What you should include in an IELTS Writing Task 2 conclusion
Following on from my post last week about how to write an introduction, I’d like to show you what information you should include in an IELTS Writing Task 2 conclusion, i.e. the last paragraph of an IELTS essay. (For those of you new to IELTS, in IELTS Writing Task 2 you have to write an essay of 250 words or more on a particular topic).
In general, your IELTS Writing Task 2 conclusion should include:
- a summary of the main ideas in your essay
If you have enough time left in your test, your conclusion could also include:
- a recommendation or prediction based on the main ideas in your essay
To show you what I mean, here’s an IELTS Writing Task 2 question and the conclusion from the essay in my post ‘Here’s an IELTS essay I wrote earlier‘. When you read the conclusion, think about which of the two ideas mentioned above are included.
IELTS Writing Task 2 (taken from the Official IELTS Practice Materials):
Television is dangerous because it destroys family life and any sense of community; instead of visiting people or talking with our family we just watch television.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample essay conclusion:
To sum up, whilst television can inhibit the development of family and community relationships, it can also play a part in bringing people together. To ensure that television has a positive influence on our lives, we should all look at how our viewing habits affect those around us.
If you read the whole essay, you’ll see that the first sentence in the conclusion summarises the main ideas in the essay, and the second sentence suggests what we should do about the situation.
To see a conclusion that only includes a summary of the main ideas in the essay, have a look at the essay in my post ‘Discuss both views‘.
One final piece of advice is that it will help the IELTS examiner follow your ideas if you use a linking phrase like ‘to sum up‘ to introduce your conclusion.
Have a good weekend,
Pete
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