How to Write a Strong Essay Conclusion (With Examples)

Quick answer: A strong essay conclusion answers the question directly in fresh words, then makes a judgement: which evidence weighed most, what the best counter-argument was, and why it did not change your mind. Aim for three to six sentences, add no new evidence, and never open with "In conclusion".

I used to end every essay the same way: "In conclusion, both sides have valid points, so it was a mixture of factors." I thought that sounded balanced and mature. Then a history mock came back with one line at the bottom: "You have described, not decided." That cost me the top band twice before I understood the difference. History is my favourite subject and English my strongest, and in both the conclusion is now where I gain marks instead of quietly losing them.

What examiners are actually looking for at the end

They want a judgement, not a recap. Read the mark schemes and the highest bands use the same family of words: "substantiated judgement", "supported conclusion", "sustained argument". Each of those assumes you decided something and can say why.

The word that matters most is "substantiated". A judgement on its own ("the printing press mattered most") is an opinion. A substantiated judgement points at the evidence that made you decide. GCSE history, Cambridge IGCSE and International A Level, CBSE long answers and WAEC essays are all reading for the same thing at the end: did this student weigh things up, or just list them again?

They also notice if the conclusion could have been written before the essay. An introduction with the words shuffled proves nothing happened in between.

The four-move conclusion

This is the method I use for every argument essay, in history, English, geography or economics.

1. Answer the question in one sentence, using different words from your introduction and including a comparative word: mainly, largely, more than, only because, chiefly.
2. Rank your evidence. Say which factor or reason carried the most weight, and name the specific evidence that made it heaviest.
3. Concede the strongest counter-argument, then explain why it does not overturn your judgement. Most students skip this sentence, and it is the one that separates a good conclusion from a top-band one.
4. Widen by exactly one step. Not a life lesson, not a rhetorical question, just what your argument implies, or what it cannot tell us.

Four sentences, four jobs. If a sentence is doing none of them, delete it.

A worked example from a history essay

Question: how far was the printing press the main reason the Reformation spread so quickly?

The kind of conclusion I used to write, at 44 words:

"In conclusion, the printing press was very important for the Reformation, but there were other factors too, such as the role of the German princes and corruption in the Church. Both sides have good arguments, so overall it was a mixture of causes."

It decides nothing and names no evidence. Rebuilt with the four moves, at 112 words:

"The printing press was the main reason the Reformation spread so quickly, but only because Luther had already given people something they wanted to read. Estimates put Luther's tracts at roughly 300,000 copies in circulation within three years of 1517, a speed no earlier challenge to the Church had come close to, and that speed is what turned a university dispute into a movement. The protection of German princes clearly mattered, since it kept Luther alive to keep writing. But protection shielded one man, while print reached thousands who never met him. The Reformation's speed, then, is less a story about one monk's argument than about the first time an argument could travel faster than the institution trying to silence it."

Sentence one answers and ranks. Sentence two substantiates with a number. Sentence three concedes, sentence four defeats the concession, and sentence five widens once and stops. The history hub has exam-style questions to practise this on.

The same four moves in an English Literature essay

English conclusions have one extra rule: land on the writer, not on the characters. Characters are the evidence; the writer's choices are the argument.

Take a question on how Priestley presents responsibility in An Inspector Calls. A weak conclusion says the Birlings learn different lessons and Sheila changes most. A strong one might be:

"Priestley uses the Inspector less as a character than as a device: he interrogates an audience rather than a family, and the final phone call denies everyone, on stage and in the seats, the comfort of thinking the reckoning is over. Sheila's change matters, but the Birlings' refusal to learn matters more, because the 1945 audience contained more Arthurs than Sheilas. Responsibility, the play argues, never divides neatly enough for anyone to carry only their own share."

Same four moves, different subject, and no new quotation. Everything there was already proved in the body. More of this in the English hub.

How long, and what to cut when you are out of time

Rough lengths that have worked for me:

• A 45-minute GCSE English Literature response: 80 to 100 words, the last four minutes.
• A 45-minute A Level or International A Level history essay: 100 to 140 words, the last five minutes.
• A 12 to 16 mark question: three sentences is plenty.

If you look up and have 90 seconds left, write moves one and two only. A two-sentence conclusion that answers and ranks beats a half-finished sentence about wider significance. Plan for this: write your intended judgement as three words in the margin before you start, so even in a panic you know what you are arguing.

Eight endings that quietly cost marks

• Opening with "In conclusion". The reader knows where they are.
• Introducing a date, statistic or quotation that appears nowhere else.
• "This essay has shown that..." The examiner decides that, not you.
• Sitting on the fence: "both sides have important points".
• Repeating the introduction almost word for word.
• Stacking rhetorical questions instead of answering the one you were asked.
• Apologising: "there is obviously much more that could be said".
• Adding a moral about modern life the question never asked for.

Check your own conclusion in 60 seconds

Three tests I run before handing anything in:

1. The cover-up test. Cover the essay and read only the conclusion. Does it answer the question on its own? If a stranger could not tell what the question was, it is too vague.
2. The delete test. Would the essay lose anything if the conclusion vanished? If not, you wrote a summary, not a judgement.
3. The verb test. Underline your verbs. If they are all "discussed", "mentioned", "showed", you are narrating. Top-band conclusions use verbs like outweighed, depended on, rested on, mattered most.

For a second opinion, paste your conclusion into the essay coach and ask which of the four moves is missing, or run the whole essay through grade. Do not let it write the ending for you: the judgement has to be yours, or it will not match the essay above it.

Test yourself

1. Rewrite this into a judgement: "Both factors were important in different ways." What two things must you add?
2. Your conclusion contains a quotation that appears nowhere else in the essay. What should you do, and why?
3. You have 90 seconds left. Which two of the four moves do you write, and which two do you sacrifice?

FAQ

Should I ever start a conclusion with "In conclusion"?

Not in a timed essay. It spends the strongest position in the paragraph on a signpost the examiner does not need. Start with your judgement instead. In coursework a single "Overall" is acceptable, but the direct answer still reads better.

Can I put a new quotation in my conclusion?

No. A new quotation is unanalysed evidence, and unanalysed evidence earns nothing. If it was good enough for the conclusion, it was good enough for a body paragraph where you had room to explain it. The only new thing in a conclusion should be the connection between what is already there.

How long should an essay conclusion be?

Three to six sentences for most exam essays, roughly 80 to 140 words. Longer and you start repeating your body paragraphs. Shorter than three and you usually cannot fit both a judgement and the evidence behind it.

Is it acceptable to conclude that the answer depends on the definition?

Yes, but only if you then commit. "It depends how we define success" is fence-sitting. "On an economic definition the policy succeeded, and since the question asks about recovery, that is the definition that should decide it" is a judgement, and that is what the top bands reward.

In short

A conclusion is not where you tidy up, it is where you decide. Answer the question in fresh words, name the evidence that weighed most, admit the best counter-argument and explain why it loses, then widen once and stop. Do that in four sentences and the last thing the examiner reads will be the strongest thing you wrote.