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Are you almost done writing your college essays but need some help getting started on the conclusion? This post is here to give you some conclusion starters to help you kickstart the process! A good conclusion starter is crucial to an essay because it effectively sets up the final thoughts of the essay and reinforces its main points. It helps provide a smooth transition from the body paragraphs to the conclusion, ensuring that the reader is prepared for any final insights.
College Essay Conclusion Starters
A conclusion starter should help guide the reader from the body paragraphs to the conclusion and should have the following properties:
Succinct: Ensure that your conclusion starter is brief and not too wordy. This allows you to use more words to wrap up the main points of the essay rather than using too many words on transitional phrases. This is especially important for college essays that have word limits.
Provide closure: Conclusion starters should give the reader a clear sense that the essay is coming to an end and should provide a link between the body and the conclusion.
Cohesiveness: The conclusion starter used should be related to the ideas presented in the body paragraph to ensure the cohesiveness of the essay.
Engagement: A good conclusion starter should aim to capture the reader's attention one last time before wrapping up the essay. This helps ensure the conclusion is memorable to the reader.
Some examples of commonly used conclusion starters are shown in the table below:
Commonly Used Conclusion Starters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
In summary | In short | With this in mind | All things considered | Given these points |
At the end | To sum it up | As observed | In light of | With this in mind |
In conclusion | To wrap it up | Drawing to a close | As a result | In general |
In lieu | Looking back | In a nutshell | Ultimately | To review |
As outlined | In future | On a final note | For these reasons | Lastly |
These are all decent conclusion starters as they are succinct and give the reader a sense that the essay is coming to a close, while also ensuring cohesiveness between the body of the essay and the conclusion. However, to make your essay feel more personalized, you should add your own twist to keep the reader engaged in the text. You can also incorporate the above conclusion starters if you wish, but it is best advised to write a creative conclusion starter that will be unique to your essay. Let's now look at some examples taken from the Clastify website to see how you can personalize your conclusion starter to make it unique to your topic! The conclusion starters will be highlighted in bold but you can click the links in blue to access the full exemplars.
Example 1
My new aspiration is to combine these two selves. Now, l'm always delicately balancing between being careful yet comfortable. Firm yet friendly. Humble yet honest. Looking ahead, I want to chart a path that honors my desire for both discipline and spontaneity. In college, I look forward to surrounding myself with people who both ground me and hold me accountable. I want a place I'll feel happy calling home, regardless of what I'm wearing. Read the whole essay here.
This is a good conclusion starter as it succinctly explains the student's goal of combining their two selves of discipline and spontaneity. It provides a smooth transition between the body and conclusion which ensures cohesiveness as the body has an in-depth description of how the student came to the understanding that they needed to balance these two selves, which bridges to the conclusion where the student discusses their future plans regarding continuing to balance these two selves. It si also engaging to the reader as it makes them curious to know more about how the student will combine these two selves.
Example 2
A cow gave birth and I watched. That experience helped me to become the powerful, strong-minded, and passionate young woman I am today. In pursuing a doctorate I hope to encourage and guide other women to be their own best self and show through my actions and story that there is no one version of womanhood that is "right", perhaps influencing a new generation. Read the whole essay here.
This is a good conclusion starter because the student has used the same line that they used in the introduction, thereby ensuring cohesiveness and capturing the reader's attention as it reminds them of something they have previously read in the essay. It is also a succinct phrase that summarizes the key essence of the student's narrative without being too wordy.
Example 3
With these goals in mind, I set out to embody them. I spent less time on academics in favour of more time for friends, family, and a wider community. I began to prioritise my physical and mental well-being. But I took the first important step inside that gym two years ago.
Right before the teacher moved on to the next name, I raised my hand determinedly.
"Actually, my name is pronounced Ady." Read the full example here.
This is a good conclusion starter as it is a brief sentence and grabs the reader's attention by showing that the student sets out to fulfil their goals, thereby showing personal growth. This also shows cohesiveness as the student's goals are linked to the explanation given in the body paragraphs of how they became more comfortable with their name and identity over time.
We hope this post has provided you with some useful examples of college essay conclusion starters. Good luck with your college applications!
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