How To Write a Conclusion In 3 Simple Steps

A satisfactory conclusion is the most crucial part of your essay. It is the last thing your reader will see, and it’s your final opportunity to make an impression and drive home your argument. So, let’s learn how to write a conclusion and why a powerful conclusion is vital to your essay’s success. 

Conclusions, or your concluding paragraphs, have three important jobs- they restate your thesis, reinforce your argument, and remind readers of the importance of your subject. 

Below is a guide on how to write a conclusion in three easy to follow steps. If you adhere to this roadmap, you will thoughtfully conclude your essay, reinforce your argument, and leave your reader curious about your subject. So, let’s get started learning how to write a conclusion. 

How to Write a Conclusion in Three Steps

Step 1: Restate your thesis. 

Your thesis statement is an essential part of your essay, so it’s important to reinforce that thesis in your conclusion. The first thing you’ll do is restate your idea by using different phrasing. Let’s take a straightforward thesis and rephrase it for a concluding paragraph. 

Read how to read a thesis statement in four steps here.

Say your thesis statement is: Giraffes are the best animal because of their spotted hide and long necks. 

Start your conclusion by taking that thesis and restating it like this: We’ve learned that giraffes are superior to other animals because of their long necks and spots. 

Action Steps: 

• Rewrite/ rephrase your thesis statement to open your conclusion

Example: 

We’ve learned that giraffes are superior to all other animals because of their long necks and bright spots.← A giraffe’s neck allows the animal to reach the topmost leaves of a tree and avoid competing with other animals. The animal’s patches aid with blood flow and cool their body in the arid savanna. Despite their creative adaptations, Giraffes have no defense against their most significant threat, habitat loss. Giraffe herds are spread thin, and their population has declined 40 percent over the last 30 years. We must place Giraffes on the endangered species list or risk losing this majestic animal permanently.  

Step 2: Reinforce the main points of your argument.  

A satisfactory conclusion mirrors a good introduction. What do I mean by that? A conclusion is like a reverse of your introduction. To open your essay, you start by speaking broadly about your subject and narrow it down to a specific thesis statement. 

In a compelling conclusion, you will start specifically by restating your thesis statement and broaden by reviewing your article’s main points and touching on broader implications. Use your conclusion to reinforce and review each of the main points or supporting details of your essay. 

Action Steps: 

• Summarize each of the supporting details after you’ve restated your thesis
• Only spend a sentence, or two, on each detail

Example: 

We’ve learned that giraffes are superior to all other animals because of their long necks and bright spots. A giraffe’s neck allows the animal to reach the topmost leaves of a tree and avoid competing with other animals. The animal’s patches aid with blood flow and cool their body in the arid savanna.←Despite their creative adaptations, Giraffes have no defense against their most significant threat, habitat loss. Giraffe herds are spread thin, and their population has declined 40 percent over the past three decades. We must place Giraffes on the endangered species list or risk losing this majestic animal forever.  

Step 3: Remind readers why your topic is important & leave them thinking.

One goal of your conclusion should be to keep your readers thinking about your subject or argument. An excellent way to do this is to pose a question or questions about your topic. Remind your readers what the implications of your thesis are. 

If you discussed a problem or set of questions in your essay, you could advise possible solutions and answers. Give your reader a course of action or steps that they can take to help solve the issues that you introduced. 

Action Steps: 

• Close the essay by provoking your reader to think about your subject
• See the techniques below and choose one

Techniques to close your essay: 

• Provide a course of action for the reader
• Propose a solution to a problem you presented
• Address/refute opposing viewpoints
• Write about the implications of your argument/ subject. 
• Answer the question, “Why should anyone care?” 
• Use a relevant quote from one of your sources. 

We’ve learned that giraffes are superior to all other animals because of their long necks and bright spots. A giraffe’s neck allows the animal to reach the topmost leaves of a tree and avoid competing with other animals. The animal’s patches aid with blood flow and cool their body in the arid savanna. Despite their creative adaptations, Giraffes have no defense against their most significant threat, habitat loss. Giraffe herds are spread thin, and their population has declined 40 percent over the past three decades. We must place Giraffes on the endangered species list or risk losing this majestic animal forever. ←

Tips for a good conclusion: 

• Provoke thought 
• End positively 
• Reinforce your thesis 
• Summarize your main points 

What to avoid in your conclusion: 

• Phrases like “In summary,” or “In conclusion,” etc. 
• Introducing new information you didn’t cover in your essay 
• Emotional appeals to your reader 
• Waiting until the conclusion to present your thesis 

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Continued reading on Conclusions:

Harvard College Writing Center- Ending the Essay: Conclusions

Indeed- Career Writing Center

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