After hours of writing your essay, you’ve finally reached the end. At this point, you’re probably so exhausted that all you want to do is write “The End” and go to bed. Unfortunately that won’t work. So here’s how to write a strong conclusion for your essays. Don’t let your hard work go to waste by ending your paper on a flat note.
Why are Conclusions so Important?
The conclusion proves that you fully understood the essay question you were given. It should show the reader why your argument matters, as well as convince them to consider your point of view. The good news is that you will have done most of this in the body of your essay. Now it’s just a question of bringing all those points together.
How to Write a Strong Conclusion for Your Essays
For many students, the most difficult part of writing is the conclusion. But don’t be tempted to leave it out completely. Your lecturer will mark you down for submitting an incomplete assignment. Don’t worry. We’ll show you how to write a strong conclusion for your essays so that you can create a piece of work you can be proud of.
Outline of Concluding Paragraph
The length of your conclusion depends on how long your essay is. Have you just written 7500 words in the body of your paper? Then one paragraph simply won’t be enough to make a strong conclusion for your essay. Here is an outline of what your concluding paragraph(s) should include:
- A topic sentence
- Supporting sentences
- Closing sentence
Topic Sentence
A topic sentence is the first sentence and tells the reader what the main idea of your paragraph will be. This can also be called your thesis statement because it states the important point of your essay and what your opinion is of that point. So if you were being asked to write about whether goats or cats make better pets, you might say that “Cats are the best pets in the world”.
Take note: Your thesis statement is the last sentence in your introduction. But for your conclusion it should be the first sentence. Don’t use the same statement word-for-word, you should paraphrase it.
Supporting Sentences
Here you should have a few sentences summarising the main ideas or arguments you made throughout the essay. For example “Cats are cleaner than goats. They make great, loyal companions and are perfect for people living in apartments”. The goal of this section is to prove your thesis statement.
Please note: DO NOT add new ideas in your conclusion! The marker might see this as a new paragraph and then subtract marks for incomplete work. If you didn’t argue that cats are cleaner in the body of your essay, don’t sneak it into your conclusion.
Closing Sentence
In this section, you should connect your closing sentence with your opening one in order to give your reader a polished conclusion. Try saying: “Change your life for the better by adding a loving feline to your home”. You should always aim to leave the reader with something to think about.
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