How to Write an Essay Conclusion

The final paragraph or the conclusion is the closure of an essay. Its purpose is to restate and convince the audience on your point of view.

The conclusion forms the essay and its final impressions on the audience. It has to be strong and clear with active tone.

How to write an essay conclusion?

To create a sense of closure in the audience, there are a couple of good ways. One of them is to link the first and the last paragraph (the introduction and the conclusion). In fact, those two parts of the essay are the most difficult ones to write. One of the ways to link the first and the second paragraph is by repeating a phrase or a single key word used in the beginning of the essay. To create a closure in the essay use simple and strong sentences at the end. There is a rule that it is good to finish the sentences in the conclusion of the essay with one syllable word. They send clear and sharp message to the audience. Each sentence should be balanced and give a sense of closure.

Do not start new topics or raise new evidence in the conclusion. Simply restate what you have written so far in a clear, sharp and simple manner. In longer essays, for example consisting of ten pages, it is necessary to make a brief summary of everything written so far and remind of your strongest arguments in favor of the topic. In shorter essays you can just restate your thesis with one or two of the strongest arguments. You can also use a powerful quote by a famous person at the end, which will make a very strong impression on the readers at the end.

For example, if you have decided to write an essay on healthy nutrition and have quoted in your introduction the famous line “I am what I eat”, you can quote it again in the conclusion together with your strongest argument creating a link and sense of closure to the readers. Leave the audience with a feeling that you know what you are talking and writing about. The readers must believe and accept your point of view; when a person shows and writes with confidence, he or she has a bigger chance of being believed.

There are some other useful tips when writing the essay conclusion; try to answer the following question “So what”. Answering it will help you summarize mentally and subsequently the most essential part of your essay in written form. Direct your readers by synthesizing not summarizing the whole essay. You can also use a bit of humor or irony; it gives the essay more sophisticated and smarter feeling and attracts the audience’s attention. Focus on your last sentence; it has to be well-written, provocative and straight to the point.

Things to avoid in writing a conclusion for essay

• Avoid stating the thesis for the first time in your essay in the conclusion.
• Do not introduce new topics in the conclusion.
• Try to avoid overused and unnecessary phrases like in closing, in conclusion, to sum up, in summary or to conclude, etc.
• Also, do not use emotional and sentimental appeals that are not in line with the rest of the essay.
• Do not simply paraphrase your thesis without any significant changes, claim it strong and clear.
• Avoid using statistics, quotations or any other text in the conclusion, which has to be in the main body of the essay.

At the end, proofread your essay, make the necessary corrections, check for spelling and grammar mistakes and make sure your conclusion is convincing, clear and strong.