essay conclusion formula

How to write Essay Conclusions – The 5 C’s Method

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Here’s the question you’ve probably got: what’s the difference between an introduction and a conclusion?

My advice is to use my two frameworks on how to write and conclusion and how to write an introduction:

• Write an introduction with the Perfect Introduction INTRO method ;
• Write a conclusion with the Perfect Conclusion FIVE-C method that I outline below.

As a university teacher, I have marked well over a thousand essays.

In my time, the best conclusions I’ve seen have tended to sum-up a topic by showing-off how well the writer knows the topic and how effectively they have come to their conclusions.

The best conclusions also convincingly show why the topic is important.

In this post, I will show you how to write a conclusion that will amaze your teacher.

This formula is called the FIVE-C’s method and works for nearly every essay.

This method walks you through five potential strategies that you can use in your conclusion. I will show you all five steps and give examples for each to model how to go about writing a good quality conclusion.

How to write a Conclusion: The Five-C Conclusion Method

1 Close the loop. Return to a statement you made in the introduction.

2 Conclude. Show what your final position is.

3 Clarify. Clarify how your final position is relevant to the Essay Question.

4 Concern. Explain who should be concerned by your findings.

5 Consequences. End by noting in one final, engaging sentence why this topic is of such importance.

For each of these steps, I recommend between one and two sentences to create a full detailed conclusion paragraph . You do not have to use each and every one of these steps every time.

Remember, once you’ve written your ideas, make sure you edit the conclusion to make sure it flows the way you want it to. Don’t feel like you have to stick exactly to these rules.

Here’s each step broken down one by one:

1. Close the Loop: Refer back to a statement from the Introduction

Have you ever noticed that comedians often start and end a show with the same joke? This method is called a “ Callback ” in stand-up comedy and is widely considered to be a very effective way to end on a high. I use this as an advanced form of transitioning to a conclusion .

Well, you can do this in your essay, too. Try to find a key statement you made in the introduction and return to it. In this way, you’re closing the look and ending your essay by tying it up in a thoughtful, memorable way.

Here’s a Tip: Forget about starting your conclusion with the tired old statement “In conclusion, …” and instead start it with “This essay began by stating that …” and continue from there.

Imagine you have an essay on “Should Fake News on Facebook be Regulated?” You might state an interesting ‘hook’ statement in the introduction such as:

• Intro Hook : “Mark Zuckerberg faced US congress in late 2018 to defend Facebook’s record of regulating Facebook News. He claimed that Facebook needs to do a better job of verifying the identities of Facebook users.”

You can return back to this interesting statement in the conclusion. For example:

• Close the Loop in the Conclusion: “This essay began by noting that Mark Zuckerberg accepts that Facebook needs to do a better job at regulation on the platform. As this essay has shown, it appears Facebook continues to be incapable to regulating content on its platform. Therefore, governments should step-in with minimum benchmarks for Facebook to adhere to for all advertising and news content.”

Closing the loop is a great literary strategy to tie up your essay and memorably conclude your argument.

2. Conclude: Provide a Final Evaluation by Referring back to your Arguments

Of course, a conclusion needs provide a final evaluative statement. If your essay is a persuasive or argumentative essay that asks you to take a stand, this is even more important.

The risk students run here is making their writing sound like propaganda. To prevent this, ensure your statement is balanced.

I like to use the formula below:

• Refer to evidence. In the first third of the sentence, refer back to the arguments in the essay.
• Use a hedging statement. Hedges when writing analysis verbs make your work sound more balanced and contemplative, and less biased. Hedges make you sound wise. A hedging statement withholds from being overly confident and unequivocal and softens your claims. Common hedges are: “it appears”, “it seems”, “the best current evidence is”, and “it is likely the case that”. These are the opposite of Boosters, which you should avoid. A booster is a statement like: “the data confirms”, “the truth of the matter is” and “it is undoubtedly true that”.
• State your conclusion. Conclude the sentence with your final evaluation.

Let’s have a look at how to use this formula of: Refer to evidence + Use a hedging statement + State your conclusion. See below:

Here’s an example. Imagine your essay question was “Should all recreational drugs be decriminalised?” You could state in your final evaluation:

• (1) The evidence from both population data and criminological studies that were presented in this article (2) appears to indicate that (3) decriminalization of drugs would both save money and decrease drug overdoses.

This is far better than a propagandizing statement like:

• This essay has totally debunked the idea that the war on drugs has done any good for society. Decriminalizing drugs will save money and lives, and it should be done immediately.

The first example sentence above would almost always get a higher grade than the second. It shows balance and reduces the chance your reader will accuse you of bias. This is a secret sauce for top marks: hedge, hedge and hedge some more!

Read Also: 39 Better Ways to Write ‘In Conclusion’ in an Essay

3. Clarify: Clarify the relevance of your statement to the Essay Question.

Read back through your conclusion and make sure that it directly answers the essay question. Too often, students write a few thousand words and end up talking about something completely different to what they began with.

Remember: you’re being marked on something very specific. It doesn’t matter how great and well formulated your argument is if it doesn’t answer the specific essay question.

To ensure you conclusion clearly addresses the research question, you might want to paraphrase some phrases from the essay question.

Here are some examples:

• If your essay question is about Nurses’ bedside manner, you’re probably going to want to use the phrase “bedside manner” in the conclusion a few times.
• If your essay question is about comparing renaissance and classical art, you better make sure you use the terms “renaissance art” and “classical art” a few times in that conclusion!

It is important to use paraphrasing here rather than explicitly stating the essay question word-for-word. For my detailed advice on how to paraphrase, visit my 5-step paraphrasing post .

4. Concern: Who should be concerned with this topic?

One of the best indicators that you know a topic well is to show how it relates to real life. The topic you have discussed is likely to have some relevance to someone, somewhere, out there in the world.

Make sure you state who it is that should be paying attention to your essay. Here’s my top suggestions for people who may be concerned with the topic:

• Policy makers. Is this a topic where new laws or regulations need to be introduced that could improve people’s lives? If so, you could provide a statement that explains that “Policy makers should …” do something in light of the evidence you have provided.
• Practitioners. If you’re doing a university degree that ends with a specific career, chances are the topic is relevant to that career. If you’re writing an essay on teaching methods, the essay is probably going to be something that teachers should be concerned about. Here’s an example: “Teachers need to know about children’s different learning styles in order to make sure their lessons are inclusive of all learning styles in the classroom.”

You’re in the best position to know who should be concerned with your topic. I can be any key stakeholder at all: parents, children, new immigrants, prisoners, prison guards, nurses, doctors, museum curators … you name it! It really depends on your topic.

5. Consequences: End by stating why the topic is important.

Your final statement can be something inspiring, interesting and relevant to real life. This is the opposite to the ‘hook’ in the introduction. While the hook draws your reader into the essay, your closing sentence sends your reader back out into the world, hopefully utterly convinced by you that this is a topic worthy of reflecting upon.

Here are some examples of a final sentence:

• “The sheer number of Shakespearian words and phrases that are common in the English language should show why Shakespeare remains the most significant literary figure in British history.”
• “The disastrous consequences of American regime change wars in the middle east that have been outlined in this paper highlights the case that the United States should not intervene in the Venezuelan political crisis.”

Remember when I said earlier that using hedges is good for your argument? The final sentence in the essay is the one place where maybe, just maybe, you can use the opposite: a Booster.

How to write a Conclusion with the 5C’s Method: Sample Conclusion Paragraph

Writing conclusions for your essay can be hard. With the 5 C’s paragraph model you can get a bit of an idea about how to write a conclusion that will amaze your teacher. Here’s the model one last time:

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How to Write a Conclusion

You’ve done it. You’ve refined your introduction and your thesis. You’ve spent time researching and proving all of your supporting arguments. You’re slowly approaching the finish line of your essay and suddenly freeze up because—that’s right—it’s time to write the conclusion.

Before we dive into the details, here’s a basic outline of how to write a conclusion:

• Restate your thesis: remind readers of your main point
• Reiterate your supporting points: remind readers of your evidence or arguments
• Wrap everything up by tying it all together
• Write a clincher: with the last sentence, leave your reader with something to think about

For many, the conclusion is the most dreaded part of essay writing . Condensing all the points you’ve analyzed in a tidy little package is certainly easier said than done. How can you make a good final impression while emphasizing the significance of your findings? 

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Table of contents

How to write a conclusion.

• Restate your thesis
• Reiterate supporting points
• Ask yourself: “So what?”
• Add perspective
• Consider the clincher

What your conclusion should not include

Learning how to write a conclusion for an essay doesn’t need to feel like climbing Everest. It is wholly possible to tie everything together while considering the broader issues and implications of your argument. You just need the right strategy.

What do you want to leave your readers with? Perhaps you want to end with a quotation that adds texture to your discussion. Or, perhaps you want to set your argument into a different, perhaps larger context. 

An effective conclusion paragraph should ultimately suggest to your reader that you’ve accomplished what you set out to prove.

5 key details for writing a conclusion

1 restate your thesis.

As you set out to write your conclusion and end your essay on an insightful note, you’ll want to start by restating your thesis. Since the thesis is the central idea of your entire essay, it’s wise to remind the reader of the purpose of your paper. 

Once you’ve restated your thesis (in a way that’s paraphrased , of course, and offers a fresh understanding), the next step is to reiterate your supporting points.

2 Reiterate supporting points

Extract all of the “main points” from each of your supporting paragraphs or individual arguments in the essay . Then, find a way to wrap up these points in a way that demonstrates the importance of the ideas. 

Depending on the length of your essay, knowing how to write a good conclusion is somewhat intuitive—you don’t want to simply summarize what you wrote. Rather, the conclusion should convey a sense of closure alongside the larger meaning and lingering possibilities of the topic. 

3 Ask yourself: “So what?” 

At some point in your life, a teacher has probably told you that the end of an essay should answer the question “So what?” or “Why does it matter?” This advice holds true. It’s helpful to ask yourself this question at the start of drafting your thesis and come back to it throughout, as it can keep you in tune with the essay’s purpose. Then, at your conclusion, you won’t be left searching for something to say.

4 Add perspective 

If you’ve come across a fantastic quote in your research that didn’t quite make it into the essay, the conclusion is a great spot for it. Including a quote from one of your primary or secondary sources can frame your thesis or final thoughts in a different light. This can add specificity and texture to your overall argument. 

For example, if you’ve written an essay about J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, you can think about using a quote from the book itself or from a critic or scholar who complicates your main point. If your thesis is about Salinger’s desire to preserve childhood innocence, ending with a biographer’s statement about Salinger’s attitude toward his own youth might be illuminating for readers. If you decide to amplify your conclusion paragraph in this way, make sure the secondary material adds (and not detracts) from the points you already made. After all, you want to have the last word!

5 Consider the clincher

At the very end of the essay comes your closing sentence or clincher. As you think about how to write a good conclusion, the clincher must be top of mind. What can you say to propel the reader to a new view on the subject? This final sentence needs to help readers feel a sense of closure. It should also end on a positive note, so your audience feels glad they read your paper and that they learned something worthwhile. 

There are a few things that you should definitely strive to avoid when writing your conclusion paragraph. These elements will only cheapen your overall argument and belabor the obvious.

Here are several conclusion mishaps to consider:

• Avoid phrases like “in summary,” “in conclusion,” or “to sum up.” Readers know they’re at the end of the essay and don’t need a signpost. 
• Don’t simply summarize what’s come before. For a short essay, you certainly don’t need to reiterate all of your supporting arguments. Readers will know if you just copied and pasted from elsewhere.
• Avoid introducing brand new ideas or evidence. This will only confuse readers and sap force from your arguments. If there’s a really profound point that you’ve reached in your conclusion and want to include, try moving it to one of your supporting paragraphs. 

Whereas your introduction acts as a bridge that transfers your readers from their own lives into the “space” of your argument or analysis, your conclusion should help readers transition back to their daily lives. 

By following this useful roadmap, you can feel confident that you know how to write a good conclusion that leaves readers with a solution, a call to action, or a powerful insight for further study.

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The Conclusion Formula

Last updated on October 5, 2016

Since I joined Minnesota in 2013, I have had the privilege of teaching the second-year paper seminar, which all of our PhD students are required to take, and in which they get to write an entire research paper from start to finish.

Every fall, I go over Keith Head’s tremendously useful Introduction Formula , which has the double benefit of (i) minimizing the amount of uncertainty you face when writing the introduction for your research papers, and (ii) ensuring that you follow the social norm(s) surrounding how an introduction should be written for an economics paper. Then, because there isn’t much more to the introduction formula than Hook-Research Question-Antecedents-Value Added-Roadmap, I show students examples of introductions written using that formula, to show them that the formula does indeed work.

When I taught the introduction formula last week, someone asked: “But how should we write the conclusion?” Beyond what I had learned in high school, I didn’t really have a good answer, so I figured I should look around and see if there are any obvious social norms surrounding how conclusions are written for economics papers; I found nothing. Even William Thomson’s otherwise wonderful Guide for the Young Economist has nothing about how to write conclusions.

Many economics papers titled their conclusion “Summary and Concluding Remarks,” which is a pretty good indication of how your conclusion should proceed. What I learned in high school was that a good conclusion should have two main parts: (i) a summary of what you have spent the several pages before the conclusion doing, and (ii) the way forward.

I am not claiming to be a master at writing conclusions, but I have written enough of them to get a good sense of what works, and to provide the following guidelines to cut on the transaction costs other people face when writing conclusions. Strictly speaking, a conclusion should be structured as follows:

• Summary . You’ve surely heard that when writing a research paper, “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them what you want to tell them, and tell them what you just told them.” This part is obviously tedious–you have just spent 40-some pages telling them–but it needs to be there, and it needs to be different enough from the abstract and the introduction. Note that I didn’t say it needs to say something new; it just needs to be different enough. If possible, tell a story.
• Limitations . Some people like to have a “Limitations” section at the end of their results section; I like to have that myself. But the conclusion should also emphasize the limitations of your approach.
• Implications for Policy . Presumably, your work has some sort of implication for how policy is made in the real world. This will not always be the case–some papers make a purely technical point, or a point that is only ancillary when it comes to making other policy-related points–but I would guess that since you are reading this blog, there is a high likelihood that what you are working on has some policy implications. Discuss what those implications are, but don’t make claims that are not supported by your results, and try to assess the cost of what you propose in comparison to its benefits. You can do so somewhat imperfectly (if I were a betting man, I would bet that this is where the phrase “back-of-the-envelope calculation” comes up the most often in economics papers), since the point of your work was presumably about only one side of that equation–usually the benefits of something, sometimes its costs, but rarely both. In two or three sentences, can you identify the clear winners and losers of a given policy implications? Its political feasibility? How easy or hard it would be to implement?
• Implications for Future Research . Finally, your work is not perfect. Your theoretical contribution could be generalized, or broadened by relaxing certain assumptions. Your empirical contribution could probably benefit from better causal identification for better internal validity. Even with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with perfect compliance, you might want to run the same RCT in additional locations for external validity. If you are writing a follow-up paper, this is a good place to set the stage for it.*

* This is why I often tell students not to look for research ideas in the conclusions of the papers they read, because conclusions either list (i) ideas that are so difficult to execute that the authors of the papers you’re reading didn’t think it was worth exploring them, or (ii) ideas that those same authors are already working on.

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The Critical Turkey

Essay Writing Hacks for the Social Sciences

How can I write an effective Conclusion? – A formula that almost always works

In most parts, the conclusion is a mirror image of the introduction. Before you read this blogpost, you should therefore have read its sibling, Introduction – a formula that almost always works.

Length and Purpose of the Conclusion

Like the introduction, your conclusion should be up to about 10% of the overall length of the essay, and no longer than this ballpark figure. For markers, it’s a fairly common occurrence to see overly long conclusions in student essays, and often it is quite obvious that the author was struggling to get up to the word count of the essay, and was then using (abusing?) the conclusion to add as many words as they thought reasonable. Overly short conclusions are less common, but also happen. The typical mistake here is that there isn’t much, or any, summary of the different points of the essay.

The purpose of a conclusion is to make sure your imaginary reader leaves the essay with a sense of clarity, and in a way, a sense of purpose, an understanding of what this all means in the bigger scheme of things. For the first point, you reiterate the main points you made in the essay. This makes sure your reader is on the same page with you and understands the importance of the different points you are summarising, and their relevance to the way you’ve discussed the topic. Then, secondly, you round off by basically explaining what this all means. This last point is usually nested in the argument of your essay (see part 1 on introductions), and can be broadened out by contextualising it with the wider scholarly debate on the issue your essay has discussed.

Conclusion: Foundations

At a minimum, a conclusion needs to include two elements. It needs to summarise the different points , and it needs to explicitly relate them to the essay question . Using the example from Part 1, this could look something like this:

“Whose account of the emergence of capitalism, then, is more convincing? This essay has looked at, first, Marx’ analysis of how capitalism emerged out of feudalism, and how the bourgeoisie developed new means of production and was thus able to control not just the economy, but also the superstructure of society, its politics, philosophies, religion, and ideas more generally. Secondly, I examined Weber’s thesis of how capitalism first emerged in Protestant countries, and New England especially, and how this was due to a specific protestant ethic that evolved into the spirit of capitalism.”

Note that this is the mirror image of the two foundational elements of the introduction, introducing the essay question, and laying out your essay plan, before the fact in the intro, after the fact in the conclusion.

The opening sentence is a little cheeky, and you might want to consider being a little more formal (‘This essay has examined the question…’ or similar), but if your marker is okay with it, it can add a little life to the conclusion.

This conclusion does a good job of summarising the argument, but reading it, you will probably have felt a sense of it missing something. There’s not much of a round-off, and not much context. This is where you argument, again extended from the introduction, comes in.

Summarising the Argument & Rounding off the Essay

The above is more of a descriptive summary of the different points covered. The summary of the argument , on the other hand, aims at more than just describing the points, and at establishing their meaning, and your interpretation of them. In our example:

“Whose account of the emergence of capitalism, then, is more convincing? This essay has looked at, first, Marx’ analysis of how capitalism emerged out of feudalism, and how the bourgeoisie developed new means of production and was thus able to control not just the economy, but also the superstructure of society, its politics, philosophies, religion, and ideas more generally. Secondly, I examined Weber’s thesis of how capitalism first emerged in Protestant countries, and New England especially, and how this was due to a specific protestant ethic that evolved into the spirit of capitalism. As I have highlighted in the above discussion, Marx is particularly convincing at explaining X, but there are limitations when it comes to Y. Weber, on the other hand, is very insightful when it comes to Z, but his interpretation of Q is limited. Neither of the two thus provide a fully effective account of the emergence of capitalism, but both have contributed valuable insights. It is entirely merited, then, that their theories have served as starting points for subsequent students of capitalism ever since.” 

You can see that the narrator’s voice here changes. It moves from someone merely describing the different points of the essay in the green bit, to someone analysing it, interpreting it, giving their own views, highlighting what they found important and noteworthy, in the purple section. These are the hallmarks of critical engagement, a topic I have covered elsewhere ( What does critical mean, and how can I be critical in my essay writing? ).

The last sentence of the above example, in particular, broadens out the topic, and positions the essay topic in the wider debate in the social sciences. By adding a few words here at the end, you can further demonstrate your understanding of the topic’s more general meaning and significance. This is a nice touch if you can add it, but even without this last sentence, this is now an excellent conclusion. This is, indeed, the formula I recommend you follow.

Common Mistakes in Conclusions

In addition to the mistakes discussed above in relation to length of the conclusion (too much detail or too little detail), there are three further common mistakes that you should avoid: First, do not introduce new material. Anything you think is worth discussing should be discussed in the main part of the essay. Second, do not introduce overly moralistic evaluations. This is a complicated matter, I know, and we could debate whether such a thing as neutrality is even possible or desirable. But for sure you do not want to go overboard with moralistic statements, claiming that something is negative without explaining why and for whom it is negative, or calling for certain measures to ‘eradicate’ certain social problems. The main purpose of a university-level social or political science essay is to understand and explain a social or political problem, not to evaluate it from a moral perspective. This is also the case when the essay question asks you to ‘evaluate’ a statement or problem. This is not asking for moral evaluation, but to evaluate whether something is the case or not, to what extent etc.

The last common mistake to avoid is to call for further research. This only makes sense if your paper is actually a research paper, ie it builds on original research, such as interviews or questionnaires, conducted by the author(s). When you read this kind of statement in a journal article, it is usually a way for the author(s) to point out the limitations of the research they’ve done, and reflecting on how they or others could take it a step further. It is not the appropriate ending for a standard university essay. Admittedly, this last point is a little subjective, though, and it makes sense to check with your marker what they think of the issue.

Final Thoughts

The importance of introductions and conclusions for the overall success of essay writing cannot be overestimated. They are the first impression and the final sending-off anyone reading your essay will experience. I hope the advice and tips in these two blogposts make for an easy-to-use, almost-always-applicable formula that will improve your essay writing in the long term. Do let me know in the comments or via email if you think anything is missing, or indeed if you’ve found these tips helpful.

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Posted on 19th June 2019

Ending Your Essay With a Strong Conclusion

By Cite This For Me

Conclusions aren’t easy—but they’re very important. And contrary to popular belief, they’re not simply a place to restate what you’ve said before in the same way. They’re an opportunity to cast all the arguments you’ve made in a new light.

Conclusions give you a chance to summarize and organize your main points, reminding the reader how effectively you’ve proven your thesis. It’s also your final opportunity to make a lasting impression on your reader.

Simple conclusion formula

• Proper, relevant restatement of thesis statement and strongest evidence

Relevant final thought

As an example, let’s create a conclusion following our two-step process.

Let’s say your thesis statement is:

College athletes should not be paid because many receive compensation in the form of scholarships and benefit from more visibility to potential professional recruiters.

Now we’ll follow our formula to write an effective conclusion.

Restatement of thesis and strongest evidence

The first step in writing our conclusion is to restate the thesis statement.

It’s important not to simply copy your thesis statement word for word. You can also briefly include evidence or other points that were mentioned in your paper .

You could write something like:

College athletes don’t need financial compensation because they receive numerous benefits including scholarships, additional experience and coaching, and exposure to professional teams.

This sentence reminds the reader of our original thesis statement without copying it exactly.

At this point, you could also synthesize 1-2 of the strongest pieces of supporting evidence already mentioned in your essay, such as:

With four years of tuition costing up to hundreds of thousands and salaries in potential professional sports careers averaging millions, these benefits already amount to significant compensation.

Notice that we didn’t start with a transition like, “In conclusion,” or, “In summary.” These transitions aren’t necessary and are often overused.

You want to end your conclusion with a strong final thought. It should provide your reader with closure and give your essay a memorable or thought-provoking ending.

The last sentence of your conclusion can point to broader implications, like the impact the topic of your essay has had on history, society, or culture.

Another good rule of thumb is to allow your final sentence to answer the question, “So what?” Your reader has spent time reading your paper, but why does any of this matter? Why should your reader—or anyone else—care?

For our sample conclusion, for example, you could write:

Providing still more compensation to college athletes would send the message that they are employees, not students. If we don’t want education to be sidelined, college athletes should not be paid.

This concluding sentence answers the, “So what?” question by explaining the potential repercussions of paying college athletes. It gives the reader a reason to be more invested in your essay and ideas.

Some of the most powerful words in your paper may have been written or said by someone else. Selecting a quote from a well known public figure or an expert in the field of your topic allows you to finish strong with a credible source.

Example quote ending:

“The case for recycling is strong. The bottom line is clear. Recycling requires a trivial amount of our time. Recycling saves money and reduces pollution. Recycling creates more jobs than landfilling or incineration. And a largely ignored but very important consideration, recycling reduces our need to dump our garbage in someone else’s backyard.” – David Morris, co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

If you have a bibliography, add a citation for your quote source. It doesn’t matter if it is in MLA format or another style, it’s a good practice to always create citations for information you’ve used.

Ending your paper with a smart and relevant question allows your readers to think for themselves and make your topic their own. The best type of question leads your reader to the same conclusion you have presented in your paper.

Example question ending:

Recycling reduces pollution, saves energy and makes us feel good about ourselves; why wouldn’t we make it a part of our everyday lives?

Call to Action

Most popular in advertising, a call to action asks your reader to execute a specific task after reading your paper. A call to action can contain phrases like: Think about it, See for yourself, Consider, Try, or Remember.

Example call to action ending:

Now that you have read about the benefits of recycling, consider the awesome impact it could have on your local community.

Prediction statements often begin with the words “when” or “if.” In this type of ending, the writer makes an educated guess based on the factual information presented in the paper.

Example prediction ending:

If recycling is adopted by all major cities, we can expect its benefits to spread to smaller cities and towns. That means a significant reduction in landfill use, less pollution and more job creation across the entire country.  

A perspective change can help you end your paper in a way that is creative and interesting. One method is to zoom out and present your subject in a greater context. This ending allows you to take your reader beyond the specifics and provide a more global understanding of your topic. When working with this type of ending, be sure that your statement remains on subject and does not present entirely new information.    

Example zoom out ending:

Recycling is more than a solution for waste management. Treating our environment with respect and protecting our natural resources will benefit our society for generations to come.

Putting it all together

The conclusion reads:

College athletes don’t need financial compensation because they receive numerous benefits including scholarships, additional experience and coaching, and exposure to professional teams. With four years of tuition costing up to hundreds of thousands and salaries in potential professional sports careers averaging millions, these benefits already amount to significant compensation. Providing still more compensation to college athletes would send the message that they are employees, not students. If we don’t want education to be sidelined, college athletes should not be paid.

To create effective conclusions of your own, remember to follow these guidelines :

• Don’t feel the need to start with overused transitions such as, “In conclusion,” or, “In summary.”
• Restate your thesis statement in a new way.
• You can also restate 1-2 of your strongest pieces of supporting evidence.
• Don’t mention anything in your conclusion that wasn’t mentioned in the body of your essay.
• End with a strong final thought, preferably one that answers the question, “So what?”

By following these simple steps, you’ll craft a conclusion that leaves a powerful final impression on your readers.

When you mention or quote evidence from other sources, be sure to cite them. There are helpful resources at CiteThisForMe.com such as a Harvard referencing tool , an MLA formatting guide, an APA citation generator , and more!

Home › Study Tips › How to Write an Essay Conclusion: Proven Strategies and Common Mistakes to Avoid

How to Write an Essay Conclusion: Proven Strategies and Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Published December 16, 2024

If you want your essay to leave a lasting impression on your readers, you need to make your conclusion stand out.

A solid essay conclusion reinforces your essay’s main points and ensures your readers leave with a clear understanding of the argument. It will help you shine in essay competitions like the Immerse Essay Competition , where you can win a full scholarship to university and career preparation programmes.

However, a solid conclusion should not only round off your essay but also engage the reader’s emotions. This is why a conclusion paragraph is one of the hardest parts of essay writing. You need to recap your central points without repeating yourself while making it thought-provoking.

This post is for you if you’re wondering how to write a conclusion for an essay. It will discuss the elements of a great conclusion as well as what to avoid in your conclusion.

Key Elements of a Great Conclusion

Understanding the elements of a great essay conclusion helps you create one that leaves a lasting impression.

The key elements of a great essay conclusion are:

Restatement of Your Thesis

When concluding your essay, it is wise to remind the reader of its purpose. This is why an essay conclusion should begin by revisiting your thesis statement.

However, do not just copy and paste it from the introduction. Instead, rephrase it to reflect how you developed your argument throughout the essay.

For example, consider the thesis statement, “ Social media has a negative impact on teenager’s mental health .” Revisit the thesis with a statement like “ It is clear that the excessive use of social media contributes to mental health issues among teenagers .”

Review of Your Main Points

An effective conclusion paragraph should reinforce your arguments. A summary of your essay’s main points reminds the reader of the evidence you used to support your argument.

However, do not simply repeat what you already wrote. Instead, go through your body paragraphs, extract the main points, and piece them together. Remember that the best conclusions do not just summarise the main points but synthesise them.

This means connecting the points in a way that clearly shows their connections, especially how they add up to form a coherent whole.

Reflection of the Significance

A strong conclusion should convey why your argument matters. For this reason, after summarising your main points, reflect on the significance of your thesis by answering the “so what?” question.

After a reader sees all your supporting evidence and arguments, they may still wonder, “Why should I care about this?” or “What’s the bigger picture here?” Address this in your essay conclusion.

Does it provide a new understanding of the topic or raise new questions for future study? Whatever your essay is about, after reiterating your main points, make sure you provide the broader implications of your argument. Help the reader see how the essay relates to their lives or the wider world. This will elevate your essay from just a simple presentation of facts to a meaningful discussion.

Final Thought or Call-To-Action

You should always end your essay conclusion with a thought-provoking statement to encourage the reader to think critically about the topic.

Remember that a solid essay conclusion should engage the reader’s emotions. This is the part that does that. A thought-provoking statement or a prediction about the future as the final sentence of your essay conclusion leaves the reader with something to reflect on long after they have finished reading your essay.

For example, if your essay explores the dangers of AI, you may end the conclusion paragraph with something like, “ As we move forward with AI, we must ask ourselves—are we creating tools that serve humanity or that will ultimately control us?” This invites your readers to consider the ethical implications of AI long after reading your essay.For more detailed writing guides, check out Immerse’s social channels . You can also explore our Succeed platform for writing workshops and expert practical tips.

What to Avoid in an Essay Conclusion

Certain elements shouldn’t be in your essay paragraph because their presence will weaken your overall argument. The elements that you should avoid in an essay conclusion include:

Introducing New Information

The conclusion of your essay is not the place to introduce new arguments or evidence. Doing this will likely confuse your reader and disrupt the flow of your essay. Instead, stick to reiterating and synthesising the main points you already made in the essay’s main body.

The conclusion may include minor information, like a quotation that nicely summarises your main argument or a sentence or two that provides broader implications. However, new ideas or analyses essential to supporting your thesis statement should not come to the conclusion paragraph. Instead, move these to one of the supporting paragraphs.

Repeating the Introduction

Your conclusion should feel like a purposefully considered closing statement, not a repeat of earlier points. Therefore, while restating your thesis in your conclusion paragraph, it is important to avoid repeating your introduction word for word.

Remember that the introduction presents your thesis, and the main body provides evidence and argumentation to support it. Thus, the conclusion should reflect how the argument developed and provide a final perspective based on the evidence and analysis.

Repeating your introduction verbatim prevents your conclusion from offering a fresh perspective or demonstrating a deeper analysis. It makes you miss the chance to show how your main ideas fit together and reinforce the significance of your argument. It will also give the impression of a lack of effort.

Making General Statements

An essay conclusion should be specific and clear. Avoid general statements and vague assertions that do not reinforce your arguments.

For example, instead of saying, “ Social media affects everyone differently ,” make a specific statement that ties back to your argument, like “ The harmful effects of social media are particularly evident in teenagers, where it leads to mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression .”

Using Concluding Phrases

Avoid concluding phrases like “In conclusion,” “In Summary,” or “To sum up” because they are redundant, taking up word count that might be better used elsewhere, and can weaken your essay.

Returning to your thesis statement as you start the conclusion paragraph will tell the reader you are concluding the essay, so you don’t have to spell it out with concluding phrases. These phrases will come across as fillers that contribute nothing to the essay since the reader already knows you are concluding.

Overly Short or Long Conclusions

An essay conclusion should be concise and thorough. It should not be a single sentence, nor should it be overly long. Instead, it should be a length that effectively wraps up your essay without going overboard.

An overly short essay conclusion may not provide enough depth to make the essay leave an impression. For example, it may only restate the arguments without elaboration (like summarising key points, demonstrating the significance of your arguments, and leaving the reader with something to ponder).

Conversely, an overly long conclusion can risk repeating information already presented in the body paragraphs, making it largely redundant. This can also overwhelm readers, making the conclusion less impactful.

Using Apologetic Phrases

Your conclusion is your final chance to reinforce your argument, demonstrate its significance, and leave a lasting impression. However, apologetic phrases that sound uncertain do the opposite. They’ll make your argument appear less convincing and authoritative.

Apologetic phrases include “I’m not sure,” “It could be argued,” “Perhaps,” “I think,” and more. Avoid them like a plague in your conclusion, as they’ll bring in a sense of doubt, which is the exact opposite of what a strong conclusion should achieve. For example, instead of a last sentence like “ I think the evidence points to a need for stronger climate policies ,” go with a more confident statement like “ The evidence clearly shows the urgent need for stronger climate policies .”

Overly Dramatic Statements

If you want your arguments taken seriously, you should sound confident without veering into exaggeration or sensationalism.

Overly dramatic statements can make your essay look like a sensationalised opinion piece rather than a well-reasoned, scholarly argument.

Consider a dramatic statement like “ If we don’t act now, the entire planet will collapse on our heads .” It can make readers question the reliability of your arguments, potentially undermining your entire essay. Such statements can even alienate readers by making them feel like you’re trying to manipulate their emotions.

Practical Tips for Writing a Strong Essay Conclusion

Having discussed the key elements of a conclusion and what to avoid, let’s move on to some practical tips to help you write a strong essay conclusion.

Take Your Time

Do not rush through your conclusion. It’s your last chance to leave an impression on your readers, so take your time to craft the conclusion carefully.

Take a step back and reflect on the key insights of your essay. Carefully consider how you will rephrase your thesis statement and reinforce the connection between the introduction and body paragraphs.

Taking your time to write your conclusion allows you to refine the wording, structure, and flow. This ensures the conclusion is clear, sounds professional, and effectively reinforces your argument.

Consider the Bigger Picture

Considering the bigger picture elevates your essay conclusion by showing how your essay fits into a larger context. This step allows you to tie your specific points to real-world concerns. It makes your readers reflect on the larger implications of your essay’s argument, contributing to a broader understanding of your topic.

Use Transition Words

Ensure your conclusion flows naturally from the body of your essay using transition words. They can help guide your reader’s expectations. For example, using “therefore” can show how points made in the essay body logically lead to the final conclusion.

Transition words also help you smoothly transition from one part of the conclusion to another. Whether you are revisiting your thesis, synthesising your key points, or offering a final thought, transition words connect the different components. Without them, the conclusion will feel disconnected.

Mirror Your Introduction

Your conclusion should mirror the tone of your introduction to create a sense of unity throughout the essay.

If your introduction is formal and analytical, use the same style in the conclusion – and indeed, throughout the main body – to maintain a consistent voice. If the introduction used a conversational tone, echo this in the conclusion.

Revisit Your Hook

If you used an intriguing question, quote, or anecdote to hook readers in the introduction, reference it in the conclusion to provide closure. For example, if you asked a provocative question in the introduction, your conclusion should discuss how your essay addressed that question.

Explore our Research Idea articles for more inspiration to write essays with captivating endings.

Examples of Essay Conclusions

Here are a few examples of essay conclusions that will help you understand these strategies:

The evidence shows that climate change is an urgent global issue that demands immediate action. Transitioning to renewable energy sources, adopting sustainable practices, and holding corporations accountable can help mitigate the devastating effects of environmental degradation. Simply recognising the problem is not enough. We must take decisive action now to safeguard the future of our planet .

See how this example incorporates the key elements of a great essay conclusion:

Restatement of the thesis :

The thesis restatement is, “ The evidence clearly shows that climate change is an urgent global issue that demands immediate action. ”

The original thesis likely argued that climate change is a pressing issue that requires immediate action. This restatement reinforces the essay’s main argument, reminding the reader of the central claim.

Review of main points

“ Transitioning to renewable energy sources, adopting sustainable practices, and holding corporations accountable can help mitigate the devastating effects of environmental degradation. ”

This part condenses the main solutions discussed in the essay body into a brief overview, showing how the body supports the thesis.

Reflection of the significance

The sentence showing the significance of the thesis is, “ Simply recognising the problem is not enough. We must take decisive action now to safeguard the future of our planet .”

This statement shows the broader significance of the issue by emphasising the real-world consequence of inaction, which reinforces the essay’s relevance.

Final thought

“ We must take decisive action now to safeguard the future of our planet .”

This statement urges the reader to take concrete steps towards solving the problem.

“It is important that we invest in mental health care to ensure the well-being of future generations. The benefits of early intervention and increased support for mental health services far outweigh the costs. Prioritising mental health will help us create a healthier society for all. The time to act is now.”

Restatement of the thesis

The thesis restatement is, “ It is important that we invest in mental health care to ensure the well-being of future generations .”

The original thesis argued that investing in mental health care is key to the well-being of future generations. This restatement reminds the reader of the main argument of the essay.

Review of the main points

“ The benefits of early intervention and increased support for mental health services far outweigh the costs .”

The sentence summarises the key points (early intervention and increased support for mental health services) discussed in the essay and highlights their importance by emphasising that their benefits outweigh the costs.

Reflection on the significance

The statement reflecting the significance of the thesis is, “ Prioritising mental health will help us create a healthier society for all .”

This part of the conclusion highlights the broader significance of the issue by emphasising that prioritising mental health will create a healthier society.

The final thought is, “ The time to act is now. ”

This powerful statement encourages the reader to take immediate steps toward addressing mental health care.

A strong conclusion enhances your essay as it ensures your readers have a clear understanding of your argument.

To create a strong conclusion, include key elements like a thesis restatement, a review of the main points, the thesis significance, and a final thought). Avoid introducing new information, repeating your introduction, making general statements, using concluding phrases, and more.

Not sure how to start a conclusion in an essay? This is where Immerse Education comes in!

Immerse Education has educated thousands of students aged 13 – 18 through our exceptional academic, career, and skill enrichment programmes. Our programmes are designed by tutors from top global universities and help prepare participants for future success.

Participate in the Immerse Education Essay Competition for a chance to win a full or partial scholarship to amazing career preparation programmes.

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