Formal
Opens the final paragraph with a comma. The safest choice in Task 2, and the clearest.
Linking language · Conclusion
Conclusion connectors in English
These connectors tell the reader that this is the end of the whole text, not of a paragraph. Use a closing connector once, at the start of your final paragraph. Using one at the end of a body paragraph tells the reader the essay is over when it is not — and nothing after it will be read as an argument.
5 connectorseach with where it goes and how it is punctuated
2 worked examplesthe relationship, explained
2 common mistakeswith the repair
4 exercisesrelationship first, then the word
Start here · what these words actually do
A connector joins two sentences and names the relationship between them
That is the whole job. The words are not decoration and they are not interchangeable: each one makes a claim about how the second sentence relates to the first, and the reader will read it that way whether you meant it or not. Here is what this family claims.
First sentence
The essay has argued that the cultural costs are real but the material gains are larger.
In conclusion
Second sentence
A wholly negative verdict on globalisation is therefore untenable.
This is the end of the whole text, not the end of a paragraph. The closing connector says “nothing new is coming”. Use it in the middle and everything after it reads as an afterthought, however good it is.
When you need it
Use a closing connector once, at the start of your final paragraph. Using one at the end of a body paragraph tells the reader the essay is over when it is not — and nothing after it will be read as an argument.
Now you try · the relationship first
Before the word, the direction
Choosing the connector is the second decision. The first one is noticing where the next sentence is going.
Step 1 · the relationship
Which sentence comes next — and why that one?
The sentence you have: Both the access argument and the funding argument carry real weight.
Three sentences could follow. Only one of them this is the end of the whole text, not of a paragraph. Choose it before you think about any connector.
The connectors
Where each one goes, and how it is punctuated
They do not all behave the same way. Two connectors can mean the same thing and still be written differently — that is where most linking errors come from.
Neutral
Opens the final paragraph. Slightly lighter than “in conclusion” and useful when weighing two sides.
Formal
Opens the final paragraph. Interchangeable with “in conclusion”.
Formal
Opens the final paragraph. Promises a summary, so do not add a new argument after it.
Neutral
Opens the final paragraph when the essay has weighed two sides and you are announcing which one wins.
Watch one · then do three
See the relationship before you choose the word
The connector is not a decoration. It is a claim about how the two halves relate, and the reader will hold you to it.
Worked example · In conclusion
The essay has argued that cultural costs are real but that material gains are larger.
In conclusion, globalisation’s cultural costs are genuine, but its capacity to reduce material suffering makes a wholly negative verdict untenable.
Why this one: The closing sentence restates the position in different words and adds nothing that the body did not develop. That is the whole job of the connector.
Worked example · On balance
Two sides weighed, one chosen.
On balance targeted charges serve museums better than either free entry for everyone or a fee for everyone.
Why this one: “On balance” announces a judgement after a genuine comparison. Using it without having compared anything is an empty signal.
What goes wrong
The two mistakes this family produces
In conclusion, the first reason is that public transport moves more people. [followed by two more paragraphs]
The reader has been told the essay is finished. Everything after this reads as an afterthought, however good it is.
Repaired: The first reason is that public transport moves more people. [In conclusion is saved for the final paragraph]
In conclusion, governments should also consider taxation reform and international agreements.
Two new proposals appear in the final sentence with nothing behind them. A conclusion cannot introduce what it has no space to support.
Repaired: In conclusion, the case for investment rests on the two mechanisms this essay has developed: capacity and access.
Step 2 · the word
Choose the connector the sentence actually needs
Now that you can see the direction, pick the word that announces it. The first wrong answer gives you a hint and a second attempt, and every wrong option explains what it would have signalled instead. Nothing here is scored.
The evidence presented throughout this essay points in one direction. _______, only a sustained, coordinated global effort — combining personal responsibility with ambitious regulation — can lead society towards a genuinely sustainable model.
Both the access argument and the funding argument carry real weight. _______, a mixed system of targeted charges and protected free entry is more convincing than one universal rule.
This essay has set out the causes of household food waste and the measures that address them. _______, the problem begins with purchasing decisions and is solved closest to where it starts.
The other families
Six more relationships to learn
Addition
The next idea goes the same way as the one before it.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesContrastThe next idea pushes against the one before it.
7 connectors · 3 exercisesCause and effectWhat comes next is the consequence of what came before.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesExamplesWhat comes next is one case of the claim you just made.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesConcessionYou accept the other side has a point, and you are about to answer it.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesComparisonThe next case behaves like the one before it.
5 connectors · 3 exercisesConditionThe second idea only happens if the first one is true.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesCorrelative pairsTwo elements are joined as a pair, and the sentence needs both halves.
5 connectors · 3 exercises