There's a strange kind of silence at the end of an essay. You've said what needed to be said and put your ideas out there. But now comes the part where you need to leave the reader with something that stays, and that's harder than it sounds.
In this article, you'll find over 15 real examples of a conclusion paragraph, from thesis restatements to questions that linger. Each one shows a different way to wrap up with intention.
If writing that final section ever feels impossible, WriteMyEssay is here to help. Whether you're trying to revise a clumsy draft or start fresh, it's a place where real academic support lives.
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What Makes an Effective Conclusion?
An ending should feel earned. After all the explaining, analyzing, and proving, this is the space where you let the writing settle. It's not about repeating yourself. It's about showing that everything you wrote led here for a reason.
Here's what makes a conclusion feel complete:
- Bring your main idea back in: use different words, but keep the meaning steady so the reader feels the connection.
- Pull your points together: let everything you've said lead naturally into this final moment.
- Create a sense of closure: give the ending a calm, complete feeling, like nothing's left hanging.
- Keep your tone consistent: the last lines should still sound like you, just more sure of where you've landed.
- Leave a final impression: A brief reflection, insight, or thought that adds depth.
Conclusion Examples: Thesis Restatement
The simplest way of ending an essay is probably circling back to the thesis you introduced in the introduction. That's called a thesis restatement. It brings the main idea back into view, but this time with more confidence.
This kind of ending works well for structured essays, especially in academic writing. If your goal was to prove a clear point, this gives you a chance to confirm it without sounding repetitive.
Here's a thesis restatement example of a conclusion paragraph for different topics:
1. Argumentative Essay on School Uniforms:
The importance of self-expression cannot be underestimated, especially when it comes to teenagers trying to find their place in the world. Style can be an effective way to introduce oneself to society, but it's not the only one. However, in school settings, uniforms create a learning-first space by taking off the pressure from appearance and helping students feel like they belong. This shift of focus toward learning and away from comparison creates an environment where teenagers feel equal and seen.
2. Literary Analysis of The Great Gatsby:
Gatsby never doubted his capability to reach the imagined life shaped by hope, memory, and longing. He chased this vision and thought that he could get to the final destination if he wanted it enough. Fitzgerald holds up the mirror to the American Dream and asks, 'Does it still carry meaning? Or was it always out of reach?'
3. Research Paper on Climate Change:
We've seen the data. The patterns are now hard to ignore. Everything from our everyday choices to the policies we implement shapes the world we leave behind. The world is changing, the clock is ticking, and action is overdue. We have to act now.
Conclusion Examples: Summary Conclusion
Simply reminding the reader what they just walked through is a powerful ending. A summary conclusion focuses on the sense of clarity instead of surprises. This conclusion pulls everything together.
When you've already said your word and don't need to offer extra insight or some big twist, go with a summary conclusion and simply end your reasoning. It's especially useful in reflective writing, informative essays, or personal pieces.
If you're working on admissions writing, especially the kind that needs to show clarity and confidence, you'll find useful tips in this conclusion for college essay guide.
Here are three summary-style examples:
Example 1 - Informative Essay on Nutrition
Eating well rarely comes from a strict plan or a sudden change. It grows through small choices, quiet observations, and learning what feels right for your own body. Naturally, some days will feel easier than others, but that's all part of the process. The goal is to stay steady and follow the routine. This way, you'll learn how to care for yourself with patience and curiosity.
Example 2 - Compare-and-Contrast Essay on City vs. Suburban Life
Some people need the rush: the crowds, the sound, the constant motion. Others just want space to breathe, a little quiet, maybe a yard, and a sky they can see. Neither one is better. They just offer different things. And sometimes, what feels right changes as your life does. What matters more is learning what kind of place gives you peace, and letting yourself choose that, without apology.
Example 3 - Reflective Essay on Volunteering
Turns out, I hadn't noticed parts of me up until I started volunteering. I started observing, noticing, and understanding more. At first, I came in hoping to help others, but often, it was me who got that much needed support. Just being there, fully and honestly, can stay with someone longer than words ever could.
Conclusion Examples: Call to Action
With a call to action, you're giving the reader something to carry forward, or, more precisely, you ask them. This message can be big or small, simple or dramatic, but always grounded in everything you've discussed so far.
This kind of conclusion works best when your essay has a clear purpose beyond just explaining something. If you've spent the whole piece building toward change, this is where you quietly invite the reader to join you. For something like an NHS essay, it can help show you're ready to act.
Here are three examples of a call-to-action conclusion that feels real and personal:
Example 4 - Persuasive Essay on Reducing Plastic Use
We are tempted to think that one person cannot bring change because the problem feels too big or too far gone. But change starts with small gestures, like saying no to a plastic bag or asking where something comes from before buying it. Although these actions might not be grand ones, they matter. Because when small choices stack up, they start to shift what feels normal. And that's when change becomes real. So maybe just start with one less thing. One less piece of waste. One moment of pause before the next purchase. That's enough to begin.
Example 5 - NHS Essay Conclusion
What I've learned through experience is that being a leader means helping when no one's watching, keeping calm when things start to get messy, and showing up in inconvenient situations. I'll carry that knowledge with me if I'm given the chance to join the National Honor Society. I won't just accept the honor. I'll hold the responsibility that comes with it, and do what I can to live up to the values it represents, even when no one's asking me to.
Example 6 - Essay on Voting Rights
It's easy to feel like your vote doesn't count. Like nothing changes, no matter what you do. But not showing up only guarantees it more. Change takes time, but silence only slows it down. People sometimes think that voting is a demonstration of being perfect and knowing everything, but that's not the case. Voting is the act of showing you care enough to speak, even in a small way. That voice is yours. And whether you whisper or shout with it, using it is the only way things begin to move.
Conclusion Examples: Final Generalization
A conclusion that steps away from the small details and looks at the bigger picture is called a final generalization. It's not a big finish or a stuffed, complicated bottom line, and it doesn't try to prove anything.
This kind of ending works when your topic connects to something bigger, like how people live, what we value, or the way things keep changing. You're just letting the reader take a step back with you, offering something simple that stays with them for a while.
Here are three examples of conclusion paragraphs using a final generalization:
Example 7 - Essay on Cultural Identity
No one grows up in exactly the same way. Some of us carry several languages in our heads. Some carry silence. But underneath all that is the universal desire of being a part of something and feeling belongingness. Being seen is what makes identity feel real. Not the labels. Not the categories. Just the feeling that there's space for you, exactly as you are.
Example 8 - Essay on Childhood Education
What kids remember from school is the way they were spoken to, whether or not someone believed in them, motivated them, or brushed them off. Little moments stay with them far longer than we would like to think. So when we talk about education, we should be talking about small, everyday choices that shape kids for their entire lives.
Example 9 - Essay on Mental Health Awareness
We've been taught that to help someone experiencing mental health problems, we have to choose perfect words. But that's rarely true. What we need to do is show our willingness to sit with them, even if and especially if nothing gets fixed. We often underestimate what quiet support can do. But a simple 'I'm here,' when it's real, can be the thing that helps someone make it through.
If you're wondering how to say it clearly, these words to use in essay conclusion will help shape the last few lines.
Conclusion Examples: Parting Question
You don't always have to answer everything in the final paragraphs, and a parting question knows that. It leaves space on purpose because some ideas are too alive to pin down with a final word.
Ending with a question doesn't mean you don't have the answer, and you're not backing away from your argument either. What you're saying is that this topic doesn't stop here. Rather, it goes on in the real world, reflecting others' choices and addressing conversations that haven't happened yet.
This kind of ending works when your essay touches something deeper, like values, uncertainty, or change. You're leaving the door slightly open for the reader to rethink something and carry that question in their lives without even realizing it.
Here are three parting-question examples:
Example 10 - Essay on Fast Fashion and Consumer Habits
If buying something new is easier than asking where it came from, what does that say about the way we live now?
Example 11 - Essay on Social Media and Self-Worth
If we stopped measuring ourselves by likes and followers, how would we measure our worth instead?
Example 12 - Essay on Education and Creativity
If school is supposed to prepare us for life, why does it so often leave out curiosity, wonder, and the space to make mistakes?
To keep the tone natural and reflective, make sure your final question doesn't sound forced. This list of words to avoid in conclusion can help you end with honesty instead of clichés.
Conclusion Examples: Denouement
With a denouement conclusion, you don't rush things. The finish lingers a little. This type is best suited for topics about personal experiences that carry emotional weight. Here, you're creating space for reflection and stillness, leaving the reader with a sense that something was shared between you two. You're saying: there's nothing left to prove; the tension has passed and the story's been told.
Here are three denouement-style examples:
Example 13 - Personal Essay on Moving to a New Country
I knew adapting to a new environment would take time, but it happened without me noticing the change. It happened slowly and through little routines, everyday moments that I didn't necessarily pay attention to. And one day, I knew I belonged.
Example 14 - Reflective Essay on Losing a Friend
I can still hear them in songs. In old jokes. In the way I say certain words without thinking. Some people don't leave. They just live quietly in the background of your days.
Example 15 - Narrative Essay on First-Time Public Speaking
I forgot half of what I meant to say. My hands were shaking. But in the silence after, people listened. And that silence, that stillness, felt like the first time I was really heard.
Conclusion Examples: Embedded Conclusion
An embedded conclusion isn't a separate section. It's built into the final paragraph so naturally that the essay just ends. No 'in conclusion.' No obvious summary. Just a closing sentence that wraps things up without drawing attention to itself.
This kind of ending works well in essays that are more creative in tone. You're trusting the reader to recognize the end without being told it's happening. It can feel clean, mature, and powerful in its quietness when done right.
Here are three examples using the embedded approach:
Example 16 - Literary Analysis of Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck closes the story without offering a resolution. He leaves the reader in silence, staring at what couldn't be fixed and what would always happen, not in a cruel way, just honestly. And maybe that honesty is the most challenging part to sit with when the story ends.
Example 17 - College Essay on Identity
For as long as I can remember, I have been pressured to choose a single label and live with it. I was taught that this would help people understand me better. But soon enough, I realized that narrowing myself into something perfectly tidy would only stop me from learning and changing for the better.
Example 18 - Essay on The Power of Everyday Kindness
She probably forgot about it the second she walked away, but I didn't. That umbrella she gave me kept me dry, but it also served as a reminder that something small done without expecting anything in return will stay with someone for a long time to come.
Final Thoughts
Let's bring everything into focus. Here's what you've seen:
- There's no single way to end an essay, but there are several that work well depending on your tone, purpose, and audience.
- Strong conclusions don't repeat: they reflect, expand, or leave something open.
- Thesis restatements, final generalizations, parting questions, and denouements each offer a different kind of closure.
- The word choice and structure shape how your writing will be remembered.
And if you're ever stuck writing a conclusion or an entire thing, know that WriteMyEssay is here to help whenever you need it most.
FAQ
What Is a Conclusion Example?
It's a sample paragraph that shows how to end an essay in a clear, thoughtful way.
How to Write a Conclusion Example?
Choose a tone, revisit your main point, and close with purpose, no new ideas.
What Is a Good Conclusion Example?
It feels complete, connects back to the essay, and leaves a lasting impression.
Sources
- The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Conclusions. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
- Harvard College Writing Center. (n.d.). Conclusions. https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/conclusions
