TOEFL WRITING TASK 2 (ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES) Conclusion

So far, the 3 recent posts were about how to write the introduction and body paragraphs 1 and 2. This post will discuss how to close the essay i.e. how to write an appropriate conclusion.

Structure of conclusion paragraph:

In a TOEFL advantage and disadvantage essay, the conclusion will be quite short, consisting of 2 sentences:

1. Summarize your writing so far

2. Reiterate what you mentioned in the introduction; Only this time, it should be worded differently. It is very nice if you could include a prediction or recommendation as well.

The question:

Some young children spend a great amount of their time practicing sports. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this. Use specific examples and reasons to support your answer.

Conclusion

On the whole, while there are advantageous points to playing a great deal of sports, an excessive amount could be damaging. Sustaining a neutral balance would be advised to ensure the health benefits and yet not have a negative impact on one's academic or social life.

Notes:

Linkers

On the whole: linking word to show the examiner / reader that this is the concluding paragraph.

While: a synonym for 'although'. Therefore, there have to be two clauses in the sentence.

And yet: two linkers used together. This is used instead of linkers such as 'but', when there are two sides to an argument.

Grammar

Sustaining: (definition: to keep / continue) if you start a sentence with a verb, it has to be used in the gerund form.

Would be advised: (way of making a recommendation) passive form of verb

I hope you find this post useful. As always, feel free to comment or ask questions on my Facebook page (@leilaswritinglab).

Thank you.