A conclusion is like a shorter version of your introduction: you restate your main idea, remind the reader of your key reasons, and bring the essay to a clean ending. Don’t introduce new information in the conclusion.
There are three steps to writing a good conclusion:
Let’s use these steps to write an effective conclusion paragraph for the same prompt we’ve used in the other examples.
You already wrote a thesis in your introduction. In the conclusion, take that same idea and restate it as one clear sentence.
Below is our example introduction and an example body paragraph. A full essay would include two more body paragraphs, but for clarity, we’ve omitted them here and will jump to the conclusion. The restated thesis is at the end, in bold.
Consider the abilities of social media. A person that has moved across the country can see a post from an old friend and maintain some connection. Reddit groups of all flavors offer a community for just about anyone looking to connect and find ideas. I am a daily user of social media. However, when left unchecked, social media has detrimental effects, especially on young people.
Social media jeopardizes the mental health of young people. Consider the example of following a particular influencer. People as young as 13 can make an Instagram account and follow whomever they choose. I was one who joined Instagram in middle school and became obsessed with another influencer: an older college girl named Kayla. I studied the outfits Kayla wore, copied her makeup tutorials, and cried about how my 14-year-old body didn’t look like a college girl’s. After a year of comparison, I lost my sense of identity and realized that I was a copy-cat version of someone else. It made me sick. As I took baby steps to lower and change my social media usage, unfollowing Kayla and other toxic influencers, I felt happier and less stressed. While some argue that social media brings young people together, my experience has taught me that it breaks people down.
Social media does more harm than good to young people.
Notice that the restated thesis is just one sentence. It reminds the reader of the position you argued throughout the essay.
Next, briefly remind the reader of the reasons that support your thesis. You can do this in three separate sentences (one per body paragraph), or you can combine them into a single sentence that introduces a list with a colon.
Our example uses the second approach: a list introduced with a colon.
Social media does more harm than good to young people. It particularly harms three things: mental health, in-person social life, and academic performance.
This summary is short, but it clearly points back to the main points made in the essay.
Your “closer” is the final sentence of the essay. Its job is to wrap everything up and leave the reader with a clear final thought.
A perfect closer can be hard to write, especially if you’re short on time. If you’re running out of time, a simple sentence that sums up your overall message is better than ending abruptly.
Here’s our complete example conclusion paragraph with a closer:
Social media does more harm than good to young people. It particularly harms three things: mental health, in-person social life, and academic performance. The glitter of social media may be hard to resist. However, its effects are catastrophic and, whether we’d like to admit it or not, inevitable.
This final sentence sums up the essay’s overall message. It also nods to a counterargument (an opposing view the reader may be considering), which helps the closer feel distinct from the restated thesis. Without that shift, the ending can sound repetitive.
And that’s it for the conclusion. This is often the quickest part of the essay because you’re summarizing what you’ve already written.