How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph for an Essay: Structure & Tips

Wondering how to structure a conclusion of your essay or research paper to ensure your audience won’t regret they’ve read your piece of writing? Writing a conclusion is an important step when you are working on any written project. A concluding paragraph is your last chance to convince your readers to accept your point of view and make them remember the key ideas. Achieving this goal is not as easy as it may seem and conclusion paragraph structure plays a crucial role in its effectiveness. It’s not enough to restate your thesis statement and just enumerate main points. Read on to learn how to write an effective conclusion that wraps your essay up and closes the discussion in a final sentence without actually closing it off. Think that is homework illegal? Think that writing a good conclusion or an engaging introduction to your paper is too challenging? Our writers will gladly help you solve any writing problem – just ask Homework Helper for assistance.

Essay conclusion paragraph outline

In an essay conclusion paragraph, you summarize what you’ve written about in your paper. When you’re writing a good conclusion paragraph, you need to think about the main point that you want to get across and be sure it’s included. The number of sentences in your conclusion will depend on how many paragraphs (statements) you have in the essay. A typical essay consists of 5 paragraphs.

So, first thing to come up with - conclusion paragraph outline:

1) A conclusion starter - topic sentence:

• It’s the sentence that functions as a Fresh paraphrasing / restating the thesis statement of your essay. Therefore, if you wonder how to start a conclusion, rephrase your thesis statement and put it first.

2) Supporting sentences - a summary of the main parts of your essay:

• Here you’ll have to summarize or wrap up the main points in the body of the essay. You’ll need to come up with 2-3 sentences wrapping up the arguments of your essay. Explain how the ideas fit together.

3) A concluding sentence (closing sentence):

• It’s a final sentence of your essay that connects back to the introduction providing a sense of closure and connecting readers back to the introduction.

Before creating an outline for this part of your work, look at an example essay structure. So, you will get a better understanding of every part of your work.

Essay conclusion structure:

• Sentence 1 - restate the thesis by making the same point with other words (paraphrase).
• Sentences 2-4 - review your arguments; summarize them by paraphrasing how you proved the thesis.
• Sentence 5 - connect back to the essay hook and relate your closing statement to the opening one; transit to human nature to impress a reader and give them food for thought.

After - combine all sentences to the improved and expanded essay conclusion. And - here you go! Your conclusion is done! But, what about some "spicy" peculiarities of the whole conclusion "recipes" you don't want to overlook in the end..?

What to write about in conclusion for an essay?

It’s critical to structure any conclusion in a way which ensures it conveys a sense of closure and demonstrates possibilities of the topic. Speaking about essential elements of the conclusion structure that are appropriate for different types of papers, we should mention the following ones:

• Brief summary of the key points of the text
• Your personal opinion about the paper’s main idea
• Concluding statement which includes deduction based on the ideas expressed in the main body
• Recommendations about future research and some predictions
• Implications of the work for future studies

These elements are important and should be included when you write longer academic papers, for example, extended analytical essays with rather complex structures, theses or dissertations. But it’s not obligatory to include all the above mentioned elements when you write an argumentative essay or a business plan. These types of papers have a simpler structure and don’t require lengthy conclusions. However, each piece of writing must include an introduction that presents its topic and a final section that wraps everything up and answers the question “so what?” to help readers see why they should care about the content of your paper.

A conclusion structure of an ordinary essay may be simpler and should consist of 3 essential parts:

• Answer where you restate your thesis statement
• Concise summary where you summarize main points of your argument
• Significance where you explain implications of your findings

Wondering what other things an essay conclusion structure may include? Here are some suggestions:

• Ask a provocative question
• Call for a certain action
• Evoke memorable vision
• Include an interesting quote

Best strategies for writing effective essay conclusions

1. Use the introduction paragraph as a guide but you should remember that these parts of an essay present information in a different manner and order. Although a conclusion is related to introduction, it presents information in the opposite way so conclusion structure is the opposite of the introduction. When writing a conclusion, you should start with some specific information and finish it with more general information.
2. When writing an answer, you shouldn’t repeat your thesis word for word. Rearrange the thesis, keeping the most important keyword. Use different paraphrasing techniques and rewording strategies.
3. Conclusion is the place where you should show the connections between main points of your paper. Choose the most useful ideas from your body paragraphs and summarize them, keeping relevant keywords. Express your ideas using different sentences. To write all parts logically, do not forget about transition words for college essays.
4. Not all essays end with explaining implications. Short papers (up to 1100 words) don’t have enough space to give detailed descriptions of significance. But if you want your essay to convey a bigger picture, this tactic is very effective.
5. Many people describe an essay as an attempt to “sell” your personal view on a specific issue. A strong essay conclusion should demonstrate that your arguments are really important and relevant for a specific topic.
6. The structure of your conclusion should include a powerful positive statement which must be based on the information presented in the previous parts of your paper. Don’t include any new information in your conclusion.
7. Avoid using such phrases as “to sum it up” or “in conclusion”. These phrases are unnecessary and they sound too unnatural. Your readers are smart enough to understand when your arguments are ending and phrases like those will just irritate them.
8. To make your conclusion more powerful, you can finish your paper with a sentence that has a compound or parallel structure. Such sentences work well at the end of complex discussions, establishing a sense of order or balance.
9. End your conclusion paragraph by restating a phrase or a word used at the beginning of the first paragraph. In this way, you can establish some link between two essential parts of your essay and bring the readers full circle. Returning to a theme of introduction is a great technique.
10. End an essay with a sentence which consists of mainly one-syllable words because using simple language can produce an effect of understated drama.
11. You can create a powerful concluding paragraph if you redefine one of the major terms of the argument. In this way, your essay will sound more original and unique.

Finally, some advice on how NOT to end an essay

• Don't simply summarize your essay. A brief summary of your argument may be useful, especially if your essay is long - more than ten pages or so. But shorter essays tend not to require a restatement of your main ideas.
• Avoid phrases like "in conclusion," "to conclude," "in summary," and "to sum up." These phrases can be useful - even welcome - in oral presentations. But readers can see, by the tell-tale compression of the pages, when an essay is about to end. You'll irritate your audience if you belabor the obvious.
• Resist the urge to apologize. If you've immersed yourself in your subject, you now know a good deal more about it than you can possibly include in a five- or ten- or 20-page essay. As a result, by the time you've finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you've produced. (And if you haven't immersed yourself in your subject, you may be feeling even more doubtful about your essay as you approach the conclusion.) Repress those doubts. Don't undercut your authority by saying things like, "this is just one approach to the subject; there may be other, better approaches. . ."

Academic writing is an essential part of a higher education so every student must complete lots of papers to earn their degree. That’s why understanding how to properly structure a compelling conclusion and what basic elements to include in it is an important skill that all students have to master. We hope that our easy tips on how to write a strong conclusion will help you successfully complete academic papers on any topic and make a powerful impression on your readers. But if you face difficulties when writing college-level papers, you can easily get qualified help with any assignment on the website of our custom writing service. Spend a few minutes to place an order and our experts will provide you with a good paper with a proper structure which was written according to your instructions. Our writers will help you accomplish your academic goals and become a successful student.