Lesson 6 of 8
How to End a Paragraph
End a paragraph with a last and linking sentence: it closes your idea and comes back to your topic sentence without starting anything new.
Key idea: close the idea and link back to your topic. Don't start anything new.
T: Last week, I went to Lummi Island and stayed with friends.
L: Lummi Island is amazing and I can't wait to go back.
Still about visiting Lummi Island. That's the link.
- Two names, two jobs. It's the last sentence, and it links back to the topic sentence.
- Linking means you're still on topic. If the end is about a new idea, rethink it or start over.
- Linking isn't copying. Come back to the topic without repeating the topic sentence word for word.
- Don't get lost in the sauce. Close the idea instead of adding one more detail.
Watch me explain itThe 4:33 to 5:05 section of my full T.E.D.L. video.
What a last sentence is not
The topic sentence pasted at the end. The reader learns nothing new.
"The food bank also needs weekday volunteers." That opens a new paragraph.
"In conclusion, that is my paragraph." Close the idea instead.
A detail at the end leaves the paragraph hanging open.
Sentence frames
- That's why ______.
- So, ______.
- Now, ______.
- ______ shows that ______. (reading questions)
Same job, three places
T: Making pizza is my favorite pastime.
So if you don't know how to make pizza, you should ask me to show you how.
T: Maria changes from a shy new student into someone who speaks up for her friends.
Maria's choice to defend Ana shows how far she has come since her first day.
T: I'm writing to ask for Friday afternoon off.
Thank you for considering my request. Everything will be covered before I leave.
Round 1: Links back, copies or new idea?
Topic sentence: My first job taught me how to talk to strangers. Label each possible last sentence.
My first job taught me how to talk to strangers.
Those conversations are why I'm not nervous at job interviews now.
The store closed last year, which made the whole neighborhood sad.
Now I can start a conversation with almost anyone.
Round 2: Choose the best last sentence
T: Volunteering at the food bank taught me to stay calm under pressure. E: On my first Saturday, a truck showed up an hour early with three hundred boxes. D: Nobody panicked. The shift leader split us into teams, and we had everything on the shelves before the doors opened.
Finish your paragraph
Here's what you have:
Read your topic sentence again. Come back to that idea without copying it.
Check it:
Your whole paragraph
Want a teacher to read your writing?
Take the free 12-minute English test. It ends with a short paragraph, and I read every one and follow up with what I noticed.