I used to not add a takeaway paragraph in my pieces because I felt like they spoke for themselves. But then these pieces weren't getting curated.

I combed Medium for how-to articles on how to get curated and every one of them talked about the necessary "takeaway" for readers. So I started writing these takeaways and heading them with "in conclusion" or "in closing" or "final thoughts."

And I started getting curated more regularly.

Still, oftentimes it's felt like leading the reader by the hand as if I believe they're a little child who can't come up with their own takeaway. Can't they just read the story and deduce what they want from it. Do I have to give them my "call to action"? My "what you can do now"?

Whatever. I started adding this stupid paragraph to all my stories and started getting curated more, and also started making more money.

In conclusion: While many of us may believe a takeaway paragraph isn't necessary, Medium does and will not curate you if you don't have it. That's why I think you should always have this paragraph in your stories. And to make it easy for the bot to rate (curate) your stories, I recommend you head the final paragraph that contains this takeaway with "in closing."