essay?  If so, you are trying to "hook" the reader in and let them know what it is you are going to be writing about.  You've haven't got a whole lot of hook, but you do have a pretty clear "thesis statement" (aka topic sentence.): "In the short story “The Necklace” irony is used widely throughout the story."

Let's tighten that up a little bit, though, by removing the redundant bit at the end: "Irony is used widely throughout the short story "The Necklace." This lets the reader know what the focus of your paper is going to be about and makes for a good opening sentence on an essay. Again, not a lot of "hook" there, but I suppose in Freshman English you can get away with a plain (but solid) opening statement : )

The problem with your paragraph (which, again, I am assuming is the opening paragraph to a longer essay) is that it is heavy on information but that information is not focused. Take, for example, your second sentence: “The Necklace” is a short story by Guy de Maupassant." This information could probably be combined with your first sentence:"Irony is used widely throughout Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace." Same thing with your third and fourth sentences:  "The genre of the story is mystery. The focus element of “The Necklace” is irony" Now, unless you put this in here on purpose (because your teacher told you exactly what to include in the paragraph and these sentences fill that requirement) I would chop them out.  The first sentence isn't really related to your topic (that the story is full of irony) and the second sentence just sort of repeats what your first sentence said.

The rest of your paragraph isn't going to fare much better, I am afraid.  Remember, your paper is not about irony, but rather about the irony found in the story "The Necklace."  The last three sentences of your paragraph describe different types of irony but are not strictly related to the story.  All the sentences in a paragraph should support the main idea you are working with.  If you are making a five paragraph essay, use these three sentences as the "body" of your paper.  Give one sentence to each paragraph and cite an example of that type of irony from the story.

Where does that leave you?  Back with one sentence (a good one, but one nonetheless.): "Irony is used widely throughout Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace." Continue on from there..."Irony is used widely throughout Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace." Examples can be found of all three types of irony: situational, dramatic, and verbal. Then, think of a way to keep going.  Using these elements, Maupassant creates a rich story that is effective on many levels.

That's the idea I think you are looking for, and I am almost out of space for writing in this box!  Good luck!  Remember the keys to good essay writing: Clear topic, clear evidence, and clear sentences.