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How to write an e+ective

IELTS conclusion
July 12, 2017 by Ray IELTS Focus

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A guide to writing a good

conclusion for an IELTS essay.
Updated: Sept 9th 2021

This lesson will show you all about writing

a good conclusion. The conclusion is very
important in the essay because if you do
not write one you could lose a whole
band score in task response.

Conclusions are pretty easy to write. You

just need to rephrase your main points
and restate your opinion. One way to do
this is to paraphrase the thesis statement
again. No new information should be
added to the conclusion and it must be
concise and to the point. Do not copy
your thesis statement word for word
either, do not repeat whole sentences or
it will lower your score. Work on
paraphrasing your thesis statement from
the introduction.

If you prefer, you can watch the video

below.

Writing effective conclusio…

Here are some key points about

writing a conclusion.

1. Do not add new information to the

conclusion. Any new ideas or main points
should be covered in the main body
paragraphs.

2. You can re-paraphrase the thesis

statement from the introduction. This will
show that you have a good understanding
of vocabulary and it will leave a good
impression on the examiner. Just
remember that it is not necessary to
paraphrase everything.

3. Do not go into too much detail,

conclusions should only be about 2 or 3
sentences long. Keep it short and
concise.

4. Sometimes you can have a prediction

statement, (an ‘if’ statement) such as in a
problem solution essay, this shows that
you have a good range of grammar but
make sure it doesn’t make the conclusion
too long. Keep the conclusion to 3
sentences maximum.

5. You need to use a cohesive device

when starting the conclusion. There are 3
choices below.

To sum up
To conclude
In conclusion

Do not to use informal cohesive devices

to start the conclusion such as these
listed below. They are just too informal or
inappropriate in the conclusion.

I reckon  (informal)

In the end  (informal)

All in all   (informal)

Generally speaking   (too vague for a

conclusion)

Finally   (this means you are making

another 7nal point)

Lastly  (this means you have a last

point to make)

All things considered   (informal)

6. Do not use memorised ‘stock

sentences’ in an IELTS essay. I sometimes
see these in my students essays. This is
because of bad advice being given on the
internet. These kinds of memorised
sentences are not necessary and may
a[ect your score. See below:

In conclusion, I ]rmly agree with

the aforementioned statement….

To conclude, as stated above, I

think….

To sum up, I wholeheartedly agree

with the above mentioned points in
this essay…

To reiterate, according to the

aforementioned points….

Taking my above views into

consideration….

In a nutshell…

The crux of the matter is…

As outlined above….

I think you get the idea here, there are

many other examples of this but these
sentences are not natural and completely
unnecessary.

Click here to see a lesson on memorised

or cliched phrases I often see in IELTS
essays

How can you tell if it’s a good

conclusion?

If you were to just read the conclusion

only and not the essay, then you should
be able to get a very good idea of what
the essay was about without even reading
the main body paragraphs. It should re-
paraphrase your thesis statement and
brie_y summarise your main points. Let’s
see some examples.

Example 1

Some people prefer to spend

their lives doing the same
things and avoiding change,
whereas others think that
change is always a good thing.
Discuss both these views and
give your own opinion.

Introduction:

Many individuals would rather

go through life staying the
same, while other people like
the idea of facing new
challenges. This essay agrees
that change is bene?cial to our
lives because we can expand
our worldview and gain new
experiences.

Red = Paraphrased task question    Blue =

thesis statement

Conclusion:

To conclude, although some

prefer to shy away from new
ideas because they feel
comfortable with routines, I
believe that change is
advantageous for developing
an open mind and experiencing
new things.

Green= cohesive device   Red = re-

paraphrased background statement from
the introduction   Blue = thesis statement
paraphrased again.

A more concise conclusion:

In a discussion essay, you can use a much

more concise and direct conclusion that
brie_y refers to the di[ering views and a
restated opinion.

To sum up, despite diAering

views on whether change is
bene?cial, I think that change is
important for developing an
open mind and experiencing
new things.

Green= cohesive device   Red = referring

to the di[erent views    Blue = opinion
restated

As you can see there is a lot of

paraphrasing going on here. This is the
key to getting a good band score in
vocabulary and task response.
Paraphrasing needs a lot of practice and it
must be done right.

Example 2

One of the major problems

facing the world today is the
growing number of refugees.
Some say developed nations of
the world should tackle this
problem by taking in more
refugees. To what extent do you
agree or disagree?

Introduction:

A major global issue recently is

the increasing amount of
refugees. Some believe that
developed countries ought to
deal with this by accepting
more refugees. I hold the view
that developed nations should
not take in more refugees as it
puts a burden on the welfare
state and causes unease
among local communities.

Red = Paraphrased task question    Blue =

thesis statement

Conclusion:

In conclusion, although there

are people who feel that
developed nations must allow
additional refugees to enter
their countries, I do not agree,
as this would put extra
pressure on social systems and
could create resentments in
local neighbourhoods.

Green= cohesive device   Red = re-

paraphrased the background statement
from the introduction    Blue = thesis
statement paraphrased again.

I kept the keyword ‘refugees’ I could use

‘asylum seekers’ but there is a slight
di[erence in meaning so I didn’t change
it. Remember: you don’t have to
paraphrase everything. Be careful of
synonyms as sometimes they carry a
di[erent meaning.

Key points:

If your conclusion is too long it could

become irrelevant and lose marks. I
advise a word count of under 45 words or
3 sentences in a conclusion. (this is just
my rule to keep you on track)

You do not have to be an expert on the

topic to write about it, the IELTS exam is
not a general knowledge test. You do not
have to personally agree or disagree, just
give an opinion.

The whole point of giving your opinion

and giving speci]c examples is to show
the examiner how well you have
understood the question, that you can
paraphrase, explain and support your
ideas. Use grammar and vocabulary
accurately. In the conclusion you need to
summarise and be concise.

I advise practicing as much as possible

with paraphrasing introductions, thesis
statements and conclusions. On this blog
there are more articles on thesis
statements and practice for paraphrasing.

Any questions?  leave a comment

below.

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 Before writing anything, analyse the
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 How to use cohesive devices e[ectively

3 comments

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Toron Tanu
it is not only nformative
but also concise.
Like · Reply · Mark as spam ·
3y

IELTS Focus
Great :)
Like · Reply · Mark
as spam · 3y

Alexas Iowa
Thank you so much, it is
very helpful
Like · Reply · Mark as spam ·
3y

IELTS Focus
thanks :)
Like · Reply · Mark
as spam · 3y

Greg Felton
Why does IELTS require a
stale, wooden transition
phrase for a conclusion? it
is not natural English. I
teach my students to
avoid clichéd phases like
this.
Like · Reply · Mark as spam ·
1y

IELTS Focus
IELTS essays are
not really the
same as an
academic essay
one would write in
University, it's just
a model to test
someones English
level.. I guess it's
just easier to use
simple transition
phrases. The
point of the essay
is to be concise,
clear and direct in
getting the
message across.
Like · Reply · Mark
as spam · 1 · 4y

Greg Felton
IELTS Focus
Thanks. So, given
your last line, is it
possible to write
an essay without
a transition
phrase?
Like · Reply · Mark
as spam · 4y

IELTS Focus
Greg Felton The
examiner needs
to clearly see the
conclusion, so I
would advise
using a cohesive
device such as 'In
conclusion , To
sum up, To
conclude.. ' this
shows that you
have reached the
conclusion and it's
clear to see.
Like · Reply · Mark
as spam · 4y

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