C

Conclusion

Answer the question. Do not dodge it.

The most common failure in IA conclusions is summarising what the analysis found without ever delivering a verdict. Students describe the problem, recap the tools, and stop. The conclusion must do more than that: it must answer the research question.

Verdict first. If your RQ is "Should Nike shift its manufacturing to sustainable suppliers?", your conclusion must say yes or no - clearly. "The evidence suggests Nike faces significant pressure to change its supply chain" is not an answer. "Nike should accelerate its transition to sustainable suppliers, primarily because..." is.

What the conclusion needs to do

1

Answer the research question directly

State your judgment in the opening sentence. Do not build up to it. The examiner has read 1,100 words of analysis and needs to know where you landed. Be definitive: "The evidence strongly supports..." or "On balance, [company] should not..." Hedging everything equally is not a conclusion - it is a summary.

2

Summarise the key evidence

Briefly reference the two or three findings that drove your verdict. This is not a second analysis - no new tools or data here. Just remind the reader of what built the case.

3

Return to the key concept

What does this case study reveal about how your concept works in practice? Not just "Nike showed sustainability is important" but something more specific: what did this investigation teach you about how sustainability - or change, ethics, creativity - actually operates in real business decisions? This is Criterion A coming full circle.

4

Acknowledge limitations honestly

What did you not have access to? What would have made the research stronger? Be specific: "Access to internal sales data by region would have allowed a more precise analysis of..." is more credible than "More research would be helpful." Criterion E rewards intellectual honesty - identifying what your research could not establish is a strength, not a weakness.

300 words is tight. Every sentence must work. If a sentence does not contribute to the verdict, the evidence, the concept, or the limitations, cut it.
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