memorable statement for essay

How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay

By the time you get to the final paragraph of your paper, you have already done so much work on your essay, so all you want to do is to wrap it up as quickly as possible. You’ve already made a stunning introduction, proven your argument, and structured the whole piece as supposed – who cares about making a good conclusion paragraph?

The only thing you need to remember is that the conclusion of an essay is not just the last paragraph of an academic paper where you restate your thesis and key arguments. A concluding paragraph is also your opportunity to have a final impact on your audience. 

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How to write a conclusion paragraph that leaves a lasting impression – In this guide, the team at EssayPro is going to walk you through the process of writing a perfect conclusion step by step. Additionally, we will share valuable tips and tricks to help students of all ages impress their readers at the last moment.

Instead of Intro: What Is a Conclusion?

Before we can move on, let’s take a moment here to define the conclusion itself. According to the standard conclusion definition, it is pretty much the last part of something, its result, or end. However, this term is rather broad and superficial.

When it comes to writing academic papers, a concluding statement refers to an opinion, judgment, suggestion, or position arrived at by logical reasoning (through the arguments provided in the body of the text). Therefore, if you are wondering “what is a good closing sentence like?” – keep on reading.

What Does a Good Conclusion Mean?

Writing a good conclusion for a paper isn’t easy. However, we are going to walk you through this process step by step. Although there are generally no strict rules on how to formulate one, there are some basic principles that everyone should keep in mind. In this section, we will share some core ideas for writing a good conclusion, and, later in the article, we will also provide you with more practical advice and examples.

Here are the core goals a good conclusion should complete:

• “Wrap up” the entire paper;
• Demonstrate to readers that the author accomplished what he/she set out to do;
• Show how you the author has proved their thesis statement;
• Give a sense of completeness and closure on the topic;
• Leave something extra for your reader to think about;
• Leave a powerful final impact on a reader.

Another key thing to remember is that you should not introduce any new ideas or arguments to your paper's conclusion. It should only sum up what you have already written, revisit your thesis statement, and end with a powerful final impression.

When considering how to write a conclusion that works, here are the key points to keep in mind:

• A concluding sentence should only revisit the thesis statement, not restate it;
• It should summarize the main ideas from the body of the paper;
• It should demonstrate the significance and relevance of your work;
• An essay’s conclusion should include a call for action and leave space for further study or development of the topic (if necessary).

How Long Should a Conclusion Be? 

Although there are no strict universal rules regarding the length of an essay’s final clause, both teachers and experienced writers recommend keeping it clear, concise, and straight to the point. There is an unspoken rule that the introduction and conclusion of an academic paper should both be about 10% of the overall paper’s volume. For example, if you were assigned a 1500 word essay, both the introductory and final clauses should be approximately 150 words long (300 together).

Why You Need to Know How to End an Essay:

A conclusion is what drives a paper to its logical end. It also drives the main points of your piece one last time. It is your last opportunity to impact and impress your audience. And, most importantly, it is your chance to demonstrate to readers why your work matters. Simply put, the final paragraph of your essay should answer the last important question a reader will have – “So what?”

If you do a concluding paragraph right, it can give your readers a sense of logical completeness. On the other hand, if you do not make it powerful enough, it can leave them hanging, and diminish the effect of the entire piece.

Strategies to Crafting a Proper Conclusion

Although there are no strict rules for what style to use to write your conclusion, there are several strategies that have been proven to be effective. In the list below, you can find some of the most effective strategies with some good conclusion paragraph examples to help you grasp the idea.

One effective way to emphasize the significance of your essay and give the audience some thought to ponder about is by taking a look into the future. The “When and If” technique is quite powerful when it comes to supporting your points in the essay’s conclusion.

Prediction essay conclusion example: “Taking care of a pet is quite hard, which is the reason why most parents refuse their children’s requests to get a pet. However, the refusal should be the last choice of parents. If we want to inculcate a deep sense of responsibility and organization in our kids, and, at the same time, sprout compassion in them, we must let our children take care of pets.”

Another effective strategy is to link your conclusion to your introductory paragraph. This will create a full-circle narration for your readers, create a better understanding of your topic, and emphasize your key point.

Echo conclusion paragraph example: Introduction: “I believe that all children should grow up with a pet. I still remember the exact day my parents brought my first puppy to our house. This was one of the happiest moments in my life and, at the same time, one of the most life-changing ones. Growing up with a pet taught me a lot, and most importantly, it taught me to be responsible.” Conclusion:. “I remember when I picked up my first puppy and how happy I was at that time. Growing up with a pet, I learned what it means to take care of someone, make sure that he always has water and food, teach him, and constantly keep an eye on my little companion. Having a child grow up with a pet teaches them responsibility and helps them acquire a variety of other life skills like leadership, love, compassion, and empathy. This is why I believe that every kid should grow up with a pet!”

Finally, one more trick that will help you create a flawless conclusion is to amplify your main idea or to present it in another perspective of a larger context. This technique will help your readers to look at the problem discussed from a different angle.

Step-up argumentative essay conclusion example: “Despite the obvious advantages of owning a pet in childhood, I feel that we cannot generalize whether all children should have a pet. Whereas some kids may benefit from such experiences, namely, by becoming more compassionate, organized, and responsible, it really depends on the situation, motivation, and enthusiasm of a particular child for owning a pet.”

What is a clincher in an essay? – The final part of an essay’s conclusion is often referred to as a clincher sentence. According to the clincher definition, it is a final sentence that reinforces the main idea or leaves the audience with an intriguing thought to ponder upon. In a nutshell, the clincher is very similar to the hook you would use in an introductory paragraph. Its core mission is to seize the audience’s attention until the end of the paper. At the same time, this statement is what creates a sense of completeness and helps the author leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Now, since you now know what a clincher is, you are probably wondering how to use one in your own paper. First of all, keep in mind that a good clincher should be intriguing, memorable, smooth, and straightforward.

Generally, there are several different tricks you can use for your clincher statement; it can be:

• A short, but memorable and attention-grabbing conclusion;
• A relevant and memorable quote (only if it brings actual value);
• A call to action;
• A rhetorical question;
• An illustrative story or provocative example;
• A warning against a possibility or suggestion about the consequences of a discussed problem;
• A joke (however, be careful with this as it may not always be deemed appropriate).

Regardless of the technique you choose, make sure that your clincher is memorable and aligns with your introduction and thesis.

Clincher examples: - While New York may not be the only place with the breathtaking views, it is definitely among my personal to 3… and that’s what definitely makes it worth visiting. - “Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars”, Divine Comedy - Don’t you think all these advantages sound like almost life-saving benefits of owning a pet? “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”, The Great Gatsby

Conclusion Writing Don'ts 

Now, when you know what tricks and techniques you should use to create a perfect conclusion, let’s look at some of the things you should not do with our online paper writing service :

• Starting with some cliché concluding sentence starters. Many students find common phrases like “In conclusion,” “Therefore,” “In summary,” or similar statements to be pretty good conclusion starters. However, though such conclusion sentence starters may work in certain cases – for example, in speeches – they are overused, so it is recommended not to use them in writing to introduce your conclusion.
• Putting the first mention of your thesis statement in the conclusion – it has to be presented in your introduction first.
• Providing new arguments, subtopics, or ideas in the conclusion paragraph.
• Including a slightly changed or unchanged thesis statement.
• Providing arguments and evidence that belong in the body of the work.
• Writing too long, hard to read, or confusing sentences.

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Conclusion Paragraph Outline

The total number of sentences in your final paragraph may vary depending on the number of points you discussed in your essay, as well as on the overall word count of your paper. However, the overall conclusion paragraph outline will remain the same and consists of the following elements:

• A conclusion starter:

The first part of your paragraph should drive readers back to your thesis statement. Thus, if you were wondering how to start a conclusion, the best way to do it is by rephrasing your thesis statement.

• Summary of the body paragraphs:

Right after revisiting your thesis, you should include several sentences that wrap up the key highlights and points from your body paragraphs. This part of your conclusion can consist of 2-3 sentences—depending on the number of arguments you’ve made. If necessary, you can also explain to the readers how your main points fit together.

• A concluding sentence:

Finally, you should end your paragraph with a last, powerful sentence that leaves a lasting impression, gives a sense of logical completeness, and connects readers back to the introduction of the paper.

These three key elements make up a perfect essay conclusion. Now, to give you an even better idea of how to create a perfect conclusion, let us give you a sample conclusion paragraph outline with examples from an argumentative essay on the topic of “Every Child Should Own a Pet:

• Sentence 1: Starter
• ~ Thesis: "Though taking care of a pet may be a bit challenging for small children. Parents should not restrict their kids from having a pet as it helps them grow into more responsible and compassionate people."
• ~ Restated thesis for a conclusion: "I can say that taking care of a pet is good for every child."
• Sentences 2-4: Summary
• ~ "Studies have shown that pet owners generally have fewer health problems."
• ~ "Owning a pet teaches a child to be more responsible."
• ~ "Spending time with a pet reduces stress, feelings of loneliness, and anxiety."
• Sentence 5: A concluding sentence
• ~ "Pets can really change a child life for the better, so don't hesitate to endorse your kid's desire to own a pet."

This is a clear example of how you can shape your conclusion paragraph.

How to Conclude Various Types of Essays

Depending on the type of academic essay you are working on, your concluding paragraph's style, tone, and length may vary. In this part of our guide, we will tell you how to end different types of essays and other works.

How to End an Argumentative Essay

Persuasive or argumentative essays always have the single goal of convincing readers of something (an idea, stance, or viewpoint) by appealing to arguments, facts, logic, and even emotions. The conclusion for such an essay has to be persuasive as well. A good trick you can use is to illustrate a real-life scenario that proves your stance or encourages readers to take action. More about persuasive essay outline you can read in our article.

Here are a few more tips for making a perfect conclusion for an argumentative essay:

• Carefully read the whole essay before you begin;
• Re-emphasize your ideas;
• Discuss possible implications;
• Don’t be afraid to appeal to the reader’s emotions.

How to End a Compare and Contrast Essay

The purpose of a compare and contrast essay is to emphasize the differences or similarities between two or more objects, people, phenomena, etc. Therefore, a logical conclusion should highlight how the reviewed objects are different or similar. Basically, in such a paper, your conclusion should recall all of the key common and distinctive features discussed in the body of your essay and also give readers some food for thought after they finish reading it.

How to Conclude a Descriptive Essay

The key idea of a descriptive essay is to showcase your creativity and writing skills by painting a vivid picture with the help of words. This is one of the most creative types of essays as it requires you to show a story, not tell it. This kind of essay implies using a lot of vivid details. Respectively, the conclusion of such a paper should also use descriptive imagery and, at the same time, sum up the main ideas. A good strategy for ending a descriptive essay would be to begin with a short explanation of why you wrote the essay. Then, you should reflect on how your topic affects you. In the middle of the conclusion, you should cover the most critical moments of the story to smoothly lead the reader into a logical closing statement. The “clincher”, in this case, should be a thought-provoking final sentence that leaves a good and lasting impression on the audience. Do not lead the reader into the essay and then leave them with dwindling memories of it.

How to Conclude an Essay About Yourself

If you find yourself writing an essay about yourself, you need to tell a personal story. As a rule, such essays talk about the author’s experiences, which is why a conclusion should create a feeling of narrative closure. A good strategy is to end your story with a logical finale and the lessons you have learned, while, at the same time, linking it to the introductory paragraph and recalling key moments from the story.

How to End an Informative Essay

Unlike other types of papers, informative or expository essays load readers with a lot of information and facts. In this case, “Synthesize, don’t summarize” is the best technique you can use to end your paper. Simply put, instead of recalling all of the major facts, you should approach your conclusion from the “So what?” position by highlighting the significance of the information provided.

How to Conclude a Narrative Essay

In a nutshell, a narrative essay is based on simple storytelling. The purpose of this paper is to share a particular story in detail. Therefore, the conclusion for such a paper should wrap up the story and avoid finishing on an abrupt cliffhanger. It is vital to include the key takeaways and the lessons learned from the story.

How to Write a Conclusion for a Lab Report

Unlike an essay, a lab report is based on an experiment. This type of paper describes the flow of a particular experiment conducted by a student and its conclusion should reflect on the outcomes of this experiment.

In thinking of how to write a conclusion for a lab, here are the key things you should do to get it right:

• Restate the goals of your experiment
• Describe the methods you used
• Include the results of the experiment and analyze the final data
• End your conclusion with a clear statement on whether or not the experiment was successful (Did you reach the expected results?)

How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

Writing a paper is probably the hardest task of all, even for experienced dissertation writer . Unlike an essay or even a lab report, a research paper is a much longer piece of work that requires a deeper investigation of the problem. Therefore, a conclusion for such a paper should be even more sophisticated and powerful. If you're feeling difficulty writing an essay, you can buy essay on our service.

However, given that a research paper is the second most popular kind of academic paper (after an essay), it is important to know how to conclude a research paper. Even if you have not yet been assigned to do this task, be sure that you will face it soon. So, here are the steps you should follow to create a great conclusion for a research paper:

• Restate the Topic

Start your final paragraph with a quick reminder of what the topic of the piece is about. Keep it one sentence long.

• Revisit the Thesis

Next, you should remind your readers what your thesis statement was. However, do not just copy and paste it from the introductory clause: paraphrase your thesis so that you deliver the same idea but with different words. Keep your paraphrased thesis narrow, specific, and topic-oriented.

• Summarise Your Key Ideas

Just like the case of a regular essay’s conclusion, a research paper’s final paragraph should also include a short summary of all of the key points stated in the body sections. We recommend reading the entire body part a few times to define all of your main arguments and ideas.

• Showcase the Significance of Your Work

In the research paper conclusion, it is vital to highlight the significance of your research problem and state how your solution could be helpful.

• Make Suggestions for Future Studies

Finally, at the end of your conclusion, you should define how your findings will contribute to the development of its particular field of science. Outline the perspectives of further research and, if necessary, explain what is yet to be discovered on the topic.

Then, end your conclusion with a powerful concluding sentence – it can be a rhetorical question, call to action, or another hook that will help you have a strong impact on the audience.

• Answer the Right Questions

To create a top-notch research paper conclusion, be sure to answer the following questions:

• What is the goal of a research paper?
• What are the possible solutions to the research question(s)?
• How can your results be implemented in real life? (Is your research paper helpful to the community?)
• Why is this study important and relevant?

Additionally, here are a few more handy tips to follow:

• Provide clear examples from real life to help readers better understand the further implementation of the stated solutions;
• Keep your conclusion fresh, original, and creative.

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So, What Is a Good Closing Sentence? See The Difference

One of the best ways to learn how to write a good conclusion is to look at several professional essay conclusion examples. In this section of our guide, we are going to look at two different final paragraphs shaped on the basis of the same template, but even so, they are very different – where one is weak and the other is strong. Below, we are going to compare them to help you understand the difference between a good and a bad conclusion.

Here is the template we used: College degrees are in decline. The price of receiving an education does not correlate with the quality of the education received. As a result, graduated students face underemployment, and the worth of college degrees appears to be in serious doubt. However, the potential social and economic benefits of educated students balance out the equation.

Strong Conclusion ‍

People either see college as an opportunity or an inconvenience; therefore, a degree can only hold as much value as its owner’s skillset. The underemployment of graduate students puts the worth of college degrees in serious doubt. Yet, with the multitude of benefits that educated students bring to society and the economy, the equation remains in balance. Perhaps the ordinary person should consider college as a wise financial investment, but only if they stay determined to study and do the hard work.

Why is this example good? There are several key points that prove its effectiveness:

• There is a bold opening statement that encompasses the two contrasting types of students we can see today.
• There are two sentences that recall the thesis statement and cover the key arguments from the body of the essay.
• Finally, the last sentence sums up the key message of the essay and leaves readers with something to think about.

Weak Conclusion

In conclusion, with the poor preparation of students in college and the subsequent underemployment after graduation from college, the worth associated with the college degree appears to be in serious doubt. However, these issues alone may not reasonably conclude beyond a doubt that investing in a college degree is a rewarding venture. When the full benefits that come with education are carefully put into consideration and evaluated, college education for children in any country still has good advantages, and society should continue to advocate for a college education. The ordinary person should consider this a wise financial decision that holds rewards in the end. Apart from the monetary gains associated with a college education, society will greatly benefit from students when they finish college. Their minds are going to be expanded, and their reasoning and decision making will be enhanced.

What makes this example bad? Here are a few points to consider:

• Unlike the first example, this paragraph is long and not specific enough. The author provides plenty of generalized phrases that are not backed up by actual arguments.
• This piece is hard to read and understand and sentences have a confusing structure. Also, there are lots of repetitions and too many uses of the word “college”.
• There is no summary of the key benefits.
• The last two sentences that highlight the value of education contradict with the initial statement.
• Finally, the last sentence doesn’t offer a strong conclusion and gives no thought to ponder upon.
• In the body of your essay, you have hopefully already provided your reader(s) with plenty of information. Therefore, it is not wise to present new arguments or ideas in your conclusion.
• To end your final paragraph right, find a clear and straightforward message that will have the most powerful impact on your audience.
• Don’t use more than one quote in the final clause of your paper – the information from external sources (including quotes) belongs in the body of a paper.
• Be authoritative when writing a conclusion. You should sound confident and convincing to leave a good impression. Sentences like “I’m not an expert, but…” will most likely make you seem less knowledgeable and/or credible.

Good Conclusion Examples

Now that we've learned what a conclusion is and how to write one let's take a look at some essay conclusion examples to strengthen our knowledge.

The ending ironically reveals that all was for nothing. (A short explanation of the thematic effect of the book’s end) Tom says that Miss Watson freed Jim in her final will.Jim told Huck that the dead man on the Island was pap. The entire adventure seemingly evaporated into nothingness. (How this effect was manifested into the minds of thereaders).

All in all, international schools hold the key to building a full future that students can achieve. (Thesis statement simplified) They help students develop their own character by learning from their mistakes, without having to face a dreadful penalty for failure. (Thesis statement elaborated)Although some say that kids emerged “spoiled” with this mentality, the results prove the contrary. (Possible counter-arguments are noted)

In conclusion, public workers should be allowed to strike since it will give them a chance to air their grievances. (Thesis statement) Public workers should be allowed to strike when their rights, safety, and regulations are compromised. The workers will get motivated when they strike, and their demands are met.

In summary, studies reveal some similarities in the nutrient contents between the organic and non-organic food substances. (Starts with similarities) However, others have revealed many considerable differences in the amounts of antioxidants as well as other minerals present in organic and non-organic foods. Generally, organic foods have higher levels of antioxidants than non-organic foods and therefore are more important in the prevention of chronic illnesses.

As time went by, my obsession grew into something bigger than art; (‘As time went by’ signals maturation) it grew into a dream of developing myself for the world. (Showing student’s interest of developing himself for the community) It is a dream of not only seeing the world from a different perspective but also changing the perspective of people who see my work. (Showing student’s determination to create moving pieces of art)

In conclusion, it is evident that technology is an integral part of our lives and without it, we become “lost” since we have increasingly become dependent on its use. (Thesis with main point)

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How To Write A Conclusion For An Essay?

How to write a good conclusion, how to write a conclusion for a college essay, related articles.

So much is at stake in writing a conclusion. This is, after all, your last chance to persuade your readers to your point of view, to impress yourself upon them as a writer and thinker. And the impression you create in your conclusion will shape the impression that stays with your readers after they've finished the essay.

The end of an essay should therefore convey a sense of completeness and closure as well as a sense of the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger meaning, its implications: the final paragraph should close the discussion without closing it off.

To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following:

• Conclude by linking the last paragraph to the first, perhaps by reiterating a word or phrase you used at the beginning.
• Conclude with a sentence composed mainly of one-syllable words. Simple language can help create an effect of understated drama.
• Conclude with a sentence that's compound or parallel in structure; such sentences can establish a sense of balance or order that may feel just right at the end of a complex discussion.

To close the discussion without closing it off, you might do one or more of the following:

• Conclude with a quotation from or reference to a primary or secondary source, one that amplifies your main point or puts it in a different perspective. A quotation from, say, the novel or poem you're writing about can add texture and specificity to your discussion; a critic or scholar can help confirm or complicate your final point. For example, you might conclude an essay on the idea of home in James Joyce's short story collection,  Dubliners , with information about Joyce's own complex feelings towards Dublin, his home. Or you might end with a biographer's statement about Joyce's attitude toward Dublin, which could illuminate his characters' responses to the city. Just be cautious, especially about using secondary material: make sure that you get the last word.
• Conclude by setting your discussion into a different, perhaps larger, context. For example, you might end an essay on nineteenth-century muckraking journalism by linking it to a current news magazine program like  60 Minutes .
• Conclude by redefining one of the key terms of your argument. For example, an essay on Marx's treatment of the conflict between wage labor and capital might begin with Marx's claim that the "capitalist economy is . . . a gigantic enterprise of dehumanization "; the essay might end by suggesting that Marxist analysis is itself dehumanizing because it construes everything in economic -- rather than moral or ethical-- terms.
• Conclude by considering the implications of your argument (or analysis or discussion). What does your argument imply, or involve, or suggest? For example, an essay on the novel  Ambiguous Adventure , by the Senegalese writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane, might open with the idea that the protagonist's development suggests Kane's belief in the need to integrate Western materialism and Sufi spirituality in modern Senegal. The conclusion might make the new but related point that the novel on the whole suggests that such an integration is (or isn't) possible.

Finally, some advice on how not to end an essay:

• Don't simply summarize your essay. A brief summary of your argument may be useful, especially if your essay is long--more than ten pages or so. But shorter essays tend not to require a restatement of your main ideas.
• Avoid phrases like "in conclusion," "to conclude," "in summary," and "to sum up." These phrases can be useful--even welcome--in oral presentations. But readers can see, by the tell-tale compression of the pages, when an essay is about to end. You'll irritate your audience if you belabor the obvious.
• Resist the urge to apologize. If you've immersed yourself in your subject, you now know a good deal more about it than you can possibly include in a five- or ten- or 20-page essay. As a result, by the time you've finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you've produced. (And if you haven't immersed yourself in your subject, you may be feeling even more doubtful about your essay as you approach the conclusion.) Repress those doubts. Don't undercut your authority by saying things like, "this is just one approach to the subject; there may be other, better approaches. . ."

Copyright 1998, Pat Bellanca, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

Apr 5, 2023

How to Conclude an Essay (With Examples)

Don't let a weak conclusion ruin your hard work. Learn how to end your essay with impact. Get inspired to craft a satisfying conclusion for your essay with these examples and tips!

Writing an essay is a complex and challenging task that requires careful planning and execution. While the introduction and body of an essay are essential in conveying information, the conclusion is equally vital in leaving a lasting impression on the reader. The conclusion is the final opportunity for the writer to make a persuasive argument and leave the reader with a sense of closure. 

A well-crafted conclusion should summarize the essay's main points, restate the thesis in a fresh way, and leave the reader with a thought-provoking message. In this essay, we will explore different strategies and examples of writing an effective conclusion that leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

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5 Effective Strategies for Crafting an Impactful Conclusion

The conclusion of an essay is a crucial element that can make or break the reader's overall impression of the piece. A poorly written conclusion can leave the reader feeling satisfied and interested, while a well-crafted conclusion can leave a lasting impact and reinforce the central message of the essay. 

In this article, we will explore five practical strategies for crafting a memorable conclusion that will leave a positive impression on the reader. Whether you are writing a persuasive essay or a personal reflection, these strategies will help you create a clear, concise, and compelling conclusion.

Summarizing the Main Points

Summarizing the main points is one of the most effective strategies for crafting a memorable conclusion to an essay. By summarizing the key takeaways from the essay, the writer reinforces the main message and helps the reader to understand better the significance of the information presented.

To effectively summarize the main points, it is essential to identify the key ideas and information that were presented in the essay. This can be done by reviewing the body paragraphs and identifying the main arguments or points made. Once these critical ideas have been identified, the writer can then craft a concise and clear summary of the main points.

Restating the Thesis in a Fresh Way

Restating the thesis in a fresh way is another effective strategy for crafting a memorable conclusion to an essay. The thesis statement is the main point or argument of the essay, and restating it in a fresh way can help to reinforce the main message and leave a lasting impact on the reader.

To effectively restate the thesis in a fresh way, the writer should consider using different words or phrasing to express the same idea. This can help to avoid repetition and keep the reader engaged. The writer may also consider using a different structure or approach to the thesis statement, such as turning it into a question or using a metaphor to convey the main message.

One approach to restating the thesis in a fresh way is to use a parallel structure . This involves using the same grammatical structure for each point in the thesis statement. For example, if the thesis statement is "Technology has revolutionized the way we communicate, learn, and work," the writer could restate it as "Communication, learning, and work have all been revolutionized by technology."

Leaving the Reader with a Thought-Provoking Message

Leaving the reader with a thought-provoking message is a powerful way to conclude an essay. By providing the reader with a new perspective or challenging them to think more deeply about the topic, the writer can leave a lasting impact and inspire further reflection.

To leave the reader with a thought-provoking message, the writer should consider incorporating a quote, statistic, or anecdote that highlights the importance of the topic and encourages the reader to consider their own beliefs and values. The writer may also consider asking a rhetorical question or offering a call to action that encourages the reader to take action or make a change.

One approach to leaving the reader with a thought-provoking message is to use a quote from a notable figure or expert in the field. This can help to lend credibility to the argument and inspire the reader to think more deeply about the topic. For example, if the essay is about climate change, the writer could end with a quote from a scientist or environmental activist that emphasizes the urgency of the issue.

Using Call-to-Action to Encourage Further Reflection

Using a call-to-action to encourage further reflection is a powerful way to conclude an essay. A call-to-action encourages the reader to take a specific action or change their behaviour based on the information presented in the essay. This can help to create a sense of urgency and inspire the reader to take concrete steps towards addressing the issue.

To use a call-to-action effectively, the writer should consider the intended audience and tailor the message accordingly. The call-to-action should be specific, actionable, and relevant to the topic of the essay. It should also be presented in a way that is persuasive and compelling.

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Concluding an Essay

Concluding an essay is an essential part of the writing process, as it gives the writer an opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the reader. However, there are several common mistakes that writers make when crafting their conclusions, which can detract from the overall impact of the essay.

One common mistake is simply summarizing the main points of the essay without adding anything new. While it is important to review the key ideas presented in the essay, a conclusion should offer something more, such as a thought-provoking message or a call-to-action.

Another mistake is introducing new ideas or information that was not previously discussed in the essay. The conclusion should be a logical extension of the ideas presented in the essay, rather than an opportunity to introduce new topics.

Using clichéd phrases or overly formal language can also be a mistake when concluding an essay. The conclusion should be written in a clear and concise style that is consistent with the tone of the essay.

Failing to address any potential counterarguments or opposing viewpoints is another common mistake in concluding an essay. By acknowledging alternative perspectives, the writer can strengthen their own argument and demonstrate their understanding of the topic.

In conclusion, crafting a memorable and effective conclusion for an essay is essential for leaving a lasting impression on the reader. By summarizing the main points, restating the thesis in a fresh way, leaving the reader with a thought-provoking message, using call-to-action, and avoiding common mistakes, a writer can ensure that their conclusion is impactful and adds value to their essay. 

Crafting a Compelling Conclusion: Examples and Techniques

Crafting a compelling conclusion for an essay is a crucial element of effective writing. A well-written conclusion can leave a lasting impression on the reader and make the overall essay more memorable. However, many writers struggle to create a conclusion that is both powerful and concise. 

In this article, we will explore some examples and techniques for crafting a compelling conclusion. We will discuss how to summarize the main points, restate the thesis in a fresh way, leave the reader with a thought-provoking message, use call-to-action to encourage further reflection and avoid common mistakes. By following these techniques, writers can create a conclusion that enhances the overall impact of their essay and leaves a positive impression on their readers.

Summarizing the Main Points: A Brief Recap

Summarizing the main points of an essay is a crucial element of crafting a compelling conclusion. It allows the reader to reflect on the key ideas presented in the essay and reinforces the main argument. In this section, we will explore some tips and techniques for summarizing the main points effectively.

One effective strategy for summarizing the main points is to use transitional phrases that signal the end of one idea and the beginning of another. These phrases can include "in conclusion," "to sum up," or "to wrap things up." Using these transitional phrases can help the reader understand that the conclusion is coming and prepare them to reflect on the main points of the essay.

Restating the Thesis in a Fresh Way: Adding New Insights

Restating the thesis in a fresh way is a powerful technique that can elevate the impact of an essay's conclusion. It allows the writer to add new insights to the thesis statement, demonstrating a deeper understanding of the topic and providing a fresh perspective for the reader. In this section, we will explore some strategies for restating the thesis in a fresh way.

One effective way to restate the thesis is to use a different angle or approach. This means taking the core message of the thesis and presenting it in a new way. For example, if the thesis is "technology is changing the way we work," a new angle could be " the rise of technology is creating new opportunities for the modern workforce. " This restatement provides a fresh perspective that adds new insights to the thesis statement.

Leaving the Reader with a Thought-Provoking Message: Encouraging Reflection

The conclusion of an essay should leave a lasting impression on the reader. One way to achieve this is by leaving the reader with a thought-provoking message that encourages reflection. In this section, we will explore some strategies for leaving the reader with a thought-provoking message.

One effective way to leave the reader with a thought-provoking message is to ask a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a question that doesn't require an answer but is meant to stimulate thinking. For example, if the essay is about the impact of social media on mental health , a rhetorical question could be "What would our lives be like without social media?" This question encourages the reader to reflect on the role of social media in their own lives and consider the impact it has on their mental health.

In addition to using rhetorical questions and powerful statements, it is important to connect the message back to the reader's own life. This can be achieved by asking the reader to reflect on their own experiences or encouraging them to take action based on the essay's message. For example, if the essay is about the impact of climate change, the conclusion could encourage the reader to reduce their carbon footprint or get involved in local environmental initiatives.

Using Call-to-Action to Encourage Further Engagement: Inspiring Action

The call-to-action (CTA) is a powerful tool for concluding an essay. It prompts the reader to take a specific action, whether it's to learn more, donate to a cause, or simply think about a topic in a new way. When used effectively, a call-to-action can leave a lasting impression on the reader and inspire them to take action.

One effective way to use a CTA is to tie it to the thesis or main argument of the essay. By doing so, the CTA feels like a natural extension of the essay's content, rather than a jarring or unrelated request. For example, if the essay is about the importance of reducing plastic waste, the CTA could be a suggestion to switch to reusable grocery bags or to sign a petition advocating for plastic bag bans.

In conclusion, crafting a compelling conclusion is an essential aspect of writing an impactful essay. Summarizing the main points, restating the thesis in a fresh way, leaving the reader with a thought-provoking message, and using a call-to-action are all effective techniques to make your conclusion memorable and leave a lasting impression on the reader. By following these strategies, you can ensure that your essay concludes in a strong and memorable way, effectively communicating your message and engaging your audience. 

Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Conclusion

When it comes to writing a conclusion, many people tend to rush through it, treating it as an afterthought rather than an integral part of their writing. However, a well-written conclusion can be the difference between a good piece of writing and a great one. 

In this article, we will discuss some common pitfalls to avoid when crafting your conclusion. By being mindful of these mistakes, you can ensure that your conclusion leaves a lasting impression on your readers and effectively summarizes your ideas. So, let's dive in and learn how to write a conclusion that truly shines.

Don't introduce new information

When it comes to crafting a conclusion, one of the most common mistakes is introducing new information. Your conclusion should serve as a summary of the ideas and arguments you have presented throughout your essay or article, not as an opportunity to introduce new concepts or evidence. 

Introducing new information in your conclusion can be confusing for readers, as it disrupts the flow of your writing and may raise questions that you do not have time to answer. Consider the following points to help you avoid introducing new information in your conclusion:

Stick to your thesis: Your thesis statement should provide the focus for your essay or article. Make sure your conclusion reiterates your thesis and provides a sense of closure to your argument.

Recapitulate your main points: Identify the key arguments or points you have made in your essay or article, and provide a brief summary of each one. This will help to reinforce the main ideas of your writing and provide a sense of coherence to your conclusion.

Avoid new evidence or arguments: Resist the urge to introduce new evidence or arguments in your conclusion. Instead, focus on synthesizing the evidence and arguments you have already presented, and highlight their significance for your readers.

Use clear and concise language: Your conclusion should be easy to understand and should use clear and concise language. Avoid using technical jargon or complex sentences, and instead, focus on communicating your ideas in a straightforward and accessible manner.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your conclusion effectively summarizes your ideas and arguments, without introducing new information. Your readers will appreciate the clarity and coherence of your writing, and you will be able to end your essay or article on a strong and impactful note.

Avoid summarizing your entire essay

While it may seem counterintuitive, one of the common pitfalls to avoid in writing a conclusion is summarizing your entire essay. Your conclusion should not be a repetition of everything you have already stated in your essay or article. Instead, it should provide a concise overview of your main points and their significance. Summarizing your entire essay in your conclusion can be repetitive and can make your writing feel redundant.

To avoid summarizing your entire essay, focus on synthesizing your main points into a few key takeaways. Consider the following points to help you avoid summarizing your entire essay in your conclusion:

Identify your most important points: Take a moment to reflect on the main arguments and ideas you have presented in your essay or article. Identify the most important points that you want your readers to remember.

Provide a brief summary: Once you have identified your most important points, provide a brief summary of each one. Make sure to highlight their significance and how they support your overall argument.

End with a strong, memorable statement

The conclusion of your essay or article is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your readers. To achieve this, you should aim to end with a strong and memorable statement that summarizes your key ideas and leaves your readers with something to ponder. A strong conclusion can help to reinforce your main argument and make your writing more impactful and memorable.

To end your writing with a strong, memorable statement, consider the following points:

Reiterate your thesis statement: Your thesis statement is the foundation of your argument. Restating it in your conclusion can help to reinforce your main point and provide a sense of closure to your readers.

Use vivid language: To make your conclusion more impactful, use vivid and descriptive language that engages your readers' senses and emotions. This can help to create a lasting impression and leave your readers with a sense of resonance.

Provide a call to action: If your writing relates to a particular issue or problem, consider providing a call to action that encourages your readers to take action or make a change. This can help to create a sense of urgency and motivate your readers to get involved.

End with a question: Ending your writing with a thought-provoking question can leave your readers with something to ponder and encourage them to engage more deeply with your ideas. Make sure the question is relevant and directly relates to the main themes of your writing.

Use a quote: A powerful quote that relates to your topic can help to reinforce your main argument and make your writing more memorable. Choose a quote that is relevant and resonates with your readers.

Consider the tone and purpose of your writing

When writing a conclusion, it's important to consider the tone and purpose of your writing. The tone of your conclusion should match the overall tone of your writing and the purpose of your conclusion should align with the goals you set out to achieve in your writing. Failure to consider these factors can lead to a weak or ineffective conclusion that doesn't leave a lasting impression on your readers.

To ensure that the tone and purpose of your conclusion are aligned with the rest of your writing, consider the following points:

Determine the purpose of your writing: Before you begin writing your conclusion, identify the purpose of your writing. Are you trying to persuade your readers, inform them about a particular topic, or entertain them with a story? Understanding the purpose of your writing will help you craft a conclusion that reinforces your overall message.

Avoid introducing new information: Your conclusion should not introduce new information or ideas. Instead, it should summarize the main points you have already made and provide a sense of closure for your readers.

In conclusion, crafting a strong conclusion is essential for making your writing more impactful and memorable. By avoiding common pitfalls such as introducing new information or summarizing your entire essay, and instead focusing on a strong, memorable statement that matches the tone and purpose of your writing, you can leave a lasting impression on your readers. 

In summary, writing a compelling conclusion is a crucial part of any successful essay. By incorporating the strategies and examples provided in this article, you can learn how to effectively summarize your main points, leave a lasting impression on your readers, and drive your message home. Whether you're writing an academic paper, a blog post, or a personal essay, a strong conclusion can make all the difference in leaving a positive and memorable impact on your audience. So, take these tips for conclusion essay examples to heart, and start crafting conclusions that truly resonate with your readers today. 

Are you tired of struggling with your writing and want to take your skills to the next level? Then sign up for Jenni.ai ! This AI-powered writing assistant can help you write with confidence and precision. With its cutting-edge technology and user-friendly interface, Jenni.ai can provide you with personalized suggestions to help you craft compelling essays, articles, and more. Try it out today and experience the power of AI for yourself!

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In Summary: 10 Examples of Essay Conclusions

The conclusion of an essay may be the toughest section to write. Think about it; you're really tired at this point. It's probably the night before your paper is due and you just want to be done . So, the temptation is there to simply rush through it, and hope that your teacher is exhausted once she gets to your paper and doesn't bother to read it fully.

But the conclusion is probably the most important part of the paper. It ties everything together up nicely in the end. Not writing a good conclusion would be like if we never found out if Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy got together or if we never knew what that monster was in the Upside Down in "Stranger Things." Though not every ending has to be 100% conclusive (in fact, most endings never are— think the movie Inception ), it does have to have a well-thought out conclusion.

So, how do you write a good conclusion? What are the key components of a solid conclusion? What does a thorough and effective conclusion look like?

Read on for more information about our conclusion on conclusions.

What are the key components of a good conclusion?

Remember that thesis statement which you wrote in the first or second paragraph of your essay? You know, the one where you stated a claim about something? You argued something about a topic and you used the body paragraphs to prove your thesis statement through all of the research that you've performed.

Now that you've fully explained the research and the support for your thesis statement throughout the body of the paper, it's time to come back to that original idea in the conclusion. The conclusion basically asks us to do a few things:

• Restate the main idea of the paper (why you wrote this entire long piece to begin with).
• Summarize all the key points you made throughout the body of the paper (things that proved your thesis statement).
• Write about why this paper and topic are important, and leave the reader with ideas for additional research or maybe some questions that didn't get answered. The idea is that you want to leave the reader with a long-lasting impression. This is your opportunity to really drive your point home and to use some really interesting language.

Okay, so now that we have a game plan of how we need to write a good conclusion and what components consists of, let's look at a few examples of some sample essay conclusions.

Essay conclusion 1 — Why Ross didn't deserve Rachel on "Friends"

Although viewers always expected Ross and Rachel to reunite at the end of the series, the fact remains that Ross didn't deserve Rachel as a partner. As we saw in the beginning of the series, Ross was unfaithful to Rachel when they had been dating for over a year, and he didn't want to admit his wrongdoing when they tried to get back together after their initial breakup. Additionally, Ross was an extremely jealous and demanding partner, yelling at Rachel in front of all of their friends on several occasions. Finally, and most egregiously, Ross had a terrible reaction when Rachel told Ross she was pregnant after Monica and Chandler's wedding, making him an undesirable romantic partner for her, or any other character on the show for that matter. This conclusion is especially apparent after viewing the show more than 10 years after the final episode aired and having a collectively better understanding of women's rights and domestic abuse in relationships.

Essay conclusion 2 — Should students be allowed to have cell phones in elementary school?

In conclusion, although it's easy to see why allowing an elementary school child to have a cell phone would be convenient for after-school pickups or arranging playdates with friends, there is too much evidence to show that it's generally not a good idea. Children already have a lot of access to media (on average over seven hours per day) and it is the parent's responsibility to monitor their media access, which is more difficult if the child has exclusive cell phone access. Cyber bullying, which is increasingly becoming a problem, is also going to be a risk when your child has unlimited access to a smart phone. Clearly, elementary school-aged children are not emotionally mature enough to handle the responsibility of a smart phone, and the borrowing of a parent's cell phone should be highly monitored to ensure safe and healthful usage.

Essay conclusion 3 — Should sexual education be taught in public schools?

It's clear that sexual education is completely vital to the public-school curriculum. Not only does this lead to a better understanding of human development and human sexuality, but awareness and sex education also reduce the rates of teen pregnancy. Studies have shown that comprehensive sexual education increases the age of when teens have sex for the first time. Learning about contraception and how to use contraception correctly ultimately leads to lower rates of STDs. Lastly, comprehensive sex education also teaches students about consensual sex, and will hopefully lead to healthier sexual relationships and lower rates of sexual assault in the future. Not only should sex education be taught in public schools, but it should be mandatory for all public-school systems.

Essay conclusion 4 — What are the biggest challenges for women in the workplace?

Women have outnumbered men on the payroll in nonfarm jobs since 2010, but even with a majority of females in the office, there are still huge challenges for them at work. One of the biggest issues, which has been widely covered and debated on, is the fact that women still earn less of a wage for the same job as their male counterparts. Now that women are the breadwinners of many families, this is stunting economic growth and opportunity for their children. Additionally, women are less likely to be in charge at work. With less than 6% of Fortune 500 companies with a female CEO, women have a steeper hill to climb at the very top echelon of jobs. With a more level playing field, women's opportunities will increase and the workforce will ultimately be more inviting for all.

Essay conclusion 5 — You're having dinner with your favorite author. What happens? Describe the scene.

Harper Lee puts down her cup of coffee on the table, quietly scanning the room for an exit.

I'm nervous, wondering what to say to end this surreal evening.

"Thank you so much for meeting with me. I know that you're a very private person, and I can't tell you how much this means to me."

She smiles slightly at me and waves at the waiter for the check, which he brings promptly.

Essay conclusion 6 — Should music with curse words be allowed at school dances?

Language can be powerful and sometimes even harmful, but censorship of language is one of the worst things we can do as a society. I believe that the content of the song is more important than a few curse words. If a song's content is designed to provoke, intimidate, or make someone feel inferior, then I believe that is more harmful than a few impolite words in a chorus.

Essay conclusion 7 — What is something that should be taught in school that isn't?

Financial literacy is one of the most important things a person needs to understand as a fully functional adult. It's crucial for someone to be able to know how to purchase a car, open a bank account, invest in a 401k plan, and pay back his or her student debt all while being able to balance paying rent and saving money. Financial literacy should be taught to students while they are still in high school so that they can feel prepared to go out on their own and make a positive contribution to society.

Essay conclusion 8 — Is an increased dependence on technology good for society?

Technology surely isn't going anywhere. If anything, we will become more and more dependent on the capabilities of our smartphones and other devices in the future. However, we have to make sure that this dependence on technology isn't making us lazier or less curious about the world around us. With more knowledge available than ever before with today's technology, people are less discerning about what kind of materials they read and whether or not those materials are factual. People are also less likely to make a personal connection with someone while they're out in the world, which can increase levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Ultimately, we have to learn how to co-exist with technology in a way that is both healthful and constructive.

Essay conclusion 9 — Should schools start later in the morning?

There are some clear benefits to starting school later in the morning for K-12 students such as better academic performance and improved sleeping schedules. Although it might take a bit of rearranging schedules for parents to take their kids to school later on in the day, it's more important that students perform better academically than for the drop-off to be convenient for the parents on their way to work. To combat this, increased bus routes and crossing guards should be implemented so that parents who have to get to work at a certain time can be assured that their kids are making it to school safely.

Essay conclusion 10 — How do video games affect children and teenagers?

Video games have been an integral part of childhood and adolescence for a few decades now, but the effects on aggression levels and exposure to violence may make us take pause on how much exposure parents should let their kids have to these games. The video game industry is growing exponentially, and as the technology and video quality increase so does the ability to separate virtual reality from reality. Games with violent content are known to cause aggressive and sometimes even violent behavior in teens. Many video games, first-person shooter games in particular, have violent content. When the player is rewarded for violent behavior in the game, it reinforces the subtle idea that violence is acceptable and can be used in real life. With busy schedules and easy access to so much media, it's difficult for parents to be able to oversee everything that their children are exposed to. Video game designers should be held accountable for the violent content in their games, and a push should be made for more parental oversight and rules on video game usage.

In conclusion of conclusions

Conclusions are really just about wrapping things up. You want to be as succinct as possible, you want to reiterate the points you've already made throughout the essay, and you want to be compelling. With a little bit of practice and revision, you should be able to get the process down in no time. And if you need help with revising your conclusion or any other part of your paper, be sure to seek out the advice of a trusted teacher or a writing center, or hire one of our professional editors to give you a second opinion on your paper.

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Posted on 19th June 2019

Ending Your Essay With a Strong Conclusion

By Cite This For Me

Conclusions aren’t easy—but they’re very important. And contrary to popular belief, they’re not simply a place to restate what you’ve said before in the same way. They’re an opportunity to cast all the arguments you’ve made in a new light.

Conclusions give you a chance to summarize and organize your main points, reminding the reader how effectively you’ve proven your thesis. It’s also your final opportunity to make a lasting impression on your reader.

Simple conclusion formula

• Proper, relevant restatement of thesis statement and strongest evidence

Relevant final thought

As an example, let’s create a conclusion following our two-step process.

Let’s say your thesis statement is:

College athletes should not be paid because many receive compensation in the form of scholarships and benefit from more visibility to potential professional recruiters.

Now we’ll follow our formula to write an effective conclusion.

Restatement of thesis and strongest evidence

The first step in writing our conclusion is to restate the thesis statement.

It’s important not to simply copy your thesis statement word for word. You can also briefly include evidence or other points that were mentioned in your paper .

You could write something like:

College athletes don’t need financial compensation because they receive numerous benefits including scholarships, additional experience and coaching, and exposure to professional teams.

This sentence reminds the reader of our original thesis statement without copying it exactly.

At this point, you could also synthesize 1-2 of the strongest pieces of supporting evidence already mentioned in your essay, such as:

With four years of tuition costing up to hundreds of thousands and salaries in potential professional sports careers averaging millions, these benefits already amount to significant compensation.

Notice that we didn’t start with a transition like, “In conclusion,” or, “In summary.” These transitions aren’t necessary and are often overused.

You want to end your conclusion with a strong final thought. It should provide your reader with closure and give your essay a memorable or thought-provoking ending.

The last sentence of your conclusion can point to broader implications, like the impact the topic of your essay has had on history, society, or culture.

Another good rule of thumb is to allow your final sentence to answer the question, “So what?” Your reader has spent time reading your paper, but why does any of this matter? Why should your reader—or anyone else—care?

For our sample conclusion, for example, you could write:

Providing still more compensation to college athletes would send the message that they are employees, not students. If we don’t want education to be sidelined, college athletes should not be paid.

This concluding sentence answers the, “So what?” question by explaining the potential repercussions of paying college athletes. It gives the reader a reason to be more invested in your essay and ideas.

Some of the most powerful words in your paper may have been written or said by someone else. Selecting a quote from a well known public figure or an expert in the field of your topic allows you to finish strong with a credible source.

Example quote ending:

“The case for recycling is strong. The bottom line is clear. Recycling requires a trivial amount of our time. Recycling saves money and reduces pollution. Recycling creates more jobs than landfilling or incineration. And a largely ignored but very important consideration, recycling reduces our need to dump our garbage in someone else’s backyard.” – David Morris, co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

If you have a bibliography, add a citation for your quote source. It doesn’t matter if it is in MLA format or another style, it’s a good practice to always create citations for information you’ve used.

Ending your paper with a smart and relevant question allows your readers to think for themselves and make your topic their own. The best type of question leads your reader to the same conclusion you have presented in your paper.

Example question ending:

Recycling reduces pollution, saves energy and makes us feel good about ourselves; why wouldn’t we make it a part of our everyday lives?

Call to Action

Most popular in advertising, a call to action asks your reader to execute a specific task after reading your paper. A call to action can contain phrases like: Think about it, See for yourself, Consider, Try, or Remember.

Example call to action ending:

Now that you have read about the benefits of recycling, consider the awesome impact it could have on your local community.

Prediction statements often begin with the words “when” or “if.” In this type of ending, the writer makes an educated guess based on the factual information presented in the paper.

Example prediction ending:

If recycling is adopted by all major cities, we can expect its benefits to spread to smaller cities and towns. That means a significant reduction in landfill use, less pollution and more job creation across the entire country.  

A perspective change can help you end your paper in a way that is creative and interesting. One method is to zoom out and present your subject in a greater context. This ending allows you to take your reader beyond the specifics and provide a more global understanding of your topic. When working with this type of ending, be sure that your statement remains on subject and does not present entirely new information.    

Example zoom out ending:

Recycling is more than a solution for waste management. Treating our environment with respect and protecting our natural resources will benefit our society for generations to come.

Putting it all together

The conclusion reads:

College athletes don’t need financial compensation because they receive numerous benefits including scholarships, additional experience and coaching, and exposure to professional teams. With four years of tuition costing up to hundreds of thousands and salaries in potential professional sports careers averaging millions, these benefits already amount to significant compensation. Providing still more compensation to college athletes would send the message that they are employees, not students. If we don’t want education to be sidelined, college athletes should not be paid.

To create effective conclusions of your own, remember to follow these guidelines :

• Don’t feel the need to start with overused transitions such as, “In conclusion,” or, “In summary.”
• Restate your thesis statement in a new way.
• You can also restate 1-2 of your strongest pieces of supporting evidence.
• Don’t mention anything in your conclusion that wasn’t mentioned in the body of your essay.
• End with a strong final thought, preferably one that answers the question, “So what?”

By following these simple steps, you’ll craft a conclusion that leaves a powerful final impression on your readers.

When you mention or quote evidence from other sources, be sure to cite them. There are helpful resources at CiteThisForMe.com such as a Harvard referencing tool , an MLA formatting guide, an APA citation generator , and more!

Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

How to Write a Memorable Conclusion: 5 Techniques of Famous Writers

Published November 5, 2019 | Last Updated April 10, 2024 By Nicole Bianchi 8 Comments

You’ve spent hours pouring your heart and soul into a blog post. You have an important message to share with your audience, and you’ve crafted a piece that you know will help them.

But now you’ve reached the conclusion, and you don’t know what to write. You fear that you’ve said all you have to say, and if you tack on more sentences to your piece, you’ll just be repeating yourself.

But you know you can’t skip the conclusion. If you’re writing a persuasive or inspirational piece, the conclusion is the last place you have to convince the reader of your opinion. A weak conclusion can diminish the effect of your entire piece of writing.

It’s like if you were enjoying a three-course meal at a fancy restaurant. The soup was creamy and delicious, the steak was perfectly cooked, but then the dessert arrived, and the pie tasted funny. That’s the taste that’s going to linger in your mouth after you finish the meal.

Just like the chef needs to wow you with the final course, you need to wow your readers with your conclusion. Otherwise, your piece will feel unfinished and be unsatisfying to your readers.

So how can you wow your readers?

In today’s blog post, let’s look at five different techniques famous writers have used to craft powerful conclusions that made their pieces memorable.

1. The Bonus Tip

This is a fantastic conclusion for blog posts, especially how-to’s or personal development articles.

It works like this: Let’s say you’ve shared in the body of your article a step-by-step process for accomplishing something. For example, you’re writing about how to master the basics of drawing in 30 days. But you save one final “bonus” tip for your conclusion.

It should be a tip that ties everything together. Usually, it’s best if it’s motivational or profound. For example, you might write in your conclusion about how none of the strategies will work unless the reader commits to practicing every day and doesn’t allow themselves to grow discouraged if their first drawings look terrible.

Neil Gaiman used this type of conclusion in his 2012 commencement speech at The University of the Arts. In his speech, he shared the six lessons he wished he knew when he was first starting out as a writer: how to follow your passion, how to deal with failure, etc.

Then, in his conclusion, he tied everything together with a final piece of advice that would help you implement all of the previous tips he’d shared:

Someone asked me recently how to do something she thought was going to be difficult, in this case recording an audio book, and I suggested she pretend that she was someone who could do it. Not pretend to do it, but pretend she was someone who could. She put up a notice to this effect on the studio wall, and she said it helped. So be wise, because the world needs more wisdom, and if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise, and then just behave like they would. And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art.

Notice that Gaiman makes his conclusion even more powerful by including several more lines after his “bonus tip” that call his hearers to action. Adding a call to action is an excellent way to make your conclusion more compelling if you’re writing an inspirational piece.

2. The Quote

This type of conclusion is quite simple. You include a quote either at the beginning of your conclusion or at the end.

Make sure your quote is not overly long and that it either sums up the main idea of your piece or it adds a final thought to ruminate over. It’s often best not to just tack on the quote to the end of your piece. Don’t write: “In conclusion, here’s a thought-provoking quote to end with…”

Instead, use the quote to back up your concluding thoughts. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses a quote with heart-stirring effect in the conclusion of his famous “I Have A Dream” speech:

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!’

3. The Zoom-In

This type of conclusion works well for personal essays. Essentially, you take a specific image or moment in time and zoom in on it, describing it in more detail. The image should encapsulate the main idea of your piece.

E. B. White uses this type of conclusion in his essay “Here is New York” . White takes a stroll through New York City and reflects on the city’s personality. He ends with the image of an old willow tree,

A block or two west of the new City of Man in Turtle Bay there is an old willow tree that presides over an interior garden. It is a battered tree, long suffering and much climbed, held together by strands of wire but beloved of those who know it. In a way it symbolizes the city: life under difficulties, growth against odds, sap-rise in the midst of concrete, and the steady reaching for the sun. Whenever I look at it nowadays, and feel the cold shadow of the planes, I think: ‘This must be saved, this particular thing, this very tree.’ If it were to go, all would go — this city, this mischievous and marvelous monument which not to look upon would be like death.

4. The Full Circle Story

In this article , I wrote about how a story can make for a captivating introduction. It can be a story about yourself or an anecdote that relates somehow to the theme of your piece.

Now here’s the cool part: If you open your piece with a story, you can bring it full circle by returning to it in your conclusion.

Usually, this is most effective if you left the story open-ended in your introduction. Your readers are waiting to find out what happens.

Or if you concluded the story in your introduction, you can revisit it from a different angle at the end of your piece.

You can also use the “full circle” technique with a story you shared later on in the body of your piece. For example, Virginia Woolf mentions Shakespeare’s sister in the body of her essay “A Room of One’s Own” .

In the conclusion, she brings this story full circle:

I told you in the course of this paper that Shakespeare had a sister; but do not look for her in Sir Sidney Lee’s life of the poet. She died young — alas, she never wrote a word…Now my belief is that this poet who never wrote a word and was buried at the crossroads still lives. She lives in you and in me, and in many other women who are not here tonight, for they are washing up the dishes and putting the children to bed…Drawing her life from the lives of the unknown who were her forerunners, as her brother did before her, she will be born. As for her coming without that preparation, without that effort on our part, without that determination that when she is born again she shall find it possible to live and write her poetry, that we cannot expect, for that would be impossible. But I maintain that she would come if we worked for her, and that so to work, even in poverty and obscurity, is worthwhile.

5. The Urgent Call to Action

Finally, as we have seen earlier, if you’re writing a persuasive or motivational piece, it is very effective to end with a “call to action” conclusion.

This type of conclusion emphasizes the urgency of solving the problem. What happens if your readers don’t take action? What will happen if they do?

One of the most famous calls to action appears at the end of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

The Takeaway

These five techniques are only a small selection of the many different ways you can end a piece of writing.

You can even combine several of these techniques together to make them more powerful. For example, a conclusion could open with a quote, then share a bonus tip, and end on a call to action.

No matter how you decide to conclude your piece, make sure you’re not just summarizing or repeating what you’ve already said in the previous paragraphs.

Dig deeper than you have in the body of your piece. Take your arguments to their most profound extent. Leave your readers with a final thought to chew on.

In his book Storycraft (Amazon affiliate link) , editor Jack Hart observes,

Resolution is the ultimate aim of every story… It contains the lesson that the audience carries away, the insight that the story’s readers or viewers or listeners can apply to their own lives.

Zero in on that one lesson, that one big idea, you want your readers to take away. This will make your conclusion and, thus, your entire piece memorable, just like the last satisfying bite of a delicious meal.

If you enjoyed this post, leave a comment below and please share it with a friend who you think might find it helpful too. Thanks for reading!

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Chinonso Amechi says

April 25, 2022 at 11:34 am

Hi Nicole. It was helpful and educative reading through your content. Thanks for sharing. I may as well love to get in touch. Thanks.

Eric Bullock says

April 14, 2020 at 7:59 pm

The guide is clear and bright, without any added useless facts or else.

The language is equally brilliant and colorful, so the longer I read, the more I do like it!

Shweta says

January 16, 2020 at 1:52 am

Thank you Nichole. This article is helpful. I navigated to your site through Medium.

Thomas Sparley says

November 19, 2019 at 7:12 am

Nicole, I have been writing technical reports for proposals, assessments and project completions for 30 years. The last 7 years I have wrote my daily journal after life-safing surgeries gave me another chance to create. Reading your helpful tips on writing has given me a clear perspective of how I can be more expressive and creative.

yamini says

November 11, 2019 at 3:49 am

thank you. that was very helpful

Nicole Bianchi says

November 12, 2019 at 3:08 pm

You’re welcome, Yamini. 🙂 I’m glad you found it helpful!

Kristina says

November 10, 2019 at 11:18 pm

Nicole – just want to say thanks for all you do. I love your work, and am grateful to be part of the FB group. I enjoy your writing, and got a lot out of the SC Gwynne Outlining piece. Many, many thanks!

November 12, 2019 at 3:09 pm

Thanks so much, Kristina! That’s so kind of you, and I am happy to hear you enjoyed the SC GWynne piece. I wish you much success with your writing! 🙂

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Essay Papers . Convincing Conclusions

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Last Writes: How to Create Memorable Conclusions

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You have come to the end of your paper, and presented all of the excellent arguments and expert analysis that should ensure you the grade you have worked hard to achieve. However, one final obstacle remains: the dreaded conclusion. How is it possible to summarize what has taken pages to explain in the short space of a single paragraph? This is possible to achieve, but only if you know how to avoid the popular myths everyone has heard regarding the conclusion, and how to remind the reader of your work without repeating it.

The conclusion should be your introduction phrased in different words.

This sounds like it makes sense, but consider what elements are supposed to appear in your introduction (see the article on introductions for a more thorough explanation of these elements): You need to state the author, the work, what it is generally about, its genre, your thesis and main supporting arguments, and perhaps some general contextual information about setting or history if relevant. Now, after you have presented these at the beginning of the essay, and assumed the reader knew these throughout the paper as you have gone into far greater detail about them, it is absurd to state them all again in the conclusion! This kind of conclusion will seem like it has been tacked on in order to fulfill the word count requirement, and it will actually result in your getting a poorer grade than you would have.

A good principle to follow in concluding is to briefly mention how the major arguments you have presented have proven the thesis you listed in your introduction. An example sentence using Orwell's 1984 might look like this:

Clearly, technology is a force of evil throughout the novel. As we have seen, it is a negative force which enables corrupt governments to remain in power, allows the citizens to be subjected to constant invasions of their privacy, and prevents the proles from uniting in a common cause.

In one quick sentence, you have accomplished what the conclusion needs to do: you have shown how what you have been arguing has proven your thesis, and reminded the reader of what you have been doing without repeating the details you used to explain it.

From this point, all that is left to do is to add a convincing concluding sentence or two which will be the polish on the finished product that is your essay. Since you have already summed up and done all the necessary things, this is the time to add a rhetorical flourish if you feel inclined; the best papers will certainly do this. An excellent way to conclude your conclusion is to stretch one of the main themes you have been exploring into contemporary life. This should not be a grand generalization, or a comment on the history of humanity (again, see the article on introductions), but rather a pithy reflection of the novel onto society today. Returning to Orwell, you might finish as follows:

Although we are more than 20 years beyond the title date of Orwell's novel, his message is not lost to us. If anything, it is a useful reminder now more than ever that technology, despite all the good it can do, must be used and developed with caution.

Without making unfounded generalizations and grandiose statements, this relation of the major theme of the work, and the essay, to contemporary life shows you have achieved an excellent understanding of the novel, and leaves your audience further convinced that your arguments are sound.

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How to Write the Best Personal Statement Essay for College (with Tips and Examples)

It means that how you tell your story is almost as important as the content inside it. That said, remember that college admission officers know that most high school students don’t take creative writing courses. They don’t expect you to be the next Fitzgerald. 

However, as you already know, the competition remains fierce and many students will have impressive test scores, GPAs, and extracurricular activities across the board. If you’re serious about increasing your chances of getting into a decent university, ensure that every aspect of your application is as perfect as possible, including your admission essay.

How to Create an Effective Personal Statement Essay

Once you decide which Common App prompt you wish to address, you can start working on your essay.

Bring your story to life using tone, style, and figurative/rhetorical devices. We’ll explain how to do that in our tips below.

Tip 1: Don’t cram.

Don’t view preparation as a means to an end with these essays. The goal isn’t to cram in as many creative writing tips and to read as much as possible to absorb writing skills via osmosis. 

Rather, you want to express your ideas clearly — a skill useful in college, the workforce, and in daily communication. By the way, I also suggest that you start treating reading as a leisure activity (not a chore) or you may find college difficult.

Tip 2: Make your essay memorable and moving.

Make all the essays you write memorable and moving, whether you write a personal statement or supplement. Reveal your personality through your “voice.” Most personal essays don’t allow for a heavy injection of creativity but your essay responses for shorter, more straightforward supplemental prompts will still benefit from the use of rhetorical and/or figurative devices.

Tip 3: Show, don’t tell.

When discussing emotions, you should use the “showing, not telling” strategy. “Telling” emotions usually come across as forced and unreal. 

For example, rather than saying “I was so nervous about my math exam,” show the reader your anxiety. Use language like, “My hands shook as I picked up the pencil.” 

Rather than saying, “I was shy around the handsome boy,” describe how your “face turned beet red as he looked my way” or your “heart skipped a beat or three.”

Every once in a while, you might want to “tell” instead of “show,” especially if you wish to skip whole scenes. For example, rather than describing your bus ride home from school, you can simply skip from school to home with a transition such as, “Later that day…” Read through more examples of when you should tell and not show in this excellent article .

Finally, show actions and personality traits. Check out these two examples: 

•     Weaker sentence: He is a horrible driver. 
•     Improved sentence: He wove between lanes and narrowly avoided a head-on collision.
•     Weaker sentence: He was a kindhearted gentleman. 
•     Improved sentence: He frequently donated to children’s charities and other community events. 

Never toot your own horn by saying something like, “I’m proud of my resilience.” Instead, let your actions speak for themselves and reflect whichever virtue or trait you wish to convey.

Tip 4: Use sensory descriptions. 

Can you almost hear your English teacher talking about sensory descriptions? She probably said, “Use sensory descriptions to pull the reader into the story! What did you see, hear, taste, feel, or smell?”

You can infuse sensory descriptions wherever applicable and especially when you describe a setting. For example, if you’re describing a day at the beach, you could mention the taste of the saltwater, the noxious smell of sunblock, the sand gritting against your legs, the blue of the ocean melting into the sky, and the cawing of the seagulls overhead. Don’t overdo it! Aim for two to four sensory descriptions per essay.

Try using synesthesia, which means you use a word typically associated with one sense to describe another. Synesthesia causes your reader to do a double-take: 

•     Her voice dripped with honey.
•     The cookies smelled like Christmas morning.
•     The velvet sky was thick with stars.

Good stuff, huh?

Tip 5: Pay attention to adjectives. 

A wise writer once said, “Pick adjectives the way you would pick diamonds.” In other words, choose carefully and opt for quality over quantity. 

• For example, note the difference between “green eyes” and “emerald eyes.” Emerald not only describes a specific shade of green, but it also makes the reader imagine that sparkly, jewel-like quality characteristic of bright eyes. See how just one specific adjective can provide layers of description? 
• Another example: “Red lips” versus “cherry lips.” “Cherry lips” not only brings to mind the darker hue of cherries but also evokes images of summer or a sweet taste.

When writing, balance your adjectives so your reader doesn’t get bogged down by the description and/or can’t imagine what is happening.

Tip 6: Check your nouns. 

The same tips for adjectives apply to nouns. You may want to use a more specific noun, such as “mint chocolate chip ice cream” instead of the broader word “dessert.” Even a one-word tweak can help your reader visualize what you intend to depict. 

•     Weaker sentence: The woman walked a dog.
•     Improved sentence: The woman walked a Yorkie. 

See how the second sentence really allows the reader to form a more concrete image of a small terrier? 

Now, it’s perfectly fine to use vague nouns, such as “tall man” rather than “the six-foot man.” Think about what deserves more of a description and use your best judgment.

Tip 7: Slash dead weight from your verbs. 

One thing that most writers agree on is that adverbs add deadweight to your prose. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you can replace an adverb with a strong verb. For example: 

•     Weaker sentence: She ran quickly. 
•     Improved sentence: She sprinted. 

Whenever you edit your essay and spot an adverb, ask yourself: Can I replace this with a strong verb?

Tip 8: Use figurative language.

You can also replace an adverb with figurative language. For example:

•     Improved sentence: She ran like a hyper-caffeinated bunny.

Figurative language perks up the reader’s imagination, makes your writing more memorable, allows you to express ideas in a more creative way, and adds to the “magic of literature.” Don’t forget to tap into similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification as well. (Ask your English teacher for more direction!)

Tip 9: Sprinkle in dialogue, if applicable. 

If it fits into your essay, dialogue can provide the reader with a momentary respite from dense prose and help bring your personal statement essay to life.

Play with sentence structure for pacing. Use shorter sentences, fewer descriptions, and more action scenes to speed up your essay. Use more adjectives, complex sentences, and internal monologue (inner thoughts) to slow down your story.

You may want to add more creativity to your essay structure, deviating from the traditional five-paragraph format. Examples of other narrative formats include: 

• Diary format: This could work well if your story takes place over several days, such as in a transformative vacation.
• Manifestos: You could compile a manifesto that declares your origins and reasons behind your veganism or your metaphysical beliefs, for example.
• Pivotal essays: You start with the conflict as your hook.

You may also want to leave the reflection paragraph out and simply conclude with the end of your story. If you choose this method, make sure that whatever realizations you would have written in your conclusion are revealed throughout the story itself. 

How to Set Deadlines for Your Personal Statement 

When you set deadlines for yourself, you take ownership over the development of your Personal Statement by allotting ample time to reflect on your experiences, thoughts, and what inspires you to do your best. 

Tip 10: Set deadlines yourself .

You feel more in control when you physically set your own deadlines for brainstorming, strategizing topics, drafting, revising, and editing your personal statement essay. Mark everything on a calendar or save it as a note on your phone to help you self-manage and work toward achieving reasonable goals over a long period of time. 

Tip 11: Don’t wait until the last minute. 

When students wait until the last minute to write their personal statement, they compromise quality (not a surprise, right?). Admissions application readers can easily tell when students rushed through their writing! Take the essay seriously and give it the appropriate level of attention so you develop an essay that reflects the best version of yourself.  

High school juniors should aim to complete personal statement essays over the summer, allowing time for multiple revisions. Read through our Personal Statement brainstorming blog post , which poses 10 important self-reflection questions.

Tip 12: Work on your Personal Statement essay over the summer.

Students who procrastinate during the summer risk having a lot of essays to write in the fall, especially when they encounter Early Application/Early Decision deadlines. Every year, more colleges require additional supplemental essays as part of their application. For example, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill requires a Personal Statement essay and two supplemental essays by its October 15 Early Action deadline.

You might find it difficult to manage application deadlines and everything else that comes your way during fall of senior year, so plan well! 

Personal Statement Essay Prompt

The Personal Statement essay prompts give you the launchpad to tell your story. Take a look at the 2023-2024 Common App essay prompts so you know your full list of options. 

Think carefully about each prompt and which option fits in with your life. Hopefully, one prompt in particular compels you to write like crazy! 

Personal Statement Essay Example

Take a look at this Personal Statement essay and use it to get ideas for your own Personal Statement essay: 

To celebrate the last day of classes in the tenth grade, I wore a pretty dress that my mom had gifted me. The smooth swirl of the dress brushing above my knee added an involuntary skip to my step. I could just taste the freedom!

But when I tried to step into my classroom, the teacher greeted me at the threshold, arms akimbo. “Sherry, return to the dorms and change immediately! Your skirt is obscenely short! Don’t you know that’s against school policy?”

I was flabbergasted! Scanning the classroom, I noticed all the boys were wearing shorts that exposed their thighs. Some of the girls started to protest this unjust double standard, yet my teacher only replied, “Rules are rules. And girls should be protected.”

Protected? From what? Our skirts?!

One of my male classmates quipped, “I don’t know… Maybe some boys like to stare. Teachers may think that showing too much leg will distract them.”

Wow. I couldn’t believe my ears. In five minutes, I had become someone who needs protection from my apparent vanity as if the lack of fabric in my dress meant that I’m lacking in intellect. My strong legs, which were praised on the track field, had suddenly become objectified and sexualized.

I huffed and puffed my way back to the dorms. I later learned that the school’s AI surveillance camera (which automatically scans everyone walking around campus) had detected my rule-breaking and automatically published an image of me and my skirt onto the school’s WeChat page! My teacher had seen the image before I’d even reached the classroom. Thanks to AI, I had effectively been branded with a scarlet letter.

My anger didn’t dissipate as summer vacation progressed. The more I thought about the issue, the more frustrated I became. However, I’m a believer in the power of words and I started writing many letters to my principal about the unfairness and outdatedness of our policy. The strict dress code, no-makeup rule, and no dating rules were always more harshly applied toward female students. To resolve this issue, I proposed several ideas, including pretty school uniforms, but the principal completely ignored them.

By the end of summer, I was ready to battle this like Joan of Arc. Unfortunately, it was just me. Although they agreed with me, my girlfriends moved on from their initial anger and didn’t want to cause trouble. Realizing that I wouldn’t be able to change anything without first changing the girls’ minds, I decided to gather my troops.

I’ve been leading casual book discussions with my friends since freshman year. For the following months’ meetups, I assigned “Little Women” and “Gone with the Wind” while emphasizing that our discussion would center around a modern feminist twist. We passionately discussed Scarlett O’Hara in her contradicting characteristics, seeing marriage as a means of securing economic stability while also showing determination and courage against her own destiny. We vented over how the creative and ambitious Jo’s worth was determined merely by her marital status in Little Women. Since then, nothing was off the table for discussion.

On Sundays, you’ll catch us in flowery dresses and sweatpants, sneakers and heels, elaborately painted and bare-faced, animatedly debating hate crimes toward women, the media objectification of females, and the idealization of youth. Looking around, I swell in pride that my troops are getting stronger. Not to pick a fight but to be the catalyst of change so we are not judged solely by our cover, silenced at the table, or put in a box we don’t want to be in. My battle to change our school policy is still ongoing. However, it’s no longer just me. Our fight has become a community project, and I have faith that together we will keep raising our voices until there’s no choice but to hear us.

Know the Importance of the Personal Statement Essay

As many colleges announce the continuation of test-optional policies, the Personal Statement essay has become an even more important factor in the application review. Colleges have fewer application items to review, so they will heavily weigh the Personal Statement essay. 

It’s wonderful to have professional colleagues at Ivy & Quill support the Campus to Career Crossroads’ community by providing so many helpful writing tips for high school juniors in this blog post. If you can integrate these tips into your writing, you’ll create a more competitive Personal Statement essay that stands out to admission application readers.

About the guest coauthors: 

Marisa De Marco-Costanzo, Executive Director and Co-founder of Ivy & Quill Admission Essay Consulting and Editing Services, received a Master’s degree in Art and Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University of New York. Since 2015, Marisa has closely worked with college-bound students to develop their admission essays by providing extensive consulting and editing services. Marisa has devoted her career to educating students from all walks of life and guiding them to reach their highest potential.

Andrea Schiralli, Executive Director and Co-founder of Ivy & Quill Admission Essay Consulting and Editing Services, holds a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University (2014) and a Bachelor’s degree in French literature from Cornell University (2010). She enjoys helping students appreciate classic poems and novels, teaching them to manipulate language for effect and have fun while finding their writing voices.

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10 Personal Statement Essay Examples That Worked

What’s covered:, what is a personal statement.

• Essay 1: Summer Program
• Essay 2: Being Bangladeshi-American
• Essay 3: Why Medicine
• Essay 4: Love of Writing
• Essay 5: Starting a Fire
• Essay 6: Dedicating a Track
• Essay 7: Body Image and Eating Disorders
• Essay 8: Becoming a Coach
• Essay 9: Eritrea
• Essay 10: Journaling
• Is Your Personal Statement Strong Enough?

Your personal statement is any essay that you must write for your main application, such as the Common App Essay , University of California Essays , or Coalition Application Essay . This type of essay focuses on your unique experiences, ideas, or beliefs that may not be discussed throughout the rest of your application. This essay should be an opportunity for the admissions officers to get to know you better and give them a glimpse into who you really are.

In this post, we will share 10 different personal statements that were all written by real students. We will also provide commentary on what each essay did well and where there is room for improvement, so you can make your personal statement as strong as possible!

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Personal Statement Examples

Essay example #1: exchange program.

The twisting roads, ornate mosaics, and fragrant scent of freshly ground spices had been so foreign at first. Now in my fifth week of the SNYI-L summer exchange program in Morocco, I felt more comfortable in the city. With a bag full of pastries from the market, I navigated to a bus stop, paid the fare, and began the trip back to my host family’s house. It was hard to believe that only a few years earlier my mom was worried about letting me travel around my home city on my own, let alone a place that I had only lived in for a few weeks. While I had been on a journey towards self-sufficiency and independence for a few years now, it was Morocco that pushed me to become the confident, self-reflective person that I am today.

As a child, my parents pressured me to achieve perfect grades, master my swim strokes, and discover interesting hobbies like playing the oboe and learning to pick locks. I felt compelled to live my life according to their wishes. Of course, this pressure was not a wholly negative factor in my life –– you might even call it support. However, the constant presence of my parents’ hopes for me overcame my own sense of desire and led me to become quite dependent on them. I pushed myself to get straight A’s, complied with years of oboe lessons, and dutifully attended hours of swim practice after school. Despite all these achievements, I felt like I had no sense of self beyond my drive for success. I had always been expected to succeed on the path they had defined. However, this path was interrupted seven years after my parents’ divorce when my dad moved across the country to Oregon.

I missed my dad’s close presence, but I loved my new sense of freedom. My parents’ separation allowed me the space to explore my own strengths and interests as each of them became individually busier. As early as middle school, I was riding the light rail train by myself, reading maps to get myself home, and applying to special academic programs without urging from my parents. Even as I took more initiatives on my own, my parents both continued to see me as somewhat immature. All of that changed three years ago, when I applied and was accepted to the SNYI-L summer exchange program in Morocco. I would be studying Arabic and learning my way around the city of Marrakesh. Although I think my parents were a little surprised when I told them my news, the addition of a fully-funded scholarship convinced them to let me go.

I lived with a host family in Marrakesh and learned that they, too, had high expectations for me. I didn’t know a word of Arabic, and although my host parents and one brother spoke good English, they knew I was there to learn. If I messed up, they patiently corrected me but refused to let me fall into the easy pattern of speaking English just as I did at home. Just as I had when I was younger, I felt pressured and stressed about meeting their expectations. However, one day, as I strolled through the bustling market square after successfully bargaining with one of the street vendors, I realized my mistake. My host family wasn’t being unfair by making me fumble through Arabic. I had applied for this trip, and I had committed to the intensive language study. My host family’s rules about speaking Arabic at home had not been to fulfill their expectations for me, but to help me fulfill my expectations for myself. Similarly, the pressure my parents had put on me as a child had come out of love and their hopes for me, not out of a desire to crush my individuality.

As my bus drove through the still-bustling market square and past the medieval Ben-Youssef madrasa, I realized that becoming independent was a process, not an event. I thought that my parents’ separation when I was ten had been the one experience that would transform me into a self-motivated and autonomous person. It did, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t still have room to grow. Now, although I am even more self-sufficient than I was three years ago, I try to approach every experience with the expectation that it will change me. It’s still difficult, but I understand that just because growth can be uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s not important.

What the Essay Did Well

This is a nice essay because it delves into particular character trait of the student and how it has been shaped and matured over time. Although it doesn’t focus the essay around a specific anecdote, the essay is still successful because it is centered around this student’s independence. This is a nice approach for a personal statement: highlight a particular trait of yours and explore how it has grown with you.

The ideas in this essay are universal to growing up—living up to parents’ expectations, yearning for freedom, and coming to terms with reality—but it feels unique to the student because of the inclusion of details specific to them. Including their oboe lessons, the experience of riding the light rail by themselves, and the negotiations with a street vendor helps show the reader what these common tropes of growing up looked like for them personally. 

Another strength of the essay is the level of self-reflection included throughout the piece. Since there is no central anecdote tying everything together, an essay about a character trait is only successful when you deeply reflect on how you felt, where you made mistakes, and how that trait impacts your life. The author includes reflection in sentences like “ I felt like I had no sense of self beyond my drive for success, ” and “ I understand that just because growth can be uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s not important. ” These sentences help us see how the student was impacted and what their point of view is.

What Could Be Improved

The largest change this essay would benefit from is to show not tell. The platitude you have heard a million times no doubt, but for good reason. This essay heavily relies on telling the reader what occurred, making us less engaged as the entire reading experience feels more passive. If the student had shown us what happens though, it keeps the reader tied to the action and makes them feel like they are there with the student, making it much more enjoyable to read. 

For example, they tell us about the pressure to succeed their parents placed on them: “ I pushed myself to get straight A’s, complied with years of oboe lessons, and dutifully attended hours of swim practice after school.”  They could have shown us what that pressure looked like with a sentence like this: “ My stomach turned somersaults as my rattling knee thumped against the desk before every test, scared to get anything less than a 95. For five years the painful squawk of the oboe only reminded me of my parents’ claps and whistles at my concerts. I mastered the butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle, fighting against the anchor of their expectations threatening to pull me down.”

If the student had gone through their essay and applied this exercise of bringing more detail and colorful language to sentences that tell the reader what happened, the essay would be really great. 

Table of Contents

Essay Example #2: Being Bangladeshi-American

Life before was good: verdant forests, sumptuous curries, and a devoted family.

Then, my family abandoned our comfortable life in Bangladesh for a chance at the American dream in Los Angeles. Within our first year, my father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He lost his battle three weeks before my sixth birthday. Facing a new country without the steady presence of my father, we were vulnerable — prisoners of hardship in the land of the free. We resettled in the Bronx, in my uncle’s renovated basement. It was meant to be our refuge, but I felt more displaced than ever. Gone were the high-rise condos of West L.A.; instead, government projects towered over the neighborhood. Pedestrians no longer smiled and greeted me; the atmosphere was hostile, even toxic. Schoolkids were quick to pick on those they saw as weak or foreign, hurling harsh words I’d never heard before.

Meanwhile, my family began integrating into the local Bangladeshi community. I struggled to understand those who shared my heritage. Bangladeshi mothers stayed home while fathers drove cabs and sold fruit by the roadside — painful societal positions. Riding on crosstown buses or walking home from school, I began to internalize these disparities. During my fleeting encounters with affluent Upper East Siders, I saw kids my age with nannies, parents who wore suits to work, and luxurious apartments with spectacular views. Most took cabs to their destinations: cabs that Bangladeshis drove. I watched the mundane moments of their lives with longing, aching to plant myself in their shoes. Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day. 

As I grappled with my relationship with the Bangladeshi community, I turned my attention to helping my Bronx community by pursuing an internship with Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. I handled desk work and took calls, spending the bulk of my time actively listening to the hardships constituents faced — everything from a veteran stripped of his benefits to a grandmother unable to support her bedridden grandchild.

I’d never exposed myself to stories like these, and now I was the first to hear them. As an intern, I could only assist in what felt like the small ways — pointing out local job offerings, printing information on free ESL classes, reaching out to non-profits. But to a community facing an onslaught of intense struggles, I realized that something as small as these actions could have vast impacts. Seeing the immediate consequences of my actions inspired me. Throughout that summer, I internalized my community’s daily challenges in a new light. I began to stop seeing the prevalent underemployment and cramped living quarters less as sources of shame. Instead, I saw them as realities that had to be acknowledged, but could ultimately be remedied. I also realized the benefits of the Bangladeshi culture I had been so ashamed of. My Bangla language skills were an asset to the office, and my understanding of Bangladeshi etiquette allowed for smooth communication between office staff and its constituents. As I helped my neighbors navigate city services, I saw my heritage with pride — a perspective I never expected to have.

I can now appreciate the value of my unique culture and background, and of living with less. This perspective offers room for progress, community integration, and a future worth fighting for. My time with Assemblyman Sepulveda’s office taught me that I can be a change agent in enabling this progression. Far from being ashamed of my community, I want to someday return to local politics in the Bronx to continue helping others access the American Dream. I hope to help my community appreciate the opportunity to make progress together. By embracing reality, I learned to live it. Along the way, I discovered one thing: life is good, but we can make it better.

This student’s passion for social justice and civic duty shines through in this essay because of how honest it is. Sharing their personal experience with immigrating, moving around, being an outsider, and finding a community allows us to see the hardships this student has faced and builds empathy towards their situation. However, what really makes it strong is that they go beyond describing the difficulties they faced and explain the mental impact it had on them as a child: Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day. 

The rejection of their culture presented at the beginning of the essay creates a nice juxtaposition with the student’s view in the latter half of the essay and helps demonstrate how they have matured. They use their experience interning as a way to delve into a change in their thought process about their culture and show how their passion for social justice began. Using this experience as a mechanism to explore their thoughts and feelings is an excellent example of how items that are included elsewhere on your application should be incorporated into your essay.

This essay prioritizes emotions and personal views over specific anecdotes. Although there are details and certain moments incorporated throughout to emphasize the author’s points, the main focus remains on the student and how they grapple with their culture and identity.  

One area for improvement is the conclusion. Although the forward-looking approach is a nice way to end an essay focused on social justice, it would be nice to include more details and imagery in the conclusion. How does the student want to help their community? What government position do they see themselves holding one day? 

A more impactful ending might look like the student walking into their office at the New York City Housing Authority in 15 years and looking at the plans to build a new development in the Bronx just blocks away from where the grew up that would provide quality housing to people in their Bangladeshi community. They would smile while thinking about how far they have come from that young kid who used to be ashamed of their culture. 

Essay Example #3: Why Medicine

I took my first trip to China to visit my cousin Anna in July of 2014. Distance had kept us apart, but when we were together, we fell into all of our old inside jokes and caught up on each other’s lives. Her sparkling personality and optimistic attitude always brought a smile to my face. This time, however, my heart broke when I saw the effects of her brain cancer; she had suffered from a stroke that paralyzed her left side. She was still herself in many ways, but I could see that the damage to her brain made things difficult for her. I stayed by her every day, providing the support she needed, whether assisting her with eating and drinking, reading to her, or just watching “Friends.” During my flight back home, sorrow and helplessness overwhelmed me. Would I ever see Anna again? Could I have done more to make Anna comfortable? I wished I could stay in China longer to care for her. As I deplaned, I wondered if I could transform my grief to help other children and teenagers in the US who suffered as Anna did.

The day after I got home, as jet lag dragged me awake a few minutes after midnight, I remembered hearing about the Family Reach Foundation (FRF) and its work with children going through treatments at the local hospital and their families. I began volunteering in the FRF’s Children’s Activity Room, where I play with children battling cancer. Volunteering has both made me appreciate my own health and also cherish the new relationships I build with the children and families. We play sports, make figures out of playdoh, and dress up. When they take on the roles of firefighters or fairies, we all get caught up in the game; for that time, they forget the sanitized, stark, impersonal walls of the pediatric oncology ward. Building close relationships with them and seeing them giggle and laugh is so rewarding — I love watching them grow and get better throughout their course of treatment.

Hearing from the parents about their children’s condition and seeing the children recover inspired me to consider medical research. To get started, I enrolled in a summer collegelevel course in Abnormal Psychology. There I worked with Catelyn, a rising college senior, on a data analysis project regarding Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Together, we examined the neurological etiology of DID by studying four fMRI and PET cases. I fell in love with gathering data and analyzing the results and was amazed by our final product: several stunning brain images showcasing the areas of hyper and hypoactivity in brains affected by DID. Desire quickly followed my amazement — I want to continue this project and study more brains. Their complexity, delicacy, and importance to every aspect of life fascinate me. Successfully completing this research project gave me a sense of hope; I know I am capable of participating in a large scale research project and potentially making a difference in someone else’s life through my research.

Anna’s diagnosis inspired me to begin volunteering at FRF; from there, I discovered my desire to help people further by contributing to medical research. As my research interest blossomed, I realized that it’s no coincidence that I want to study brains—after all, Anna suffered from brain cancer. Reflecting on these experiences this past year and a half, I see that everything I’ve done is connected. Sadly, a few months after I returned from China, Anna passed away. I am still sad, but as I run a toy truck across the floor and watch one of the little patients’ eyes light up, I imagine that she would be proud of my commitment to pursue medicine and study the brain.

This essay has a very strong emotional core that tugs at the heart strings and makes the reader feel invested. Writing about sickness can be difficult and doesn’t always belong in a personal statement, but in this case it works well because the focus is on how this student cared for her cousin and dealt with the grief and emotions surrounding her condition. Writing about the compassion she showed and the doubts and concerns that filled her mind keeps the focus on the author and her personality. 

This continues when she again discusses the activities she did with the kids at FRF and the personal reflection this experience allowed her to have. For example, she writes: Volunteering has both made me appreciate my own health and also cherish the new relationships I build with the children and families. We play sports, make figures out of playdoh, and dress up.

Concluding the essay with the sad story of her cousin’s passing brings the essay full circle and returns to the emotional heart of the piece to once again build a connection with the reader. However, it finishes on a hopeful note and demonstrates how this student has been able to turn a tragic experience into a source of lifelong inspiration. 

One thing this essay should be cognizant of is that personal statements should not read as summaries of your extracurricular resume. Although this essay doesn’t fully fall into that trap, it does describe two key extracurriculars the student participated in. However, the inclusion of such a strong emotional core running throughout the essay helps keep the focus on the student and her thoughts and feelings during these activities.

To avoid making this mistake, make sure you have a common thread running through your essay and the extracurriculars provide support to the story you are trying to tell, rather than crafting a story around your activities. And, as this essay does, make sure there is lots of personal reflection and feelings weaved throughout to focus attention to you rather than your extracurriculars. 

Essay Example #4: Love of Writing

“I want to be a writer.” This had been my answer to every youthful discussion with the adults in my life about what I would do when I grew up. As early as elementary school, I remember reading my writing pieces aloud to an audience at “Author of the Month” ceremonies. Bearing this goal in mind, and hoping to gain some valuable experience, I signed up for a journalism class during my freshman year. Despite my love for writing, I initially found myself uninterested in the subject and I struggled to enjoy the class. When I thought of writing, I imagined lyrical prose, profound poetry, and thrilling plot lines. Journalism required a laconic style and orderly structure, and I found my teacher’s assignments formulaic and dull. That class shook my confidence as a writer. I was uncertain if I should continue in it for the rest of my high school career.

Despite my misgivings, I decided that I couldn’t make a final decision on whether to quit journalism until I had some experience working for a paper outside of the classroom. The following year, I applied to be a staff reporter on our school newspaper. I hoped this would help me become more self-driven and creative, rather than merely writing articles that my teacher assigned. To my surprise, my time on staff was worlds away from what I experienced in the journalism class. Although I was unaccustomed to working in a fast-paced environment and initially found it burdensome to research and complete high-quality stories in a relatively short amount of time, I also found it exciting. I enjoyed learning more about topics and events on campus that I did not know much about; some of my stories that I covered in my first semester concerned a chess tournament, a food drive, and a Spanish immersion party. I relished in the freedom I had to explore and learn, and to write more independently than I could in a classroom.

Although I enjoyed many aspects of working for the paper immediately, reporting also pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I am a shy person, and speaking with people I did not know intimidated me. During my first interview, I met with the basketball coach to prepare for a story about the team’s winning streak. As I approached his office, I felt everything from my toes to my tongue freeze into a solid block, and I could hardly get out my opening questions. Fortunately, the coach was very kind and helped me through the conversation. Encouraged, I prepared for my next interview with more confidence. After a few weeks of practice, I even started to look forward to interviewing people on campus. That first journalism class may have bored me, but even if journalism in practice was challenging, it was anything but tedious.

Over the course of that year, I grew to love writing for our school newspaper. Reporting made me aware of my surroundings, and made me want to know more about current events on campus and in the town where I grew up. By interacting with people all over campus, I came to understand the breadth of individuals and communities that make up my high school. I felt far more connected to diverse parts of my school through my work as a journalist, and I realized that journalism gave me a window into seeing beyond my own experiences. The style of news writing may be different from what I used to think “writing” meant, but I learned that I can still derive exciting plots from events that may have gone unnoticed if not for my stories. I no longer struggle to approach others, and truly enjoy getting to know people and recognizing their accomplishments through my writing. Becoming a writer may be a difficult path, but it is as rewarding as I hoped when I was young.

This essay is clearly structured in a manner that makes it flow very nicely and contributes to its success. It starts with a quote to draw in the reader and show this student’s life-long passion for writing. Then it addresses the challenges of facing new, unfamiliar territory and how this student overcame it. Finally, it concludes by reflecting on this eye-opening experience and a nod to their younger self from the introduction. Having a well-thought out and sequential structure with clear transitions makes it extremely easy for the reader to follow along and take away the main idea.

Another positive aspect of the essay is the use of strong and expressive language. Sentences like “ When I thought of writing, I imagined lyrical prose, profound poetry, and thrilling plot lines ” stand out because of the intentional use of words like “lyrical”, “profound”, and “thrilling” to convey the student’s love of writing. The author also uses an active voice to capture the readers’ attention and keep us engaged. They rely on their language and diction to reveal details to the reader, for instance saying “ I felt everything from my toes to my tongue freeze into a solid block ” to describe feeling nervous.

This essay is already very strong, so there isn’t much that needs to be changed. One thing that could take the essay from great to outstanding would be to throw in more quotes, internal dialogue, and sensory descriptors.

It would be nice to see the nerves they felt interviewing the coach by including dialogue like “ Um…I want to interview you about…uh…”.  They could have shown their original distaste for journalism by narrating the thoughts running through their head. The fast-paced environment of their newspaper could have come to life with descriptions about the clacking of keyboards and the whirl of people running around laying out articles.

Essay Example #5: Starting a Fire

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This student is an excellent writer, which allows a simple story to be outstandingly compelling. The author articulates her points beautifully and creatively through her immense use of details and figurative language. Lines like “a rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees,” and “rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers,” create vivid images that draw the reader in. 

The flowery and descriptive prose also contributes to the nice juxtaposition between the old Clara and the new Clara. The latter half of the essay contrasts elements of nature with music and writing to demonstrate how natural these interests are for her now. This sentence perfectly encapsulates the contrast she is trying to build: “It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive.”

In addition to being well-written, this essay is thematically cohesive. It begins with the simple introduction “Fire!” and ends with the following image: “When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.” This full-circle approach leaves readers satisfied and impressed.

There is very little this essay should change, however one thing to be cautious about is having an essay that is overly-descriptive. We know from the essay that this student likes to read and write, and depending on other elements of her application, it might make total sense to have such a flowery and ornate writing style. However, your personal statement needs to reflect your voice as well as your personality. If you would never use language like this in conversation or your writing, don’t put it in your personal statement. Make sure there is a balance between eloquence and your personal voice.

Essay Example #6: Dedicating a Track

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

This essay effectively conveys this student’s compassion for others, initiative, and determination—all great qualities to exemplify in a personal statement!

Although they rely on telling us a lot of what happened up until the board meeting, the use of running a race (their passion) as a metaphor for public speaking provides a lot of insight into the fear that this student overcame to work towards something bigger than themself. Comparing a podium to the starting line, the audience to the track, and silence to the gunshot is a nice way of demonstrating this student’s passion for cross country running without making that the focus of the story.

The essay does a nice job of coming full circle at the end by explaining what the quote from the beginning meant to them after this experience. Without explicitly saying “ I now know that what Stark actually meant is…” they rely on the strength of their argument above to make it obvious to the reader what it means to get beat but not lose. 

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

Essay Example #7: Body Image and Eating Disorders

I press the “discover” button on my Instagram app, hoping to find enticing pictures to satisfy my boredom. Scrolling through, I see funny videos and mouth-watering pictures of food. However, one image stops me immediately. A fit teenage girl with a “perfect body” relaxes in a bikini on a beach. Beneath it, I see a slew of flattering comments. I shake with disapproval over the image’s unrealistic quality. However, part of me still wants to have a body like hers so that others will make similar comments to me.

I would like to resolve a silent issue that harms many teenagers and adults: negative self image and low self-esteem in a world where social media shapes how people view each other. When people see the façades others wear to create an “ideal” image, they can develop poor thought patterns rooted in negative self-talk. The constant comparisons to “perfect” others make people feel small. In this new digital age, it is hard to distinguish authentic from artificial representations.

When I was 11, I developed anorexia nervosa. Though I was already thin, I wanted to be skinny like the models that I saw on the magazine covers on the grocery store stands. Little did I know that those models probably also suffered from disorders, and that photoshop erased their flaws. I preferred being underweight to being healthy. No matter how little I ate or how thin I was, I always thought that I was too fat. I became obsessed with the number on the scale and would try to eat the least that I could without my parents urging me to take more. Fortunately, I stopped engaging in anorexic behaviors before middle school. However, my underlying mental habits did not change. The images that had provoked my disorder in the first place were still a constant presence in my life.

By age 15, I was in recovery from anorexia, but suffered from depression. While I used to only compare myself to models, the growth of social media meant I also compared myself to my friends and acquaintances. I felt left out when I saw my friends’ excitement about lake trips they had taken without me. As I scrolled past endless photos of my flawless, thin classmates with hundreds of likes and affirming comments, I felt my jealousy spiral. I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.” When that didn’t work, I started to feel too anxious to post anything at all.  

Body image insecurities and social media comparisons affect thousands of people – men, women, children, and adults – every day. I am lucky – after a few months of my destructive social media habits, I came across a video that pointed out the illusory nature of social media; many Instagram posts only show off good things while people hide their flaws. I began going to therapy, and recovered from my depression. To address the problem of self-image and social media, we can all focus on what matters on the inside and not what is on the surface. As an effort to become healthy internally, I started a club at my school to promote clean eating and radiating beauty from within. It has helped me grow in my confidence, and today I’m not afraid to show others my struggles by sharing my experience with eating disorders. Someday, I hope to make this club a national organization to help teenagers and adults across the country. I support the idea of body positivity and embracing difference, not “perfection.” After all, how can we be ourselves if we all look the same?

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

The short answer is that, yes, you can talk about mental health, but it can be risky. If you do go that route, it’s important to focus on what you learned from the experience.

The strength of this essay is the student’s vulnerability, in excerpts such as this: I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.”

The student goes on to share how they recovered from their depression through an eye-opening video and therapy sessions, and they’re now helping others find their self-worth as well. It’s great that this essay looks towards the future and shares the writer’s goals of making their club a national organization; we can see their ambition and compassion.

The main weakness of this essay is that it doesn’t focus enough on their recovery process, which is arguably the most important part. They could’ve told us more about the video they watched or the process of starting their club and the interactions they’ve had with other members. Especially when sharing such a vulnerable topic, there should be vulnerability in the recovery process too. That way, the reader can fully appreciate all that this student has overcome.

Essay Example #8: Becoming a Coach

”Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay begins with an in-the-moment narrative that really illustrates the chaos of looking for a coach last-minute. We feel the writer’s emotions, particularly her dejectedness, at not being able to compete. Starting an essay in media res  is a great way to capture the attention of your readers and build anticipation for what comes next.

Through this essay, we can see how gutsy and determined the student is in deciding to become a coach themselves. She shows us these characteristics through their actions, rather than explicitly telling us: To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side.  Also, by discussing the opposition she faced and how it affected her, the student is open and vulnerable about the reality of the situation.

The essay comes full circle as the author recalls the frantic situations in seeking out a coach, but this is no longer a concern for them and their team. Overall, this essay is extremely effective in painting this student as mature, bold, and compassionate.

The biggest thing this essay needs to work on is showing not telling. Throughout the essay, the student tells us that she “emerged with new knowledge and confidence,” she “grew unsure of her own abilities,” and she “refused to give up”. What we really want to know is what this looks like.

Instead of saying she “emerged with new knowledge and confidence” she should have shared how she taught a new move to a fellow team-member without hesitation. Rather than telling us she “grew unsure of her own abilities” she should have shown what that looked like by including her internal dialogue and rhetorical questions that ran through her mind. She could have demonstrated what “refusing to give up” looks like by explaining how she kept learning coaching techniques on her own, turned to a mentor for advice, or devised a plan to win over the trust of parents. 

Essay Example #9: Eritrea

No one knows where Eritrea is.

On the first day of school, for the past nine years, I would pensively stand in front of a class, a teacher, a stranger  waiting for the inevitable question: Where are you from?

I smile politely, my dimples accentuating my ambiguous features. “Eritrea,” I answer promptly and proudly. But I  am always prepared. Before their expression can deepen into confusion, ready to ask “where is that,” I elaborate,  perhaps with a fleeting hint of exasperation, “East Africa, near Ethiopia.”

Sometimes, I single out the key-shaped hermit nation on a map, stunning teachers who have “never had a student  from there!” Grinning, I resist the urge to remark, “You didn’t even know it existed until two minutes ago!”

Eritrea is to the East of Ethiopia, its arid coastline clutches the lucrative Red Sea. Battle scars litter the ancient  streets – the colonial Italian architecture lathered with bullet holes, the mosques mangled with mortar shells.  Originally part of the world’s first Christian kingdom, Eritrea passed through the hands of colonial Italy, Britain, and  Ethiopia for over a century, until a bloody thirty year war of Independence liberated us.

But these are facts that anyone can know with a quick Google search. These are facts that I have memorised and compounded, first from my Grandmother and now from pristine books  borrowed from the library.

No historical narrative, however, can adequately capture what Eritrea is.  No one knows the aroma of bushels of potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic – still covered in dirt – that leads you to the open-air market. No one knows the poignant scent of spices, arranged in orange piles reminiscent of compacted  dunes.  No one knows how to haggle stubborn herders for sheep and roosters for Christmas celebrations as deliberately as my mother. No one can replicate the perfect balance of spices in dorho and tsebhi as well as my grandmother,  her gnarly hands stirring the pot with ancient precision (chastising my clumsy knife work with the potatoes).  It’s impossible to learn when the injera is ready – the exact moment you have to lift the lid of the mogogo. Do it too  early (or too late) and the flatbread becomes mangled and gross. It is a sixth sense passed through matriarchal  lineages.

There are no sources that catalogue the scent of incense that wafts through the sunlit porch on St. Michael’s; no  films that can capture the luminescence of hundreds of flaming bonfires that fluoresce the sidewalks on Kudus  Yohannes, as excited children chant Ge’ez proverbs whose origin has been lost to time.  You cannot learn the familiarity of walking beneath the towering Gothic figure of the Enda Mariam Cathedral, the  crowds undulating to the ringing of the archaic bells.  I have memorized the sound of the rains hounding the metal roof during kiremti , the heat of the sun pounding  against the Toyota’s window as we sped down towards Ghinda , the opulent brilliance of the stars twinkling in a  sky untainted by light pollution, the scent of warm rolls of bani wafting through the streets at precisely 6 o’clock each day…

I fill my flimsy sketchbook with pictures from my memory. My hand remembers the shapes of the hibiscus drifting  in the wind, the outline of my grandmother (affectionately nicknamed a’abaye ) leaning over the garden, the bizarre architecture of the Fiat Tagliero .  I dice the vegetables with movements handed down from generations. My nose remembers the scent of frying garlic, the sourness of the warm tayta , the sharpness of the mit’mt’a …

This knowledge is intrinsic.  “I am Eritrean,” I repeat. “I am proud.”  Within me is an encyclopedia of history, culture, and idealism.

Eritrea is the coffee made from scratch, the spices drying in the sun, the priests and nuns. Eritrea is wise, filled with ambition, and unseen potential.  Eritrea isn’t a place, it’s an identity.

This is an exceptional essay that provides a window into this student’s culture that really makes their love for their country and heritage leap off the page. The sheer level of details and sensory descriptors this student is able to fit in this space makes the essay stand out. From the smells, to the traditions, sounds, and sights, the author encapsulates all the glory of Eritrea for the reader. 

The vivid images this student is able to create for the reader, whether it is having the tedious conversation with every teacher or cooking in their grandmother’s kitchen, transports us into the story and makes us feel like we are there in the moment with the student. This is a prime example of an essay that shows , not tells.

Besides the amazing imagery, the use of shorter paragraphs also contributes to how engaging this essay is. Employing this tactic helps break up the text to make it more readable and it isolates ideas so they stick out more than if they were enveloped in a large paragraph.

Overall, this is a really strong essay that brings to life this student’s heritage through its use of vivid imagery. This essay exemplifies what it means to show not tell in your writing, and it is a great example of how you can write an intimate personal statement without making yourself the primary focus of your essay. 

There is very little this essay should improve upon, but one thing the student might consider would be to inject more personal reflection into their response. Although we can clearly take away their deep love and passion for their homeland and culture, the essay would be a bit more personal if they included the emotions and feelings they associate with the various aspects of Eritrea. For example, the way their heart swells with pride when their grandmother praises their ability to cook a flatbread or the feeling of serenity when they hear the bells ring out from the cathedral. Including personal details as well as sensory ones would create a wonderful balance of imagery and reflection.

Essay Example #10: Journaling

Flipping past dozens of colorful entries in my journal, I arrive at the final blank sheet. I press my pen lightly to the page, barely scratching its surface to create a series of loops stringing together into sentences. Emotions spill out, and with their release, I feel lightness in my chest. The stream of thoughts slows as I reach the bottom of the page, and I gently close the cover of the worn book: another journal finished.

I add the journal to the stack of eleven books on my nightstand. Struck by the bittersweet sensation of closing a chapter of my life, I grab the notebook at the bottom of the pile to reminisce.

“I want to make a flying mushen to fly in space and your in it” – October 2008

Pulling back the cover of my first Tinkerbell-themed diary, the prompt “My Hopes and Dreams” captures my attention. Though “machine” is misspelled in my scribbled response, I see the beginnings of my past obsession with outer space. At the age of five, I tore through novels about the solar system, experimented with rockets built from plastic straws, and rented Space Shuttle films from Blockbuster to satisfy my curiosities. While I chased down answers to questions as limitless as the universe, I fell in love with learning. Eight journals later, the same relentless curiosity brought me to an airplane descending on San Francisco Bay.

“I wish I had infinite sunsets” – July 2019

I reach for the charcoal notepad near the top of the pile and open to the first page: my flight to the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes. While I was excited to explore bioengineering, anxiety twisted in my stomach as I imagined my destination, unsure of whether I could overcome my shyness and connect with others.

With each new conversation, the sweat on my palms became less noticeable, and I met students from 23 different countries. Many of the moments where I challenged myself socially revolved around the third story deck of the Jerry house. A strange medley of English, Arabic, and Mandarin filled the summer air as my friends and I gathered there every evening, and dialogues at sunset soon became moments of bliss. In our conversations about cultural differences, the possibility of an afterlife, and the plausibility of far-fetched conspiracy theories, I learned to voice my opinion. As I was introduced to different viewpoints, these moments challenged my understanding of the world around me. In my final entries from California, I find excitement to learn from others and increased confidence, a tool that would later allow me to impact my community.

“The beauty in a tower of cans” – June 2020

Returning my gaze to the stack of journals, I stretch to take the floral-patterned book sitting on top. I flip through, eventually finding the beginnings of the organization I created during the outbreak of COVID-19. Since then, Door-to-Door Deliveries has woven its way through my entries and into reality, allowing me to aid high-risk populations through free grocery delivery.

With the confidence I gained the summer before, I took action when seeing others in need rather than letting my shyness hold me back. I reached out to local churches and senior centers to spread word of our services and interacted with customers through our website and social media pages. To further expand our impact, we held two food drives, and I mustered the courage to ask for donations door-to-door. In a tower of canned donations, I saw the value of reaching out to help others and realized my own potential to impact the world around me.

I delicately close the journal in my hands, smiling softly as the memories reappear, one after another. Reaching under my bed, I pull out a fresh notebook and open to its first sheet. I lightly press my pen to the page, “And so begins the next chapter…”

The structuring of this essay makes it easy and enjoyable to read. The student effectively organizes their various life experiences around their tower of journals, which centers the reader and makes the different stories easy to follow. Additionally, the student engages quotes from their journals—and unique formatting of the quotes—to signal that they are moving in time and show us which memory we should follow them to.

Thematically, the student uses the idea of shyness to connect the different memories they draw out of their journals. As the student describes their experiences overcoming shyness at the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes and Door-to-Door Deliveries, this essay can be read as an Overcoming Obstacles essay.

At the end of this essay, readers are fully convinced that this student is dedicated (they have committed to journaling every day), thoughtful (journaling is a thoughtful process and, in the essay, the student reflects thoughtfully on the past), and motivated (they flew across the country for a summer program and started a business). These are definitely qualities admissions officers are looking for in applicants!

Although this essay is already exceptionally strong as it’s written, the first journal entry feels out of place compared to the other two entries that discuss the author’s shyness and determination. It works well for the essay to have an entry from when the student was younger to add some humor (with misspelled words) and nostalgia, but if the student had either connected the quote they chose to the idea of overcoming a fear present in the other two anecdotes or if they had picked a different quote all together related to their shyness, it would have made the entire essay feel more cohesive.

Where to Get Your Personal Statement Edited

Do you want feedback on your personal statement? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Next Step: Supplemental Essays

Essay Guides for Each School

How to Write a Stellar Extracurricular Activity College Essay

4 Tips for Writing a Diversity College Essay

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, tell us about yourself essay examples.

I'm applying to some scholarships, and some of them have a 'tell us about yourself' essay prompt. I'm a little unsure of where to start and how to structure this essay. Can anyone share some examples or tips on how I can write an engaging, effective essay without sounding cliché or braggy?

Sure, I can provide some guidance on structuring a "tell us about yourself" essay and provide tips on making it engaging and effective without sounding cliché or braggy.

1. Start with an attention-grabbing hook: Open your essay with a brief anecdote, piece of dialogue, or thought-provoking statement that reveals something interesting about you.

Example: "As I stood on the roof of my family's house in [hometown], peering through my homemade telescope, I was struck by the vastness of the night sky."

2. Focus on a specific aspect of yourself: Rather than trying to cover every aspect of your life, pick a theme or personal characteristic that plays a major role in your interests, experiences, and goals.

Example: "My curiosity about the universe and the natural world led me to volunteer at a local science center, where I conducted hands-on experiments with visitors of all ages."

3. Provide a brief background: Give some context to the topic you're discussing, such as your upbringing, community, or family background, if it's relevant to the theme.

Example: "Growing up in a small, rural town, I didn't have the same access to resources and educational opportunities as kids in larger cities, but my determination to learn about the world around me never waned."

4. Showcase your growth and accomplishments: Talk about specific experiences, achievements, or events that shaped your development, values, or interests. Be humble but honest about your achievements, and focus on how they've impacted your growth rather than dwelling on the awards themselves.

Example: "Despite the challenges, I pursued my passion for astronomy and managed to secure a coveted summer internship at a renowned observatory, where I worked alongside professionals and contributed to a research project."

5. Connect your past experiences to your future goals: Explain how the things you've learned and accomplished thus far have motivated and prepared you for your future academic and career aspirations.

Example: "My experiences have confirmed my passion for science and astronomy, leading me to pursue a degree in astrophysics and dedicate myself to researching the mysteries of our universe."

6. Close with a memorable statement: Finish your essay by leaving a lasting impression on the reader, perhaps by tying back to your opening hook or sharing an inspiring thought.

Example: "As I continue to explore the cosmos, both academically and personally, I'll never forget those nights spent stargazing in my hometown and the curiosity that propelled me forward."

Remember, a well-rounded and engaging "tell us about yourself" essay will focus on a specific aspect or theme, be genuine and personal, and effectively showcase your growth and future aspirations. Good luck with your scholarship applications!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life

500 Words Essay On Memorable Day of My Life

We have different types of days in our lives, some are ordinary while some are special. There are some days that get etched in our memories forever. Likewise, I also have a memorable day of my life that is very dear to me. The memories of this day are engraved in my heart and will remain so forever.

My Birthday- Memorable Day of My Life

My tenth birthday is the most memorable day of my life. It is a day I can never forget and I consider it to be the best birthday yet. The day started just like any other normal day. However, as it kept progressing, a lot of exciting things began to happen.

I woke up very early on my birthday because I had to dress up in casual clothes for school . The day before, all my candies were ready that I would distribute in the classroom.

My mother prepared my favourite breakfast and gave me a big chocolate bar for lunch as well. I went to school and the whole class sang for me and congratulated me. It was the turn to distribute sweets.

My best friend and I went to all the teachers to distribute toffees and we had a great time there. Moreover, it was an incredible feeling. My friends were all singing for me and eager to come to my birthday party later in the evening.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

My Birthday Party

The birthday at my school was memorable but the birthday party at my home made the day even more memorable. Also, my mother invited all my friends from school and the colony to the party.

I received so many presents and we played a lot of games. We played games like musical chairs, tag, egg-and-spoon races, and more. There were so many songs playing so everyone did a special dance too.

The highlight of my birthday party was definitely my huge birthday cake. As I love superheroes, my mother got the cake customized with the superhero theme. It was very tasty too and in my favourite flavour.

I spent a lot of time with my family and friends that day. Everyone liked the return gifts as well and went home with a big smile on their faces.

Conclusion of Essay on Memorable Day of My Life

Therefore, my tenth birthday is the most memorable day of my life. It has given me so many happy memories that will remain with me forever. That day makes me feel blessed and lucky to have all those things in my life.

FAQ on Essay on Memorable Day of My Life

Question 1: What is the meaning of a memorable day?

Answer 1:   When we say memorable, we refer to something that we cannot forget easily or something that left us excited. A memorable day is a day that one can recall easily as it is engraved in the memory.

Question 2: What can be an example of a memorable day?

Answer 2: Some people consider their birthday to be the most memorable day. While some consider it a family trip too. Similarly, some people may find their school picnic or fete to be the most memorable day.

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