Discussion essay Here’s what we’ll be covering

Neatly end the essay

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  Link all your ideas together
  

• 
  Sum up your argument or opinion
  

• 
  Answer the question
  

If you achieve this, you’ll improve your score for both task achievement and cohesion and coherence which together make up 50% of the overall marks. Without a conclusion, you’ll score below band 6 for task achievement.
You can start almost any final paragraph of an IELTS discussion essay with the words:

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  In conclusion
  

or

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  To conclude
  

Now all you need to do is briefly summarise the main ideas into one sentence.
Here’s a top tip. Go back and read the introduction to the essay because this is also a summary of the essay. It outlines what you are going to write about.
To create a great conclusion, you simply have to paraphrase the introduction. Let’s give it a go.
Introduction:
Here is the same information formed into a conclusion:
That’s it. We’ve completed our essay. Here it is with the 4 paragraphs put together.
Question:
Some people think that zoos are cruel and should be closed down. Others, however, believe that zoos can be useful in protecting wild animals.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Go through this lesson as many times as you need to in order to fully understand it and put in lots of practice writing IELTS discussion essays from past exam questions. Practice is the only way to improve your skills.

An overview of this structure is given in the diagram below.

Structural component	Purpose	Stage of essay
General statements	To introduce the reader to the subject of the essay.	Introduction
Position	To give the opinion of the writer (not always possible).
Definition(s) (optional)	To explain any important technical words to the reader.
Thesis	To tell the reader what parts of the topic will be included in the essay.
Arguments for	To explain to the reader the evidence for the positive side of the issue, with support. The most important ideas usually come first. This may be covered in one or more paragraphs.	Main body
Arguments against	To explain to the reader the evidence for the negative side of the issue, with support. The most important ideas usually come first. This may be covered in one or more paragraphs.
Summary	To give the reader a brief reminder of the main ideas, while restating the issue. Sometimes also says which ideas the writer believes have the strongest evidence.	Conclusion
Opinion & Recommendation	To give your opinion, and tell the reader what the writer believes is the best action to take, considering the evidence in the essay.