By the time you reach the conclusion, the examiner has already decided most of your band. But a bad conclusion can still cost you marks, and a clean one can tip a borderline 6.5 into a 7. The good news is that a Task 2 conclusion is the shortest and most predictable paragraph in the essay. It restates your position, sums up your reasons in a fresh way, and stops. No fireworks, no new evidence, no apologies.
What a conclusion actually does
The conclusion does not win new marks. It protects the Task Response score you have already built by showing the examiner you held your position to the end and you know how to sum up. A conclusion that contradicts the body or introduces a new argument signals that you lost control of the essay, and Task Response drops.
- Restate your position: say what you argued, but use different words than your introduction. If your intro said 'I believe public transport deserves greater investment', your conclusion might say 'Investing in buses and trains is the soundest long-term transport policy.'
- Summarise your reasons: in one sentence, reference the two body paragraph ideas without re-arguing them. 'The environmental gains and the reduction in congestion together make a strong case.'
- Stop. No new examples, no qualifications, no 'but on the other hand.' A conclusion is a full stop, not a comma.
Weak (Band 6)In conclusion, I think both sides have good points and it really depends on the situation. Governments should think about this carefully.
Strong (Band 7)In conclusion, while early schooling has some benefits, the evidence from child development research strongly favours a later start. A play-based early childhood followed by formal education at age six or seven gives children the strongest foundation, both academically and socially.
The strong version commits, paraphrases without repeating, and references the body's reasoning without re-arguing it.
The two conclusion mistakes that cost marks
- New ideas. A fresh argument, example, or qualification in the conclusion signals that your essay was not finished. The examiner reads it as poor planning, and Task Response drops. Everything you want to argue must be in the body paragraphs.
- Word-for-word repetition. If your conclusion is your introduction with 'In conclusion' pasted at the front, you waste your last chance to show vocabulary range and you signal limited lexical resource. Paraphrase your own position.
If you are running out of time, one sentence is better than no conclusion. 'Overall, investing in public transport brings greater long-term benefits than expanding road networks, both for the environment and for urban liveability.' That is enough.
How conclusions flex by question type
The job stays the same, but the wording shifts slightly depending on what the question asked for.
- Opinion: restate your side with different phrasing.
- Discussion: acknowledge the other view briefly, then restate why yours is stronger.
- Problem-solution: summarise the problem and the solution together in one sentence.
- Advantages-disadvantages: if the question asked 'do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages,' answer the outweigh part one more time. Do not leave it ambiguous.
- Two-part: reference both parts briefly in one sentence.
If you struggle with conclusions, practise on the prompts in our Task 2 question bank. Write the body, then time yourself for two minutes to write a single concluding sentence. The Task 2 structure guide shows the full paragraph plan that makes the conclusion automatic.