A good ending shows the theme instead of announcing it. You choose an image from earlier in the story, bring it back, and let it show how things have changed.
This lesson completes the set in narrative composition. It relies on the six-line plan in planning conflict, development and resolution.
How do you build the ending?
- Name the theme in one or two words.
- Find an image from the story that carries the theme: an object, a place, a phrase.
- Return to it in the final lines, with something changed.
- Add at most one short thought, and only after the image.
Worked example: honesty
Story: 小华在公车站捡到一个钱包，里面有RM200。他很想买一双新球鞋，因为脚上那双已经穿旧了，鞋带老是松开。可是他还是把钱包交给了附近的警察局。
Tacked-on ending (weak): “这件事让我明白，做人一定要诚实，诚实是最重要的品德。”
The ending states the lesson, but nothing in it comes from the story.
Theme-linked ending (stronger): “回到家，我看见书桌上那双穿旧的球鞋，鞋带松了。我弯下腰，把它系紧，心里觉得很踏实。”
The image is the old shoes, introduced earlier as the reason he wanted new ones. Returning to it shows he chose honesty over a new pair, and he is at peace with that. The theme appears without being named.
An optional closing thought: “有些东西，不属于我，也能让我安心。” It is one short line, and it follows the image.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is an ending that is either a sudden moral or a sudden event.
| Ending | Problem |
|---|---|
| “这件事告诉我们要诚实。” | A moral that could end any story. |
| “突然，警察给了他一百令吉奖金。” | Sudden reward with no link to the theme. |
| “我把旧球鞋的鞋带系紧，心里很踏实。” | Returns to an earlier image and shows the change. |
Ask whether the ending would still make sense if you moved it to a different story. If yes, it is too general.
Check yourself
Theme: 不浪费粮食. Story: 明明总把午饭吃一半就倒掉。有一次，他看见饭堂阿姨把剩饭一粒一粒捡起来放进桶里。
Write an ending of two or three sentences that returns to an image.
Answer
A sample ending: “第二天中午，我把饭吃得干干净净，连盘子边的一粒米也夹了起来。阿姨看见了，笑着把空盘子收走，桶里只剩一点点水。”
The image is the rice grains: 明明 saw them picked up by the canteen lady and now picks up his own. It shows change through an action, with no moral sentence. A valid answer returns to the canteen, the bin or the rice grains, and shows a different behaviour from the start of the story.
What to study next
Put all four lessons together on the narrative composition practice set. If you already have a draft, go to revising an original Chinese narrative. Plan your next ending with the Chinese composition structure planner.
For a teacher to read your endings with you, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.