2.6: Writing a Conclusion Paragraph — Read

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The main parts of a conclusion

The conclusion, or concluding paragraph, is the final paragraph in the essay and the last part your readers will read. It will wrap up your ideas and leave them something to think about. Having a strong conclusion will help to leave a clear idea in the reader's mind and make them feel like the essay is finished.

With the introduction, you started with a broader idea (the hook) and got more specific as you moved through the background section, until you got to the very focused thesis statement. In a conclusion you will do the opposite. Instead, you will start with the specific ideas in your paper and move outwards, ending on a bigger idea that is related to your topic but not covered in the body paragraphs.

The three main parts of a conclusion are:

Summary
Final Comment (food for thought)

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Part 1 - Summary of main points

Remind the reader of the points you made in your essay so your readers can see how everything fits together. Summarize the main idea of each paragraph in 1 to 3 sentences. Try to change the words so you are not using the exact same language as your thesis statement and topic sentences.

Let's compare a thesis statement with a summary sentence.

Here is a student's thesis statement:

“Stereotypes are harmful because they take away people’s true identities, lead to unfair discrimination in society, and can even cause physical violence.”

A possible summary sentence in the conclusion paragraph could be:

“Stereotypes may seem funny and innocent, but they are actually very harmful because they replace identity with a label, lead to unequal and harmful treatment against particular groups of people, and can escalate into acts of violence.”

Identifying the summary

Let's see what that looks like:

Notice this!

Read the following two conclusions.

1-Sentence Summary:

Stereotypes may seem like simple labels, but they are actually very harmful because they replace identity with a label, lead to unequal and harmful treatment against particular groups of people, and can escalate into acts of violence. By working hard to combat our own biases and speaking up when we see a “single story” dominate, we can lessen the damaging impact of stereotypes and make the world a safer, more equitable place.

3-Sentence Summary:

On an individual level, stereotypes are harmful because they take away a person’s true identity; a person is given a label based on a group identity that cannot accurately be applied to each person. On a societal level, stereotypes can lead to policies that discriminate against particular groups of people. Stereotypes can also lead to physical violence, as in the examples of the anti-Muslim mosque attacks and anti-Semitic synagogue attacks in Southern California. By working hard to combat our own biases and speaking up when we see a “single story” dominate, we can lessen the damaging impact of stereotypes and make the world a safer, more equitable place.

Part 2 - Final Comment (food for thought)

Finally, give some final idea to leave the reader thinking. We call this "food for thought" because the reader will need to spend some time pondering and digesting it, just as you spend some time eating and digesting food (see figure 2.6.1). Basically, as you say goodbye to your reader you want them to keep thinking about the ideas in your essay and why these ideas are important. Your final comment can be:

a suggestion for the readers or other people group
an explanation of why this is important or what you want readers to learn
a prediction or warning for the future
an opinion or your own perspective on the topic
a reflection on how your own thinking changed through writing this
return to the hook from the introduction with an explanation of how the knowledge we have gained through your paper changes our understanding of it (this makes your paper feel like a full circle, and can be satisfying for the reader)

ice cream cone — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\):"ice-cream" by EEPaul is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Identifying the final comment

Let's see what some of these final comments look like:

Try this!

Can you identify what type of final comment is shown in each of the following sentences?

By working hard to combat our own biases and speaking up when we see a “single story” dominate, we can lessen the damaging impact of stereotypes and make the world a safer, more equitable place.
Researching the topic of bias revealed some large gaps in my understanding, and now I realize that more than ever, identifying and addressing our own personal biases is critical.
Although it may be easier to avoid the potential discomfort of considering more than a “single story” about a person or group of people, failure to take multiple stories into account risks a bleak, increasingly polarized future.

Answer

a suggestion or call to action
a reflection on how your own thinking changed through writing this
a prediction or warning for the futureWriting your conclusion

Apply this!

Look at a draft of your writing, focusing on the conclusion.

Can you identify the two main elements of a conclusion?
Does your summary address all the topics in your body paragraphs? (Hint: Look at the topic sentences in each body paragraph; this should help you answer this question.)
What final comment do you leave your reader with in the very last sentence? A suggestion? A return to your hook? Or something else?

Licenses and Attributions

Authored by Susie Naughton, Santa Barbara City College, Clara Zimmerman, Porterville College, and Elizabeth Wadell, Laney College. License: CC BY NC.

This page titled 2.6: Writing a Conclusion Paragraph was last modified on Sat, 26 Sep 2026 23:26:36 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gabriel Winer and Elizabeth Wadell (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

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