The way you end a work of writing is just as important as the hook you use to capture readers’ attention and the content in between. The concluding paragraph or section of your paper should begin with words telling readers that the content is drawing to a close. Review some examples of good conclusion sentence starters so you’ll be able to craft appropriate endings of your own.
Characteristics of Effective Conclusion Starters
When it’s time to bring your work to an end, it’s important to sum up the key points or concepts rather than simply stopping abruptly. Conclusion starters are transitional phrases that let readers know they have reached the final part of a document. Conclusion starters should:
- be just a few words that introduce the first sentence of the final paragraph or brief concluding section
- let readers know that they have reached the beginning of the final section
- make readers aware that what they’re about to read won’t provide new information
- set readers expectations for how the work will be drawn to a close (such as a summary of main points, statement of need for additional research, or call to action)
Conclusion Starter Ideas for Essays and Speeches
Whether you’re a student in college, high school or middle school, chances are that you will be assigned to write quite a few essays and deliver many speeches or presentations. When deciding how to end an essay or a speech, you’ll need to choose a conclusion starter that’s appropriate for the overall tone.
Examples of conclusion paragraph starter words and phrases include:
- all things considered
- clearly
- given these points
- I feel we have no choice but to conclude
- in conclusion
- in drawing to a close
- in general
- in light of this information
- in my opinion
- in summary
- in the final analysis
- nevertheless
- now that you know
- overall
- the logical conclusion seems to be
- to summarize
- to sum up
- ultimately
- upon considering all the facts
- upon exploring the situation from multiple perspectives
- what else can we conclude but that
- what other conclusion can we draw from
- when considered from the perspective of
- when faced with the question of
- with all this in mind
Sample Conclusion Starters for Research Papers
Since a research paper’s focus is on presenting the findings of a particular study, the conclusion usually focuses on major findings and their implications. For academic research papers, it is generally expected that the paper will end with a call for additional research in the form of further study of a similar topic or to explore a related research question. The tone should be formal, taking into account the extent to which readers would be expected to have advanced knowledge of the subject matter.
Phrases you might use to start your research paper conclusion include:
- as a result
- as expected, the results indicate
- as indicated by the data
- based on the evidence presented
- based on the results of this study, it seems
- based on what is known at this point in time
- data seem to indicate
- in light of these results
- in the context of x, it seems that
- in the final analysis
- surprisingly, the data revealed
- the data clearly indicate
- the data reveal
- the major revelation from this study is
- the results of this study demonstrate
- the results of this study seem to indicate
- to extrapolate from the data
- upon analyzing the data
- upon review of these findings
- what this study reveals is
- what we now know is
- while additional research is needed
- while further study is warranted
- while these results seem to indicate
- with results like these, it seems
Less Formal Conclusion Starter Examples
Some writing is much less formal than a research paper or school assignment, or you may even get assigned to write an informal essay that calls for more of a personal touch than an academic tone. In such cases, you may want to opt for a conclusion starter with a more laid-back, conversational tone like these examples.
- after all has been said and done
- as I see things
- at the end of the day
- beyond a shadow of a doubt
- in a nutshell
- in case you’ve wondered
- in simple terms
- my personal take on
- on the whole
- the time has come
- to cut a long story short
- to cut to the chase
- to get to the heart of the matter
- to plainly state the facts
- to wrap this up
- what are we to think about
- what I believe to be true
- what it boils down to
- what I think is
- when all is said and done
- who knew that
- without all the mumbo jumbo
Build Your Conclusion Writing Expertise
Writing good conclusions is certainly an important skill for all writers to have, from students to those who write or do public speaking for a living (and all writers in between). Now that you have some ideas of good conclusion starters, focus on how to write a conclusion in full. Begin by exploring some conclusion examples.