How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your writing, and it holds significant weight. It allows you to leave a lasting impression on the reader. But how to write a conclusion that effectively summarizes your points and resonates with your audience? 

This article will guide you through the process of crafting a strong conclusion paragraph, step by step. Our term paper writers will break down the key elements and provide clear examples to illustrate each point. By following these steps and referencing the examples, you'll be well on your way to writing impactful conclusions that leave your reader feeling satisfied and informed.

What Is a Conclusion

Conclusion in an essay is the final paragraph or section that wraps up the main points and provides closure to the piece.

Imagine it as the bridge that connects your ideas to a broader significance. A well-crafted conclusion does more than simply summarize; it elevates your points and offers a sense of closure, ensuring the reader leaves with a clear understanding of your argument's impact. In the next section, you will find conclusion ideas that you could use for your essay.

Want to Have Better Grades?

Address to our professionals and get your task done asap!

How to Write a Conclusion

A powerful conclusion not only summarizes but also reinforces your message and leaves a lasting impression. Here's a breakdown of how to write a conclusion for an essay:

  • Restate Your Thesis: Briefly remind the reader of your central point. Don't simply copy and paste your thesis statement, but rephrase it using different words.
  • Summarize Key Points: Revisit the main arguments or evidence you presented throughout your writing. This reminds the reader of the journey you took them on and ensures they grasp the core takeaways.
  • Avoid Introducing New Information: The conclusion is not the place to introduce brand new ideas. Stick to summarizing and reinforcing the existing points.
  • End on a Strong Note: Go beyond a simple summary. You can add a final thought, pose a question to spark further reflection, or highlight the significance of your topic.

Read more: Persuasive essay outline . 

The Purpose of a Conclusion

As you already understand, the conclusion paragraph serves a critical function in your writing. It serves as a final push to solidify your message in your readers’ minds. It's also your opportunity to:

  • Remind the reader of your central point (thesis) and the key arguments or evidence used to support it. 
  • Use this space to offer a final thought, pose a question that prompts further pondering, or emphasize the significance of your topic.

Remember, a concluding paragraph should NOT:

  • Introduce New Information: The conclusion is not the place for brand new ideas. Its purpose lies in wrapping up and reinforcing what you've already established.
  • Stray from the Thesis: Don't introduce arguments or evidence not discussed earlier in your writing. Maintain focus on the core message you've been building throughout your work.

How Long Should a Conclusion Paragraph Be

Generally, the ideal length depends on the overall length and complexity of your essay. However, it is not the sole factor. A well-written conclusion of 3 sentences can be far more effective than a rambling one that drags on for multiple paragraphs. 

Here are some general guidelines can help you achieve a balance when writing a conclusion:

  • In most cases, you can effectively summarize your points and leave a lasting impression within 3-5 sentences.
  • Prioritize delivering a clear and impactful message over unnecessary elaboration.
  • Proportion matters. A lengthy research paper might warrant a slightly longer conclusion (think 5-7 sentences) to adequately address all the main points. Conversely, a shorter piece like a blog post might require a more concise conclusion (2-4 sentences).

Conclusion Transition Words

The right transition word can smoothly bridge the gap between your main body of text and your conclusion. Here are some transition words for conclusion categorized by their purpose:

Category 🔖 Phrases 💬
Summarizing 📝 In conclusion, To summarize, In essence, Overall, On the whole
Looking Ahead ⏩ As a result, Consequently, Therefore, Hence, Thus
Emphasizing Significance 🌟 More importantly, Even more so, It is crucial to remember that, Undoubtedly
Offering a Final Thought 🧐 In closing, Finally, To conclude, Ultimately
Shifting to a Call to Action 📣 For this reason, With this in mind, Let us now consider, In light of the above

7 Tips for Writing a Conclusion

Having grasped the core functions and structure of a conclusion paragraph, let's check out some practical tips to elevate your closing statements. Here are 7 effective strategies to consider from our dissertation writer :

7 Tips for Writing a Conclusion

  • Vary Your Sentence Structure: Avoid a monotonous string of simple sentences. Use a mix of sentence structures (short, long, complex) to create a more engaging rhythm.
  • Connect to the Introduction: For a cohesive feel, subtly tie your conclusion back to your introduction. You can reference an opening question you posed or revisit a key image you mentioned. Consider this tip especially when unsure how to start a conclusion.
  • Embrace Figurative Language (Sparingly): There are different conclusion ideas but a well-placed metaphor or simile can help leave a lasting impression. However, use figurative language strategically and avoid clichés.
  • Appeal to the Reader's Emotions: Did your writing highlight a pressing issue? Consider evoking emotions relevant to your topic when you want to know how to write a conclusion paragraph that tugs at the reader's heartstrings.
  • Consider a Quote (if Relevant): A powerful quote from a credible source can add authority and depth to your essay conclusion. Ensure the quote aligns with your thesis and enhances your message.
  • End with a Strong Call to Action (Optional): If your purpose is to persuade or inspire action, conclude with a clear call to action. Tell your reader exactly what you want them to do next.
  • Proofread and Revise: Just like any other part of your writing, proofread your conclusion carefully. Ensure clarity and a smooth flow between your main body of text and the closing statement.

By this time, you already know how to write a conclusion for an essay. However, if you still need further guidance, buy essay from our expert writers anytime!

Do’s and Don’ts of Essay Conclusion

Let's now look at some simple tips from our online paper writing service to help you avoid common mistakes when writing a conclusion.

Dos ✅ Don'ts ❌
Remind reader of main idea Don't retell everything
Briefly touch on main arguments or evidence. Don't bring up new ideas
Offer a final thought, question, or highlight the topic's importance. Don't go off on tangents
Tailor your conclusion to resonate with your reader. Don't use tired phrases. Be original, avoid clichés.
Leave a lasting impression with a powerful statement, question, or call to action (if needed). Don't end abruptly

Conclusion Paragraph Examples

Here are three conclusion paragraph examples showcasing how powerful closings are crafted.

Recommended for reading: Nursing essay examples .

In closing, a strong conclusion is a must-have for any piece of writing. It reminds your reader of your main point and leaves them with a lasting impression. Here are some key things to reflect on how to write a good conclusion:

  • Restate your thesis in a fresh way.
  • Mention your key arguments.
  • Leave a lasting thought or question.
  • Consider your audience and tailor your ending to them.
  • End with a strong statement.

Remember, a good conclusion is not merely about wrapping things up but rather about making your writing truly impactful.

Need Help with Your Essays?

Our service is the best assistant the money can buy – original and reliable. 

How To Write A Conclusion For An Essay?

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

Daniel Parker

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

  • Updated writing tips.
  • Added informative tables.
  • Added conclusion example.
  • Added an article conclusion.
  • Essay Conclusions | UMGC. (n.d.). University of Maryland Global Campus. https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/writing/essay-conclusions
  • How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay | BestColleges. (n.d.). BestColleges.com. https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/how-to-write-a-conclusion/
  • Ending the Essay: Conclusions | Harvard College Writing Center. (n.d.). https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions

Narrative Poem Guide

Encyclopedia

Writing with artificial intelligence, conclusions – how to write compelling conclusions.

  • © 2023 by Jennifer Janechek - IBM Quantum

Table of Contents

Conclusions generally address these issues:

  • How can you restate your ideas concisely and in a new way?
  • What have you left your reader to think about at the end of your paper?
  • How does your paper answer the “so what?” question?

As the last part of the paper, conclusions often get the short shrift. We instructors know (not that we condone it)—many students devote a lot less attention to the writing of the conclusion. Some students might even finish their conclusion thirty minutes before they have to turn in their papers. But even if you’re practicing desperation writing, don’t neglect your conclusion; it’s a very integral part of your paper.

Think about it: Why would you spend so much time writing your introductory material and your body paragraphs and then kill the paper by leaving your reader with a dud for a conclusion? Rather than simply trailing off at the end, it’s important to learn to construct a compelling conclusion—one that both reiterates your ideas and leaves your reader with something to think about.

How do I reiterate my main points?

In the first part of the conclusion, you should spend a brief amount of time summarizing what you’ve covered in your paper. This reiteration should not merely be a restatement of your thesis or a collection of your topic sentences but should be a condensed version of your argument, topic, and/or purpose.

Let’s take a look at an example reiteration from a paper about offshore drilling:

Ideally, a ban on all offshore drilling is the answer to the devastating and culminating environmental concerns that result when oil spills occur. Given the catastrophic history of three major oil spills, the environmental and economic consequences of offshore drilling should now be obvious.

Now, let’s return to the thesis statement in this paper so we can see if it differs from the conclusion:

As a nation, we should reevaluate all forms of offshore drilling, but deep water offshore oil drilling, specifically, should be banned until the technology to stop and clean up oil spills catches up with our drilling technology. Though some may argue that offshore drilling provides economic advantages and would lessen our dependence on foreign oil, the environmental and economic consequences of an oil spill are so drastic that they far outweigh the advantages.

The author has already discussed environmental/economic concerns with oil drilling. In the above example, the author provides an overview of the paper in the second sentence of the conclusion, recapping the main points and reminding the readers that they should now be willing to acknowledge this position as viable.

Though you may not always want to take this aggressive of an approach (i.e., saying something should be obvious to the reader), the key is to summarize your main ideas without “plagiarizing” by repeating yourself word for word. Instead, you may take the approach of saying, “The readers can now see, given the catastrophic history of three major oil spills, the environmental and economic consequences of oil drilling.”

Can you give me a real-life example of a conclusion?

Think of conclusions this way: You are watching a movie, which has just reached the critical plot point (the murderer will be revealed, the couple will finally kiss, the victim will be rescued, etc.), when someone else enters the room. This person has no idea what is happening in the movie. They might lean over to ask, “What’s going on?” You now have to condense the entire plot in a way that makes sense, so the person will not have to ask any other questions, but quickly, so that you don’t miss any more of the movie.

Your conclusion in a paper works in a similar way. When you write your conclusion, imagine that a person has just showed up in time to hear the last paragraph. What does that reader need to know in order to get the gist of your paper? You cannot go over the entire argument again because the rest of your readers have actually been present and listening the whole time. They don’t need to hear the details again. Writing a compelling conclusion usually relies on the balance between two needs: give enough detail to cover your point, but be brief enough to make it obvious that this is the end of the paper.

Remember that reiteration is not restatement. Summarize your paper in one to two sentences (or even three or four, depending on the length of the paper), and then move on to answering the “So what?” question.

How can I answer the “So what?” question?

The bulk of your conclusion should answer the “So what?” question. Have you ever had an instructor write “So what?” at the end of your paper? This is not meant to offend but rather to remind you to show readers the significance of your argument. Readers do not need or want an entire paragraph of summary, so you should craft some new tidbit of interesting information that serves as an extension of your original ideas.

There are a variety of ways that you can answer the “So what?” question. The following are just a few types of such “endnotes”:

The Call to Action

The call to action can be used at the end of a variety of papers, but it works best for persuasive papers. Persuasive papers include social action papers and Rogerian argument essays, which begin with a problem and move toward a solution that serves as the author’s thesis. Any time your purpose in writing is to change your readers’ minds or you want to get your readers to do something, the call to action is the way to go. The call to action asks your readers, after having progressed through a compelling and coherent argument, to do something or believe a certain way.

Following the reiteration of the essay’s argument, here is an example call to action:

We have advanced technology that allows deepwater offshore drilling, but we lack the similarly advanced technology that would manage these spills effectively. As such, until cleanup and prevention technology are available, we gatekeepers of our coastal shores and defenders of marine wildlife should ban offshore drilling, or, at the very least, demand a moratorium on all offshore oil drilling.

This call to action requests that the readers consider a ban on offshore drilling. Remember, you need to identify your audience before you begin writing. Whether the author wants readers to actually enact the ban or just to come to this side of the argument, the conclusion asks readers to do or believe something new based upon the information they just received.

The Contextualization

The contextualization places the author’s local argument, topic, or purpose in a more global context so that readers can see the larger purpose for the piece or where the piece fits into a larger conversation. Writers do research for papers in part so they can enter into specific conversations, and they provide their readers with a contextualization in the conclusion to acknowledge the broader dialogue that contains that smaller conversation.

For instance, if we were to return to the paper on offshore drilling, rather than proposing a ban (a call to action), we might provide the reader with a contextualization:

We have advanced technology that allows deepwater offshore drilling, but we lack the advanced technology that would manage these spills effectively. Thus, one can see the need to place environmental concerns at the forefront of the political arena. Many politicians have already done so, including Senator Doe and Congresswoman Smith.

Rather than asking readers to do or believe something, this conclusion answers the “So what?” question by showing why this specific conversation about offshore drilling matters in the larger conversation about politics and environmentalism.

The twist leaves readers with a contrasting idea to consider. For instance, to continue the offshore drilling paper, the author might provide readers with a twist in the last few lines of the conclusion:

While offshore drilling is certainly an important issue today, it is only a small part of the greater problem of environmental abuse. Until we are ready to address global issues, even a moratorium on offshore drilling will only delay the inevitable destruction of the environment.

While this contrasting idea does not negate the writer’s original argument, it does present an alternative contrasting idea to weigh against the original argument. The twist is similar to a cliffhanger, as it is intended to leave readers saying, “Hmm…”

Suggest Possibilities for Future Research

This approach to answering “So what?” is best for projects that might be developed into larger, ongoing projects later or to suggest possibilities for future research someone else who might be interested in that topic could explore. This approach involves pinpointing various directions which your research might take if someone were to extend the ideas included in your paper. Research is a conversation, so it’s important to consider how your piece fits into this conversation and how others might use it in their own conversations.

For example, to suggest possibilities for future research based on the paper on offshore drilling, the conclusion might end with something like this:

I have just explored the economic and environmental repercussions of offshore drilling based on the examples we have of three major oil spills over the past thirty years. Future research might uncover more economic and environmental consequences of offshore drilling, consequences that will become clearer as the effects of the BP oil spill become more pronounced and as more time passes.

Suggesting opportunities for future research involves the reader in the paper, just like the call to action. Readers may be inspired by your brilliant ideas to use your piece as a jumping-off point!

Whether you use a call to action, a twist, a contextualization, or a suggestion of future possibilities for research, it’s important to answer the “So what?” question to keep readers interested in your topic until the very end of the paper. And, perhaps more importantly, leaving your readers with something to consider makes it more likely that they will remember your piece of writing.

Revise your own argument by using the following questions to guide you:

  • What do you want readers to take away from your discussion?
  • What are the main points you made, why should readers care, and what ideas should they take away?

Brevity - Say More with Less

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Diction

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

Simplicity

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Unity

Recommended

Student engrossed in reading on her laptop, surrounded by a stack of books

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

You cannot climb a mountain without a plan / John Read

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Credibility & Authority – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Research, Speech & Writing

How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Image of a colorful page with a big question in the center, "What is Page Design?"

Page Design – How to Design Messages for Maximum Impact

Suggested edits.

  • Please select the purpose of your message. * - Corrections, Typos, or Edits Technical Support/Problems using the site Advertising with Writing Commons Copyright Issues I am contacting you about something else
  • Your full name
  • Your email address *
  • Page URL needing edits *
  • Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

  • Joseph M. Moxley

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

Grammar

Grammar refers to the rules that inform how people and discourse communities use language (e.g., written or spoken English, body language, or visual language) to communicate. Learn about the rhetorical...

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about...

Writing Studies

Writing Studies

Writing studies refers to an interdisciplinary community of scholars and researchers who study writing. Writing studies also refers to an academic, interdisciplinary discipline – a subject of study. Students in...

Featured Articles

Student engrossed in reading on her laptop, surrounded by a stack of books

Business growth

Marketing tips

16 call to action examples (and how to write an effective CTA)

A hero image with an icon of a cursor clicking a CTA button and a line graph

What comes to mind when I try to think of a powerful CTA (call to action) is the one my dad expertly executed by bellowing at me daily to get a job . Fresh from a college experience that promised the world but mainly delivered a mountain of student debt, I was under the assumption that adulthood was supposed to be full of quirky adventures and unexpected meet-cutes, not unsolicited career advice from a man who still struggles to connect to Bluetooth.

Eventually, his CTA successfully motivated me to become a productive member of society. And that's the power of a compelling CTA—it jolts you out of your passiveness and into action. In my case, I got a job despite a lifelong belief that work is something to avoid unless absolutely necessary. (Look at me now, Dad!) 

Just as personal CTAs can lead to transformative life decisions, marketing CTAs have the potential to significantly impact user engagement and conversion. Want to craft your own magnetic calls to action? Keep reading for tips and examples of what makes great CTAs, well, great.

Table of contents:

What is a call to action (CTA)?

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt or message, typically formatted as a button or link, that encourages the audience to take a specific and immediate action.

A CTA on SurveyMonkey's home page that says "Create survey"

CTAs are commonly used in marketing and sales contexts to guide users toward the next step in their journey, whether that's purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, or forwarding that chain email to all of their friends to avoid eight years of bad luck. Some common call to action examples include:

Add to cart

Types of CTAs

Here's a primer on some of the most common CTA types.

Encourages users to fill out a form, providing their information for various purposes

Contact page, request for quote page, or as part of lead generation forms

"Get a free quote"

Invites users to explore further content by clicking on a link or button

End of blog posts, related articles sections, or teasers

"Want to learn more? Click here to read the full article"

Directs users to a page or section highlighting the key features of a product or service

Homepage, product pages, or service descriptions

"Discover the key features that make our new smartphone stand out"

Encourages users to share content or products on their social media platforms

Near the content being shared, such as articles, images, or videos

"Share this amazing deal on Facebook"

Guides potential customers toward making a purchase after they've shown interest or engaged with your content

Product pages, shopping carts, or as part of drip marketing campaigns

"Add to cart and enjoy 20% off your first purchase"

Used to seal the deal or complete a transaction, often found in the final steps of the checkout process

Product pages, checkout pages, or limited-time offer banners

"Limited stock available. Buy now to secure your item!"

Promotes an upcoming event and encourages users to register or learn more about it

Event's landing page, email invitations, or display banners

"Register for our webinar"

Suggests other relevant content to keep users engaged and exploring your website

End of articles, blog posts, or in related articles sections

"Explore more on this topic"

What makes a call to action button effective?

The effectiveness of a CTA depends on its copy, design, placement, and relevance to the user. For example, depending on your audience, the phrase "Snag your copy" might resonate with a larger group than something more generic, like "Download now." Or, if someone visiting your e-Commerce store is a first-time browser, they're likely not ready to click "Buy now." But they might be curious enough to click "Learn more."

Identify which action(s) will bring the most value to your business, then use your CTA to steer users in the right direction.

an illustrated cheatsheet with examples of popular CTA buttons on the lefthand side and catchy alternatives on the righthand side

Why CTAs are important

Calls to action are important because they give your audience a clear sense of direction. Instead of wondering what to do now that they've clicked through every angle of a model wearing a denim jacket they think would look good on them, the "Add to cart" button gently nudges them one step closer to a sale. 

But there's an art to writing a compelling CTA. Too pushy and you'll drive visitors away; too casual and your visitors might not be compelled to take immediate action. You need to strike the right balance for your audience.

16 call to action examples (and why they work)

Let's dissect some real-life CTA examples to learn how to use strategic copy, design, and placement to transform an ordinary CTA into a magnetic, can't-resist-clicking force.

1. JD + Kate Industries

Screenshot of a JD + Kate Industries CTA that says "Wait you forgot to buy hundreds of candles" and a place to enter an email address

CTA placement: Exit intent popup

CTA type: Lead to purchase

What it does right: Attention-grabbing, offers a valuable incentive, humorous and lighthearted

The brazen use of "WAIT" isn't a gentle suggestion; it's a command. Like someone grabbing your elbow just as you're about to duck out without a goodbye. It's intrusive, but in a way that makes you think, "Alright, what did I miss?"

Combine that with the sheer audacity of telling someone they've forgotten to buy not just one candle but HUNDREDS of candles. It's dramatic, it's over-the-top, and frankly, it's memorable. With copy like that, it's hard to resist giving away your email address because one can only wonder what their emails would be like.

2. Giftwrap.ai

Screenshot of a giftwrap.ai display ad where the reader can select categories for Valentine's Day gift ideas

CTA placement: Display ad

CTA type: Lead generation

What it does right: Engaging, personalized, visually appealing

It's refreshing to see something that doesn't pretend to know you better than you know yourself. Instead of telling you what your significant other might want, it's asking you to fill in the blanks. A little bit of personalization without the personal touch. Clever, really.

As for the CTA button, the emoji is a nice touch. Plus, the use of "show" rather than "buy" or "see" is like a little magic trick. "Voila! Here are your gift options."

3. Who Gives A Crap

Screenshot of a Who Gives a Crap Facebook ad with a purple background comparing competitor brands to Who Gives a Crap toilet paper

CTA placement: Facebook ad

What it does right: Benefit-oriented language makes the CTA more appealing to users and encourages them to take action 

By comparing "Us" and "Them," they're not only offering a quantitative argument (385 sheets versus a paltry 299), but they're also injecting a bit of humor. And while I've never been one to count sheets, if you're telling me I get more for my money and it'll look cute next to my collection of HUNDREDS of candles, I'm sold. Also, describing the competitor as "objectively very boring" is a sentiment I've often used to describe my social life, but to see it on toilet paper? Well, that's something.

"28% cheaper than Charmin," followed by a "Shop Now" button isn't just a call to action; it's a call to revolution! A revolution of, well, saving on toilet paper and perhaps bringing a touch of flair to a decidedly unglamorous aspect of life.

Screenshot of the header on Ahrefs' homepage that says "Everything you need to rank higher and get more traffic" on a blue background

CTA placement: Homepage header

What it does right: Creates curiosity, addresses pain points, social proof

There's something oddly reassuring about a direct, no-nonsense headline promising exactly what every website on this overcrowded internet wants: visibility.

The name-dropping of heavy-hitter customers serves as a strong endorsement. It's not saying, "Look who trusts us," but rather, "Look who you'd be in company with." And that "17,961 users joined Ahrefs in the last 7 days" is a nice touch. It's not boastful, but it's certainly not modest. It's a subtle prod to the undecided that says, "While you're contemplating, thousands have already decided."

This CTA is a perfect blend of self-assuredness, social proof, and just the right amount of peer pressure.

5. Ruggable

Screenshot of a Ruggable email that says "Final hours to save until Black Friday" on a black background

CTA placement: eCommerce email

CTA type: Limited-time offer

What it does right: Straightforward, creates a sense of urgency, sparks curiosity

There's something unapologetically direct about this ad. "Final hours to save until next week Black Friday"—it's not asking you, it's telling you. Time's running out, and if you're the type who thrives on the thrill of a last-minute decision, this is your moment.

The CTA is a master class in suspense. That "% OFF" lurking behind the button is like when someone says they've got news, but they'll tell you later—except instead of being left alone with your intrusive thoughts, conjuring up worst-case scenarios, you get a sweet discount on a cute, machine-washable rug.

Screenshot of Hey's homepage header that says "Email's new heyday" on a white background

CTA type: Product demo

What it does right: Solution-oriented, benefit-driven, relatable

"Email sucked for years. Not anymore—we fixed it." You mean that thing everyone's been complaining about since the dawn of the internet? It's about time, and I'm all ears.

The rest of the copy succinctly addresses customer pain points and aspirational desires. It paints a picture of a world where checking your email might feel more like reading a postcard from a friend rather than sifting through a pile of bills.

The CTA button, "See how HEY works," is straightforward. No flowery language, no over-the-top promises. Just a simple invitation.

7. Big Blanket Co

Screenshot of a Big Blanket Co. Facebook ad showing someone lying on a red, white, and blue blanket

What it does right: Creates a sense of urgency, visually appealing, reassuring

The urgency of "limited quantities available...Reserve yours now before it's too late" is classic retail psychology. It's both an announcement and a challenge, like when a kid hears the whistle signaling the end of adult swim and races to be the first one to cannonball into the pool.

The "Limited Restock [Massive 10'x10' Blankets] 100 Night Guarantee + Free Shipping" is the clincher. It promises a combination of rarity, quality, reliability, and convenience, like a call to action Megazord.

Screenshot of Airhelp's homepage header that says "Did you have a delayed or canceled flight?" on a white background

What it does right: Addresses pain points, benefit-oriented, actionable

The genius of this homepage lies not just in its promises but in its initial question—a direct prod at the pain point of its target audience that immediately evokes a visceral response. Most, if not all, travelers will mentally answer "yes" to this, recalling their own airport nightmares. It's a calculated reminder of a situation everyone wants to avoid, making the solution they offer even more enticing.

"Get up to $700 compensation per passenger, no matter the ticket price." The clarity here is commendable. They're not promising the world, but a very tangible, specific amount. And the Trustpilot rating is a nod to credibility. It's like a friend vouching for a restaurant they swear by, but in this case, it's 157,892 friends.

The two fields for the departure and destination airports are a clever touch. It's interactive, pulling me in, like when a quiz promises to tell me which '90s sitcom character I am based on my questionable life choices. (I'm George Costanza.) The button, with its sharp contrast to the rest of the page, effectively captures attention while still aligning with the brand's colors and aesthetic. "Check compensation" offers an inviting, low-effort action, subtly guiding users toward their potential relief without overwhelming them.

In a world where we're constantly sold solutions to problems we didn't know we had, this CTA addresses a very real grievance with a straightforward promise. And in the often convoluted world of travel woes, that's a breath of fresh, cabin-pressurized air.

9. Crazy Egg

Screenshot of Crazy Egg's homepage header that says "Make your website better. Instantly" with a blue box where users can enter their email

What it does right: Actionable, benefit-oriented, simple

Crazy Egg's CTA isn't trying too hard to impress. It's just good—well thought out, concise, and to the point.

First, the headline: "Make your website better. Instantly." A rather bold proclamation but commendably straightforward. Its use of the word "instantly" suggests that Crazy Egg has the answers, and they're not going to waste your time.

The "Show me my Heatmap" CTA button is, once again, admirably direct. It's not pleading for a click or asking for a moment of your time. It's telling you, in no uncertain terms, what's on the other side of that click.

Screenshot of a Zappos email that says "Daily deals at 50% off for a limited time only"

What it does right: Clear and concise, visually appealing, strong call to action verb

First off, big ups to Zappos for not making me do math. Half off? I'm already intrigued and haven't even seen the shoes yet.

"Reveal today's deals" feels like a game show moment. What's behind door number one? A pair of boots? New house slippers? It's that momentary thrill, like unwrapping a gift—even if you end up paying for it yourself.

In an endless sea of emails screaming for attention, this one from Zappos does what it needs to do: it grabs you, shakes you gently by the shoulders, and says, "Hey, want something good for half off?" And in this economy, who can say no?

Screenshot of Uber's landing page header with three different tabs: drive or deliver, eat, and ride

CTA placement: Landing page header

What it does right: Interactive and dynamic, personalized, sparks curiosity

By providing three clear choices (drive or deliver, eat, and ride), Uber shows that they understand and cater to the diverse needs of their users. This personalized approach instantly makes the user feel valued and attended to, whether they need a ride to the airport or just want to stuff their face.

The interactive nature of this dynamic content creates a sense of empowerment and involvement for the user. Even the tens of people unfamiliar with all of Uber's offerings will be intrigued by the distinct options, sparking curiosity and potentially leading them to explore other services beyond their original intention.

12. CareerBuilder

Screenshot of Career Builder's homepage header that says "Find your next job...fast!" with a place to search jobs and upload a resume

What it does right: Clear and concise, click-worthy secondary CTA

"Find your next job…fast!" Who are you, my dad? Although I suppose if someone's clicking their way onto a job-finding website, they're there for one reason: to snag a job, and preferably one that doesn't make them want to put a campfire out with their face.

CareerBuilder doesn't dilly-dally—they allow you to type in your wildly specific and/or desperate job requirements. And who's going to turn down the resume help offered in the secondary CTA? Talk about a lead magnet.

13. Airtable

Screenshot of an Airtable landing page header where readers can input their contact information in exchange for a free ebook

CTA type: Gated content

What it does right: Social proof, sneak preview, clear and concise

You may be wondering why I included a very basic "submit" button in a CTA showcase, but pairing a straightforward button with great supporting elements like the headline, social proof, and sneak preview, is like sipping top-shelf wine from an old jelly jar. Sometimes, the simple stuff just ties everything together.

The large headline is as direct as my comments on whether a hotdog is a sandwich. (It's not.) Aimed at the so-called professionals in campaign planning, it speaks to a certain crowd, much like literally anything speaks to Swifties looking for Taylor's latest Easter egg.

The mention of leading companies like Shopify, Time magazine, Spotify, and Hearst adds credibility and trustworthiness. It's basically saying, "If these giants trust us, maybe you, in your comparatively minuscule existence, should, too."

The bullet list detailing what's inside the eBook provides clarity on the content, letting users know exactly what to expect, including insider tidbits from recognized brands. So, not only do you get smarter, but you also get to casually name-drop at the next girls' night. "I've been implementing campaign planning strategies inspired by Equinox and Taylor Guitars. NBD."

Screenshot of a Max landing page header showing three categories (news, entertainment, and sports) with images of Anderson Cooper, Ketel Marte, and Margot Robbie with Ryan Reynolds

CTA type: Closing the sale

What it does right: Showcases diverse selection, clear and concise, highlights affordability

Max presents an impactful CTA through the Neapolitan ice cream of hero images, featuring Anderson Cooper, Ketel Marte, and Margot Robbie with Ryan Gosling. Collectively, these three flavors depict a panoramic view of Max's offerings, emphasizing a wide variety of choices only rivaled by the Cheesecake Factory menu. 

In a world drowning in content, they've managed, quite succinctly, to sum it all up with "It's all here. Plans start at $9.99/month." The ensuing "Sign up now" button invites visitors to subscribe, anchoring the CTA by providing a straightforward pathway to accessing all the consumable content your heart desires.

15. Adobe Stock

Screenshot of an Adobe ad on Google Search that says "Adobe stock images: Free trial - find the right image faster"

CTA placement: Google Search ad

CTA type: Free trial

What it does right: Benefit-oriented, actionable, relevant to the target audience

This paid search ad nails the CTA with a clear and easy-to-understand message. The headline "Free trial - Find the right image faster" immediately grabs attention by offering a low-risk way to experience the service. It also addresses a common pain point for users, highlighting the platform's efficiency. 

In very few words, Adobe found a way to combine attention-grabbing language, address user concerns, highlight the platform's strengths, and offer a valuable deal, making for a cleverly crafted CTA. If I were into such things, I might even click on it. But I have people for that.

Screenshot of a Zapier email that says "ZConnect is here" with buttons to register

CTA placement: Email

CTA type: Event promotion

What it does right: Multiple engagement opportunities, attention-grabbing, personalized

Much like the free sample stations at Costco, the strategic placement of three CTA buttons ensures the reader has multiple opportunities to engage, regardless of how far they wander (or scroll).

The header image immediately grabs attention with its vibrant graphic detailing key event highlights. This provides a quick snapshot of what to expect and builds anticipation.

Personalizing the body of the email to address readers by name creates a sense of intimacy. Instantly, they're all ears and feeling special.

How to write a call to action

Your calls to action should be unique, specific to where it's featured as well as your particular audience and targets. That said, the best CTAs do share some characteristics that you can apply wherever they may be. 

A CTA on Sprout Social's home page that says "Start Your Free Trial"

If you're looking for one secret to effective CTAs, here it is: give them a reason to click, share, or hand over their email address . More important than the wording, placement, or color of your CTA is the underlying incentive a person has to follow it. How will answering your call to action help them? 

A good call to action restates its benefit bluntly and succinctly. 

If you're offering a discount, remind them what percentage. 

If they're getting a free PDF, mention the words "free" and "PDF." 

If you're using a standard link, typically you write the incentive in your CTA's anchor text (the clickable text). In the case of social media posts and ads, you should reserve the last line in your message for your call to action, so mention any benefits there.

A CTA on Goodtimer that says "Reveal Promo Code"

If you're using a button CTA, you have to limit the number of characters you use, so it's better to add secondary text. While the button can say something basic like "buy now," nearby you should include a line or two to remind visitors about the advantages to clicking. 

Transparency

For starters, say exactly what will happen when you click. Remove all mystery with specifics. For example, saying "start your download automatically" is more descriptive than "click here to download." (For button CTAs, with limited space, you can include secondary text nearby.)

You want to acknowledge any user doubts and assuage their fears. If visitors are worried about security, they're not going to click, so reassure them that you understand their concerns. One of the big fears, in the case of email signups, is spam. You might want to gently remind visitors that you won't share their information and that you'll only email them once a week, twice a month, or whatever the case is, to keep their imagination in check.  

A CTA on the Allbirds website to sign up for their newsletter, with the button text "SIGN UP"

You can build trust just by being upfront about everything from the beginning. You'll find people are more receptive to your CTA pitches when they know precisely what to expect. 

Command and wording

Don't be shy about calls to action! Some people soften their language to avoid being pushy, but CTAs should be strong and unapologetic. After all, if you followed rule #1 (incentive), then what you're offering is beneficial to the visitor. 

That's not to say you should be rude or demanding (please don't); there's a perfect balance somewhere in there between a strong suggestion and a forceful command. Above all, the reader must always feel they have a choice; your call to action is there to convince them of the choice you think they should make. 

Share this post

Join our newsletter

Subscribe for more deals

This makes the statement sound stronger, and at the same time, clearly communicates what the user should do. 

Likewise, avoid wording that weakens your call to action, including "please" (no matter what Grammarly tells you) and modifiers like "could" and "would." There's a time and place for gentle language, but calls to action are not one of them.

A CTA on the Drift home page that says "SEE DRIFT ON YOUR SITE"

Word choice is important to CTAs, not only for making a persuasive argument, but also for fitting the space allotted.

A CTA on the Pack'd home page that says "FIND YOUR FAVOURITE"

They're not foolproof, but in my experience, these words tend to improve CTA performance and the effectiveness of most sales copy. And because most of them are short, you should have no problem fitting them into your CTA space. 

An illustrated chart titled "click-driving call to action formulas" with common formulas on the lefthand side and an example of each on the righthand side

How to design call to action buttons and banners

Now that we've covered the writing, let's talk about how your CTA should look. The design, layout, and typography of your call to action all play major roles in its success. 

CTA design best practices

If you're placing your call to action on a web page or other content you design yourself, you want to place it at the top of your visual hierarchy. Your CTA should be the most noticeable element on the page. To achieve this, you want to pull out all your design tricks:

Contrasting colors: CTAs should generally contrast with the rest of the page's design. Visitors shouldn't have to work to find what to do next. Use a vibrant color for your CTA, especially against a dull background. Can you spot it from six feet away? Good.

Optimal size: Make the button and text larger than the surrounding elements but not so large that it overwhelms other content. It should also be easily clickable, especially on mobile devices.

Clear typography: Use a legible font that complements your brand. Ensure the text is large enough to read but doesn't crowd the button. You can play with typography to emphasize key words. Commonly, operative words like "free" are set in a different color or sometimes even a different font to attract more attention.

Negative space: Surround your call to action with plenty of negative, or empty, space. Setting your CTA apart from the other elements makes it more noticeable and gives it more importance in the eyes of your visitors.

Emoji use: Some brands find success with emojis, but if you choose that approach, remember that a little goes a long way.

Consistent styling: While CTAs should stand out, they should still align with your brand's overall design aesthetic. Consistency in design builds trust.

Call to action testing and iteration

Last but not least, you should evaluate how successful your final call to action is and identify room for improvement. Creating your CTA may feel like a lot of guesswork and shooting in the dark—because it is. Testing it is much more clear cut. 

To get a basic idea of your CTA's performance, take a look at your analytics. Compare the page traffic to the number of conversions, and see what percentage of your total visitors clicked. 

If your conversion rate is significantly lower, it's worth doing an A/B test on your design and copy. Try two different versions of your call to action, experimenting with different phrasing, colors, or fonts, and see which one performs better with your target audience. It's the most efficient way to reveal what works and what doesn't with concrete, empirical data, ensuring your CTA resonates with the target audience and drives the desired action.

Improve your CTAs now, free! 

While my dad's approach might have lacked the finesse of a well-designed button or the allure of clever copy, the sentiment was clear. And that's the heart of every good CTA. Whether you're nudging a visitor to make a purchase or nudging your offspring out of the nest, the principle remains the same. CTAs are about engaging your audience, prompting action, and, occasionally, a very pointed reminder to update your LinkedIn profile.

Related reading:

Get productivity tips delivered straight to your inbox

We’ll email you 1-3 times per week—and never share your information.

Allisa Boulette picture

Allisa Boulette

Based in New England, Allisa is a content marketer and small business owner who hopes to make the internet a more interesting place than she found it. When she’s not working, you can find her lying very still not doing anything.

Related articles

Hero image with an icon of a bar chart

How to measure brand awareness: 9 key metrics to track

How to measure brand awareness: 9 key...

Hero image with an icon representing social media

A social media audit template (and how to use it to perform an audit)

A social media audit template (and how to...

A hero image for Google app tips with the Google logo

How Google AI Overview impacts 20 industries

Hero image with the OpenAI logo

How to use ChatGPT for copywriting and content ideation

How to use ChatGPT for copywriting and...

Improve your productivity automatically. Use Zapier to get your apps working together.

A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'

Logo for BCcampus Open Publishing

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

37 Writing Essay Conclusions

Studies have shown that the human brain is more likely to remember items at the beginnings and at the ends of lists, presentations, and other texts. When people recall the last thing they read or hear, that’s called the “recency effect” because they’re remembering the most recent information they’ve encountered. This is why the last thing you write is so important; it’s your final chance to make an impression on your readers.

What Is the Purpose of a Conclusion?

Conclusions have two jobs:

  • Clarify why your topic matters to them and the larger community (whether that be the class, their neighborhood or the whole wide world).
  • Suggestions for further study.
  • Remind readers of what you have written.

Sometimes the conclusion is called the “So what?” section of the text because it helps readers understand the significance of your subject.

Techniques to Keep Readers Thinking about the Topic at the End of a Piece

Funny enough, some of the same methods that work for the introduction also work for the conclusion. However, the formula is a little different.

A good conclusion = a call to action and/or a connection between the topic and the reader. In other words, because you’re trying to end your piece, you don’t want to start making new claims or sharing new research. Instead, you’ll want to help readers see how they relate to your subject matter. Sometimes this means suggesting that the reader do something specific. That’s a call to action. You can also end by raising questions related to your topic or by making suggestions for how this topic may develop in the future. Leaving readers with interesting ideas to think about is key to a successful conclusion.

The following are some methods and examples for concluding an essay and giving your readers a sense of closure or an idea of what you would like them to think about or do next.

Method : Make a call to action. The goal of a call to action is to prompt readers to do something.

Example : Citizens who agree that music education should be a part of all public schools in the United States can make a difference by writing their representatives, going to a school board meeting, and when a ballot initiative comes around, voting to fund music education.

Method : Ask a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is meant to make people think, but not necessarily come to an answer. Often, the answer to rhetorical questions is clear right away, but the deeper significance needs to be pondered.

Example : Should schools in the U.S. be concerned with the kind of emotional and cognitive development that music education prompts? If we’re interested in educating the whole child, not just the most academic parts of the brain, then the answer is yes, and we have to reconsider our priorities when it comes to school funding.

Method : Share an anecdote or story that will keep the issue in the forefront of the readers’ minds. An interesting snapshot of someone’s life or story about an intriguing character will help humanize the topic and help the readers remember your message. If you used an anecdote or story in the introduction, this is an opportunity to reconnect with that at the end of your piece.

Example : Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton , says that arts education saved his life. He went to an elementary school where the sixth grade put on a famous play every year—everything from Fiddler on the Roof to The Wizard of Oz— but by the time Miranda’s class was in sixth grade, the teachers had run out of plays appropriate for children, so they had the sixth graders write their own musicals in addition to performing all the musicals from the previous years. That four-hour-long musical extravaganza was Miranda’s first experience of writing and acting in his own production (Raskauskas). The opportunity that his teachers provided him turned into a lifelong passion. All students should have that same opportunity to connect with the arts in meaningful ways.

Method : Share a quote by an expert or historical figure. Choose a quote from someone who is well known in a relevant field and who has expertise on your topic. This will lend your conclusion credibility and leave readers with something powerful to consider.

Example : As Oliver Sacks notes in his book Musicophilia , “Rhythm and its entrainment of movement (and often emotion), its power to ‘move’ people, in both senses of the word, may well have had a crucial cultural and economic function in human evolution, bringing people together, producing a sense of collectivity and community” (268). Our schools aim to foster that same sense of community, which is why music must be part of a well rounded education.

Exercise: Strong or Weak Conclusion?

One way to improve your conclusion-writing skills is to look at different choices that other writers make when concluding a topic and to consider what feels satisfying or thought-provoking to you as a reader and what doesn’t. Read the conclusions below about teenagers and decision making. Which ones pull you in? Which ones are less interesting? What’s the difference? Work with peers to decide.

  • Should teens be given complete freedom? Probably not, but a measured level of responsibility helps kids of all ages learn to trust themselves to make good decisions. This is especially important for teens since they will be adults very soon.
  • Parents who want to teach their teenagers to be responsible decision makers can start by talking to their teens regularly about the kinds of decisions their teens are being faced with and allowing teens to make decisions about anything that won’t put them in immediate danger. This may be difficult at first, but the reward will come when parents see their teens feeling more confident in the face of difficult decisions and more ready to face the adult world.
  • As stated above, research shows that the teenage brain isn’t fully matured, so adults should consider this when deciding how much freedom to give them.
  • According to the AACAP, teens are more likely to make decisions based on emotions without thinking first. This means they’re more likely to “engage in dangerous or risky behavior.” Therefore, teens need to be protected until they’re old enough to make thoughtful decisions.
  • Now that Rachael has been given the freedom to make some big decisions in her life, she’s more willing to talk to her parents when she needs advice or isn’t sure about something. Even though she sometimes makes mistakes, her parents trust that she will learn important lessons from those mistakes, and they help her feel supported when she experiences a failure. Raising a teenager isn’t easy, but this family has found a method that’s working for this particular teen.

Exercise: Write a Conclusion

Now that you’ve had an opportunity to think about some different approaches and techniques for writing conclusions, let’s practice. Find an entry in your journal or a draft of a piece of writing you’re working on this term and use what you’ve learned in this section to write a compelling conclusion to your piece.

  • If you don’t currently have a piece to work with, you can write a conclusion using one of the scenarios below. Read through the following list and choose one. Then, practice writing a concluding statement or paragraph on the topic. One to three sentences is enough.
  • Persuade your local school board members that the elementary school should change the way it teaches sex education.
  • Persuade teens to travel to a foreign country before they graduate from college.
  • Give some tips to new parents that will help lower their stress and make their new baby feel safe and loved.
  • Inform young athletes who may want to play football of the possible risks and benefits.
  • Review a movie, book, product, or trip for someone thinking of making one of these purchases to help them decide that they should or shouldn’t do it.

Share your conclusion with your classmates and discuss what about it is effective and how it could be improved.

See the discussion about “Writing Endings” in the “ Writing a First Draft ” section of this text for more on writing conclusions as part of your drafting process.

Text Attributions

  • This chapter was adapted from “ Writing Conclusions ” in The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear, which is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Licence . Adapted by Allison Kilgannon.

Advanced English Copyright © 2021 by Allison Kilgannon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

  • Knowledge Base
  • How to conclude an essay | Interactive example

How to Conclude an Essay | Interactive Example

Published on January 24, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay . A strong conclusion aims to:

  • Tie together the essay’s main points
  • Show why your argument matters
  • Leave the reader with a strong impression

Your conclusion should give a sense of closure and completion to your argument, but also show what new questions or possibilities it has opened up.

This conclusion is taken from our annotated essay example , which discusses the history of the Braille system. Hover over each part to see why it’s effective.

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

upload-your-document-ai-proofreader

Table of contents

Step 1: return to your thesis, step 2: review your main points, step 3: show why it matters, what shouldn’t go in the conclusion, more examples of essay conclusions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay conclusion.

To begin your conclusion, signal that the essay is coming to an end by returning to your overall argument.

Don’t just repeat your thesis statement —instead, try to rephrase your argument in a way that shows how it has been developed since the introduction.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Next, remind the reader of the main points that you used to support your argument.

Avoid simply summarizing each paragraph or repeating each point in order; try to bring your points together in a way that makes the connections between them clear. The conclusion is your final chance to show how all the paragraphs of your essay add up to a coherent whole.

To wrap up your conclusion, zoom out to a broader view of the topic and consider the implications of your argument. For example:

  • Does it contribute a new understanding of your topic?
  • Does it raise new questions for future study?
  • Does it lead to practical suggestions or predictions?
  • Can it be applied to different contexts?
  • Can it be connected to a broader debate or theme?

Whatever your essay is about, the conclusion should aim to emphasize the significance of your argument, whether that’s within your academic subject or in the wider world.

Try to end with a strong, decisive sentence, leaving the reader with a lingering sense of interest in your topic.

The easiest way to improve your conclusion is to eliminate these common mistakes.

Don’t include new evidence

Any evidence or analysis that is essential to supporting your thesis statement should appear in the main body of the essay.

The conclusion might include minor pieces of new information—for example, a sentence or two discussing broader implications, or a quotation that nicely summarizes your central point. But it shouldn’t introduce any major new sources or ideas that need further explanation to understand.

Don’t use “concluding phrases”

Avoid using obvious stock phrases to tell the reader what you’re doing:

  • “In conclusion…”
  • “To sum up…”

These phrases aren’t forbidden, but they can make your writing sound weak. By returning to your main argument, it will quickly become clear that you are concluding the essay—you shouldn’t have to spell it out.

Don’t undermine your argument

Avoid using apologetic phrases that sound uncertain or confused:

  • “This is just one approach among many.”
  • “There are good arguments on both sides of this issue.”
  • “There is no clear answer to this problem.”

Even if your essay has explored different points of view, your own position should be clear. There may be many possible approaches to the topic, but you want to leave the reader convinced that yours is the best one!

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

  • Academic style
  • Vague sentences
  • Style consistency

See an example

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

  • Argumentative
  • Literary analysis

This conclusion is taken from an argumentative essay about the internet’s impact on education. It acknowledges the opposing arguments while taking a clear, decisive position.

The internet has had a major positive impact on the world of education; occasional pitfalls aside, its value is evident in numerous applications. The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. As the popularity of distance learning shows, students value the flexibility and accessibility offered by digital education, and educators should fully embrace these advantages. The internet’s dangers, real and imaginary, have been documented exhaustively by skeptics, but the internet is here to stay; it is time to focus seriously on its potential for good.

This conclusion is taken from a short expository essay that explains the invention of the printing press and its effects on European society. It focuses on giving a clear, concise overview of what was covered in the essay.

The invention of the printing press was important not only in terms of its immediate cultural and economic effects, but also in terms of its major impact on politics and religion across Europe. In the century following the invention of the printing press, the relatively stationary intellectual atmosphere of the Middle Ages gave way to the social upheavals of the Reformation and the Renaissance. A single technological innovation had contributed to the total reshaping of the continent.

This conclusion is taken from a literary analysis essay about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . It summarizes what the essay’s analysis achieved and emphasizes its originality.

By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

  • Ad hominem fallacy
  • Post hoc fallacy
  • Appeal to authority fallacy
  • False cause fallacy
  • Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

  • Choosing Essay Topic
  • Write a College Essay
  • Write a Diversity Essay
  • College Essay Format & Structure
  • Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

  • Grammar Checker
  • Paraphrasing Tool
  • Text Summarizer
  • AI Detector
  • Plagiarism Checker
  • Citation Generator

Your essay’s conclusion should contain:

  • A rephrased version of your overall thesis
  • A brief review of the key points you made in the main body
  • An indication of why your argument matters

The conclusion may also reflect on the broader implications of your argument, showing how your ideas could applied to other contexts or debates.

For a stronger conclusion paragraph, avoid including:

  • Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the main body
  • Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
  • Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion paragraph of an essay is usually shorter than the introduction . As a rule, it shouldn’t take up more than 10–15% of the text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, July 23). How to Conclude an Essay | Interactive Example. Scribbr. Retrieved August 22, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/conclusion/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples, how to write a thesis statement | 4 steps & examples, example of a great essay | explanations, tips & tricks, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Conclusions

What this handout is about.

This handout will explain the functions of conclusions, offer strategies for writing effective ones, help you evaluate conclusions you’ve drafted, and suggest approaches to avoid.

About conclusions

Introductions and conclusions can be difficult to write, but they’re worth investing time in. They can have a significant influence on a reader’s experience of your paper.

Just as your introduction acts as a bridge that transports your readers from their own lives into the “place” of your analysis, your conclusion can provide a bridge to help your readers make the transition back to their daily lives. Such a conclusion will help them see why all your analysis and information should matter to them after they put the paper down.

Your conclusion is your chance to have the last word on the subject. The conclusion allows you to have the final say on the issues you have raised in your paper, to synthesize your thoughts, to demonstrate the importance of your ideas, and to propel your reader to a new view of the subject. It is also your opportunity to make a good final impression and to end on a positive note.

Your conclusion can go beyond the confines of the assignment. The conclusion pushes beyond the boundaries of the prompt and allows you to consider broader issues, make new connections, and elaborate on the significance of your findings.

Your conclusion should make your readers glad they read your paper. Your conclusion gives your reader something to take away that will help them see things differently or appreciate your topic in personally relevant ways. It can suggest broader implications that will not only interest your reader, but also enrich your reader’s life in some way. It is your gift to the reader.

Strategies for writing an effective conclusion

One or more of the following strategies may help you write an effective conclusion:

  • Play the “So What” Game. If you’re stuck and feel like your conclusion isn’t saying anything new or interesting, ask a friend to read it with you. Whenever you make a statement from your conclusion, ask the friend to say, “So what?” or “Why should anybody care?” Then ponder that question and answer it. Here’s how it might go: You: Basically, I’m just saying that education was important to Douglass. Friend: So what? You: Well, it was important because it was a key to him feeling like a free and equal citizen. Friend: Why should anybody care? You: That’s important because plantation owners tried to keep slaves from being educated so that they could maintain control. When Douglass obtained an education, he undermined that control personally. You can also use this strategy on your own, asking yourself “So What?” as you develop your ideas or your draft.
  • Return to the theme or themes in the introduction. This strategy brings the reader full circle. For example, if you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay is helpful in creating a new understanding. You may also refer to the introductory paragraph by using key words or parallel concepts and images that you also used in the introduction.
  • Synthesize, don’t summarize. Include a brief summary of the paper’s main points, but don’t simply repeat things that were in your paper. Instead, show your reader how the points you made and the support and examples you used fit together. Pull it all together.
  • Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research or reading you did for your paper.
  • Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or questions for further study. This can redirect your reader’s thought process and help them to apply your info and ideas to their own life or to see the broader implications.
  • Point to broader implications. For example, if your paper examines the Greensboro sit-ins or another event in the Civil Rights Movement, you could point out its impact on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. A paper about the style of writer Virginia Woolf could point to her influence on other writers or on later feminists.

Strategies to avoid

  • Beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as “in conclusion,” “in summary,” or “in closing.” Although these phrases can work in speeches, they come across as wooden and trite in writing.
  • Stating the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion.
  • Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion.
  • Ending with a rephrased thesis statement without any substantive changes.
  • Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of an analytical paper.
  • Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper.

Four kinds of ineffective conclusions

  • The “That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It” Conclusion. This conclusion just restates the thesis and is usually painfully short. It does not push the ideas forward. People write this kind of conclusion when they can’t think of anything else to say. Example: In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was, as we have seen, a pioneer in American education, proving that education was a major force for social change with regard to slavery.
  • The “Sherlock Holmes” Conclusion. Sometimes writers will state the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. You might be tempted to use this strategy if you don’t want to give everything away too early in your paper. You may think it would be more dramatic to keep the reader in the dark until the end and then “wow” them with your main idea, as in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. The reader, however, does not expect a mystery, but an analytical discussion of your topic in an academic style, with the main argument (thesis) stated up front. Example: (After a paper that lists numerous incidents from the book but never says what these incidents reveal about Douglass and his views on education): So, as the evidence above demonstrates, Douglass saw education as a way to undermine the slaveholders’ power and also an important step toward freedom.
  • The “America the Beautiful”/”I Am Woman”/”We Shall Overcome” Conclusion. This kind of conclusion usually draws on emotion to make its appeal, but while this emotion and even sentimentality may be very heartfelt, it is usually out of character with the rest of an analytical paper. A more sophisticated commentary, rather than emotional praise, would be a more fitting tribute to the topic. Example: Because of the efforts of fine Americans like Frederick Douglass, countless others have seen the shining beacon of light that is education. His example was a torch that lit the way for others. Frederick Douglass was truly an American hero.
  • The “Grab Bag” Conclusion. This kind of conclusion includes extra information that the writer found or thought of but couldn’t integrate into the main paper. You may find it hard to leave out details that you discovered after hours of research and thought, but adding random facts and bits of evidence at the end of an otherwise-well-organized essay can just create confusion. Example: In addition to being an educational pioneer, Frederick Douglass provides an interesting case study for masculinity in the American South. He also offers historians an interesting glimpse into slave resistance when he confronts Covey, the overseer. His relationships with female relatives reveal the importance of family in the slave community.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Douglass, Frederick. 1995. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. New York: Dover.

Hamilton College. n.d. “Conclusions.” Writing Center. Accessed June 14, 2019. https://www.hamilton.edu//academics/centers/writing/writing-resources/conclusions .

Holewa, Randa. 2004. “Strategies for Writing a Conclusion.” LEO: Literacy Education Online. Last updated February 19, 2004. https://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/conclude.html.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

  • Link to facebook
  • Link to linkedin
  • Link to twitter
  • Link to youtube
  • Writing Tips

How to Write a Conclusion for an Argumentative Essay

How to Write a Conclusion for an Argumentative Essay

  • 3-minute read
  • 27th October 2023

You’ve spent hours researching and writing a compelling argumentative essay – now it’s finally time to write the conclusion. The conclusion may be the most significant part of your essay because it’s your final opportunity to make a lasting impression on your reader. Intimidated? Don’t be! In this post, we’ll show you how to write a strong conclusion for an argumentative essay.

Restate the Thesis and Summarize the Key Points

Begin by reiterating your thesis statement to emphasize your main point. However, to avoid sounding repetitive, it’s best to paraphrase the thesis and not use the exact wording from the introductory paragraph. You can also briefly recap the key points you’ve made throughout your essay. You don’t need to dive into too much detail here; the conclusion should be a concise reminder of your most critical arguments and avoid unnecessary repetition or commentary. Keep in mind that the conclusion is not the place to provide information or arguments you haven’t included in the body of your essay.

Emphasize the Significance of Your Arguments

The conclusion of your essay is a good place to highlight the importance of your argument and the implications of your findings. Briefly explain why your essay topic is significant and how your perspective relates to the wider context. For example, if you’re writing on the rising cost of medicine, you can discuss how this topic relates to the broader fields of health care and pharmaceutical sales.

Briefly Address Counterarguments

If you’ve discussed counterarguments in your essay, briefly acknowledge them in the conclusion. You can simply mention that although there are opposing views, you’ve supported your argument with the evidence presented in your essay.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Maintain a Consistent Tone

Keep the tone of your conclusion consistent with the rest of the essay. For example, if your essay has been primarily formal and academic, maintain that tone in the conclusion (e.g., avoid closing with an informal anecdote or a witty observation).

End With a Thought-Provoking Statement

End your conclusion with a thought-provoking statement or call to action . This could involve a recommendation or prediction, or you could pinpoint areas for further research or action related to the topic. For example, if your topic is the impact of technology on education, you could end your essay by recommending further research into the long-term effects of technology use on students beyond elementary school.

Ensure that your arguments take center stage by having our expert team proofread your essay. Our editors have experience with a wide variety of academic subjects and can ensure that your words make an impact. Send in your sample for free today to see for yourself!

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

5-minute read

Free Email Newsletter Template (2024)

Promoting a brand means sharing valuable insights to connect more deeply with your audience, and...

6-minute read

How to Write a Nonprofit Grant Proposal

If you’re seeking funding to support your charitable endeavors as a nonprofit organization, you’ll need...

9-minute read

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...

8-minute read

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...

7-minute read

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...

4-minute read

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...

Logo Harvard University

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

5 Steps To Writing an Effective Call to Action (With Examples)

5 Steps To Writing an Effective Call to Action (With Examples)

Table of contents

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Laura Jane Bradbury

An effective call to action (CTA) encourages content engagement, converts visitors into leads, and helps people discover your business. It should offer value to the reader and explain what to expect from taking action. 

If a CTA doesn't have a clear message, feels too generic, or isn’t aligned with your audience’s concerns, readers won't act. This could cost you potential customers and income. 

As a professional copywriter with six years of experience, I’ve helped many small businesses reach their goals through calls to action. Here, I'll share the best practices for writing persuasive CTAs.

Key Takeaways

  •  A call to action encourages readers to engage with your content, purchase a product, and learn more about your brand.
  • It should be short, direct, and enticing. Use action verbs to motivate people to act.
  • Ensure you clearly explain the value your audience will get from following your CTA.

Examples of great CTAs and why they work

Below are five CTA examples from high-profile businesses. We'll look at why they work, and what techniques you can apply.

Semrush: Use persuasive language

Cta: “get a free trial” .

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Blog posts are a great place to put a CTA, as readers are already interested in the topic and more likely to respond to your suggested action. Engaging and relevant content can also lead to higher clickthrough rates, helping more readers learn about and interact with your business.

Semrush provides a great example of how to write a good call to action in a blog post. After sharing a detailed guide on search engine optimization (SEO) for blogs, they suggest readers sign up for a free trial to begin implementing SEO. Putting the CTA at the end of the post lets readers consume valuable information before discovering how to apply it.

The CTA works because:

  • It includes the action verb “Get” — grabbing the reader's attention.
  • The CTA is clear and eye-catching: The yellow box separates it from the post's content, while the purple highlights the specific action to take.
  • The CTA text highlights the value for the reader immediately : The trial is "free" and Semrush conveniently provides "everything" in "one" place, so busy entrepreneurs and marketers don't need to jump from tool to tool.

Here are some action words and phrases (in bold) to consider for your own CTA. Play around with them and see what works best: 

Common CTA action words

LOOKFANTASTIC: Create urgency

Cta: “hurry, this offer is for today only”.

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

There are many CTAs you can use on social media . If you want to increase engagement, for example, you can ask people to comment on, like, or share a post. In this case, LOOKFANTASTIC wants to encourage its followers to shop a specific brand on its site.

  • It offers an incentive — 25% off. 
  • The use of "Hurry" and “TODAY only” creates urgency : This motivates customers to take advantage of the offer before it's too late.
  • LookFantastic addresses the concerns of its customers : The text highlights that the products are "skin-loving."

Career Contessa: Offer an incentive 

Cta: “i’m so in”.

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Email newsletters can build customer relationships, drive sales, and be an effective digital marketing channel. However, people are increasingly less willing to share their email addresses.

To encourage people to subscribe, Career Contessa has created a signup form in the middle of its homepage. This gives readers a chance to see what the newsletter is about and what type of content they can expect.

Notice how the CTA banner is clear and concise, explaining what people will receive by signing up.

  • It uses language that's relatable to its audience: The site’s young, female readers will identify "Level up" as advancing their careers.
  • It makes people feel included : "I'm so in" creates the feeling of joining an exclusive group or club.
  • There’s an incentive to join : The text offers readers "a shortcut to success." 

Uniqlo: Consider the buying stages

Cta: “learn more” .

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Customers want to know what they’re signing up for before downloading an app. Uniqlo knows this and tells their customers exactly what to expect from their new app. So, rather than telling people to “Download now,” the CTA suggests readers “LEARN MORE.” 

  • It’s short and direct , making it easy to understand and follow.
  • Customers understand the value — the accompanying illustrations and copy convey the benefits of the app.
  • There’s lots of action verbs — “Get”, “Download”, “Sign up”, “Scan + Shop”.

Tip: Before adding a CTA, consider where your customers are in the buying stages. While a regular buyer may instantly click to “shop now,” a new customer may need more information. New products might also require additional context in order to help customers understand their value.

New York Magazine: Use bold visuals

Cta: “subscribe now” .

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Most consumers prefer a brand to contact them via email . New York Magazine is a great example of how to write a call to action for email,. You’re immediately drawn in by the newsletter’s image emphasizing that it’s the “LAST CHANCE” to take advantage of its offer. 

This encourages readers to take action by triggering the fear of missing out. The publication then describes all the benefits of joining — including its free tote bag — to entice users to click the “SUBSCRIBE NOW” button.

  • It creates urgency: “SUBSCRIBE NOW” emphasizes that you should take action immediately.
  • The accompanying text is descriptive: “award-winning,” “exciting,” “fresh,” “sharp.” These adjectives suggest the content is unique and high quality, helping convince readers that the magazine is worth investing in. ‍
  • The CTA is visually bold: The black button stands out against the white background and contrasts with the colorful main image.

5 key elements to include in your CTA:

Based on the above examples, here are five critical aspects of a great CTA to include in your own:

1. Use simple and direct language

‍ This ensures people understand the desired action. For example, “Subscribe now” is easier to follow than “You can subscribe now by clicking this link.” Make sure the accompanying text promoting your CTA is clear and easy to read .

2. Provide value to your readers

‍ Who is your target audience and how can your CTA solve their concerns? Will a discount code save them money, or can you offer useful expertise and advice? Demonstrate exactly what your CTA will deliver and how.

3. Create a sense of urgency

‍ Include phrases like “limited time offer” and “for today only” to motivate users to act. Pair these with action-oriented words like “subscribe” and “download” to encourage a particular action.

4. Consider your target audience

‍ While “Visit this link” may suit a formal, professional audience, “Check out this link” works for a younger demographic. Be sure to use language and a tone of voice that your customers will understand and relate to.

5. Make your CTA stand out

‍ Your CTA should be eye-catching and easily noticeable so your audience doesn't scroll past it. Use contrasting colors, emojis, bold fonts, and buttons to draw people in.

How AI can help you write better CTAs

Now you know how to write a great call to action, let’s look at how Wordtune’s AI tools  can speed up the process.

Shorten text without losing the meaning

A call to action needs to be short and direct, succinctly telling the reader what action to take. Many CTAs are also written on a button, meaning you can only use a few words.

Using the Shorten button in Wordtune Editor can help you create a punchy CTA.

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Get Wordtune for Free > Get Wordtune for Free >

Click on the sentence you would like to edit, and press Shorten . The Editor instantly generates alternatives. Notice how Wordtune’s suggestions are more direct, making them easier to understand. 

Find alternative words

Whether you’re stuck on which action verb to use or you want to make your CTA’s benefits more descriptive, Wordtune can provide suggestions. 

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

To find alternative synonyms, highlight a particular word and click Rewrite , Casual , or Formal . In this example, I wanted a casual tone for social media, so clicked Casual to generate a list of alternative, informal words.

Use prompts to generate text

Wordtune's Create tool can help you brainstorm and plan your CTA copy.

To generate text, click Create and type in your prompt — no more than 1,000 characters.

AI Prompt: Create persuasive copy to entice customers to download our app to receive 10% off, with a direct call to action.

Using this prompt, Wordtune quickly created an enticing paragraph for me: 

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Wordtune can generate a specific CTA — “Download our app now” — which can be made into a CTA button. It can also create accompanying text to entice readers. Using the AI-generated copy, you can choose individual sentences to include such as, “With just a few clicks, you can browse our wide selection of products.”

Adjust tone of voice

In addition to suggesting synonyms, Wordtune’s Casual and Formal buttons can alter sentences to match your desired tone.

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Here, I clicked the Formal button. In response, Wordtune removed the contraction “you’ll” and made its suggestions more direct, precise, and easy for readers to consume. 

Conclusion:

A powerful call to action encourages readers to act, whether that’s by engaging with your content, buying your products, or learning more about your services. This can increase website views, sales, and bookings.

Keep your CTA short and direct, explaining in simple language how it will provide value. Ensure the tone aligns with your target audience, and create a sense of urgency to motivate readers to act quickly. Help your CTA stand out against your text by using contrasting colors, emojis, and bold fonts. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be writing eye-catching CTAs in no time.  

Want to learn more? Check out our guides on how to create an effective tone of voice to reach your target audience and how to boost readability to write clear, succinct CTAs.  

What type of content should include a call to action?

Any content can be an ideal opportunity for a CTA. From social media and blog posts to landing pages, ads, emails and videos. 

Where should you place a call to action?

Calls to action are typically placed at the top, bottom, or side of a webpage. Take into account what your readers need to know before acting to find the best placement. For example, place a discount code at the top of your homepage. Or, if you want readers to share your content, it’s best at the end of the page. 

Can you use multiple calls to action on a webpage?

With care, multiple calls to action can be used on the same webpage. For example, ask people to subscribe to your email list via a button while also adding a link to download an ebook. The key is to ensure your calls to action are spread out and organized in a way that doesn't overload the reader. 

Share This Article:

8 Tips for E-commerce Copywriting Success (with Examples!)

8 Tips for E-commerce Copywriting Success (with Examples!)

The Brand Strategy Deck You Need to Drive Social Media Results + 5 Examples

The Brand Strategy Deck You Need to Drive Social Media Results + 5 Examples

Grammarly Alternatives: Which Writing Assistant is the Best Choice for You?

Grammarly Alternatives: Which Writing Assistant is the Best Choice for You?

Looking for fresh content, thank you your submission has been received.

Essay Papers Writing Online

Tips and strategies for crafting a powerful essay conclusion.

How to write a essay conclusion

As you come to the end of your essay, the conclusion plays a crucial role in leaving a lasting impression on your readers. Crafting a strong and effective conclusion is essential to tie up your arguments and provide a sense of closure to your piece. It is your final opportunity to reinforce your main points, showcase your insights, and leave your audience with a powerful takeaway.

When writing your conclusion, it is important to summarize your key points concisely and reiterate the significance of your argument. Avoid introducing new ideas or arguments in this section, but rather focus on synthesizing and unifying the information you have already presented. A well-crafted conclusion should leave your readers with a sense of completeness and a clear understanding of your thesis statement.

By employing strategic techniques such as revisiting your thesis statement, offering a thought-provoking insight, or posing a question for further reflection, you can make your essay conclusion memorable and impactful. With the right approach and attention to detail, you can elevate your writing to a new level and leave a lasting impression on your readers.

Summarize Your Main Points

Summarize Your Main Points

When crafting your essay conclusion, it is crucial to summarize the main points you have made throughout your essay. This helps to reinforce your argument and ensure that your reader is clear on the key takeaways of your essay.

Begin by reviewing your essay’s introduction and identifying the main points that you have discussed in the body paragraphs. These key points should reflect the central arguments and ideas that you have presented in your essay.

  • First, revisit your thesis statement and highlight how you have addressed it in your essay.
  • Next, summarize the key arguments and evidence that you have presented to support your thesis.
  • Consider the main ideas that you have explored in each body paragraph and how they contribute to your overall argument.

By summarizing your main points in the conclusion, you can effectively reinforce your argument and leave a lasting impression on your reader.

Reinforce Your Thesis Statement

One effective strategy for crafting a strong essay conclusion is to reinforce your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is the main argument or position that you have been advocating throughout your essay, so it is important to remind your readers of its significance in your conclusion. You can do this by summarizing the key points that support your thesis and illustrating how they all come together to strengthen your argument. By reinforcing your thesis statement in the conclusion, you leave a lasting impression on your readers and ensure that your essay is cohesive and impactful.

Provide a Call to Action

One effective way to conclude your essay is by providing a call to action. This is where you encourage your readers to take a specific action or make a change based on the information you’ve presented. Your call to action should be clear, compelling, and relevant to the topic of your essay.

Whether it’s signing a petition, donating to a cause, or simply reflecting on the issues raised in your essay, a call to action can leave a lasting impression on your readers and inspire them to take action. Make sure your call to action is actionable and easy for your audience to follow through on.

Consider Your Audience

When crafting a strong essay conclusion, it is crucial to consider your audience. Think about who will be reading your essay and what their expectations and knowledge level might be. Tailoring your conclusion to appeal to your specific audience can make it more effective and engaging. Consider the tone, language, and examples that will resonate with your readers and leave a lasting impression.

Use Powerful Language

Choosing strong and impactful language in your essay conclusion can leave a lasting impression on your readers. Avoid using dull or generic words and opt for vivid and evocative language instead. Use words that emphasize the significance of your ideas and reinforce your main points. Consider using powerful verbs, vivid adjectives, and compelling adverbs to make your conclusion more dynamic and engaging.

Furthermore, incorporating rhetorical devices such as parallelism, repetition, and alliteration can enhance the overall effect of your conclusion. These literary devices can create a sense of cohesion and rhythm, making your conclusion more memorable and persuasive. Remember to strike a balance between eloquence and clarity, ensuring that your language is both powerful and accessible to your audience.

Avoid Introducing New Ideas

Avoid Introducing New Ideas

One common mistake that students make when crafting a strong essay conclusion is introducing new ideas or information that has not been previously discussed in the body of the essay. Your conclusion should serve as a summary and synthesis of the main points you’ve already covered, not as a place to introduce new arguments or evidence.

Introducing new ideas in your conclusion can confuse your readers and weaken the overall impact of your essay. Instead, focus on reiterating your main points and reinforcing your thesis statement. Remember, the conclusion is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your readers, so make sure it reinforces the key points of your essay without introducing any new information.

Related Post

How to master the art of writing expository essays and captivate your audience, convenient and reliable source to purchase college essays online, step-by-step guide to crafting a powerful literary analysis essay, unlock success with a comprehensive business research paper example guide, unlock your writing potential with writers college – transform your passion into profession, “unlocking the secrets of academic success – navigating the world of research papers in college”, master the art of sociological expression – elevate your writing skills in sociology.

Essay Writing Guide

How To Write A Conclusion

Last updated on: Jun 28, 2024

How to Write a Conclusion - Examples & Tips

By: Nova A.

13 min read

Reviewed By: Rylee W.

Published on: Mar 26, 2019

How to Write a Conclusion

Do you find yourself struggling to write a strong conclusion while writing essays or academic papers, leaving your work feeling unfinished?

The conclusion is the opportunity to leave a final impression on your readers and effectively wrap up your arguments. Yet, many students struggle to find the right balance between summarizing their main points and delivering a powerful closing statement.

But fear not, as we're here to help! 

In this blog, we will provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to write a compelling conclusion. We will share valuable techniques and strategies to ensure your conclusion leaves a memorable impact, providing a sense of closure and reinforcing the significance of your work. So, let's dive into the blog!

How to Write a Conclusion

On this Page

What is a Conclusion?

In the context of academic or formal writing, a conclusion refers to the final part of an essay, research paper, or any other written piece. It serves as a summary of the main points discussed and provides a final perspective or judgment on the topic.

The purpose of a conclusion is to: 

  • Summarize the main points and arguments presented in the text.
  • Restates the thesis statement or main argument.
  • Provides closure to the piece of writing.
  • Leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
  • Demonstrates the significance or implications of the ideas discussed.
  • Avoids introducing new information or arguments.
  • May offer recommendations, propose further areas of research, or provide a call to action.
  • Encourages reflection and deeper understanding of the topic.

Remember writing a conclusion does not mean simply repeating all the points but providing a broader implication of the discussed topic while sticking to the main idea.

Conclusion Outline

Here's an outline for structuring a conclusion:

How to Write a Conclusion?

In this section, we will outline the essential steps to help you craft an engaging and impactful conclusion.

How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph -5StarEssays.com

1. Restate the Thesis Statement and Introduction

Begin your conclusion by revisiting the thesis statement and the key points introduced in the essay's introduction. This ensures a cohesive ending that reinforces the main idea and purpose of your work.  Consider tweaking the wording and incorporating the main idea from your thesis statement to create a seamless connection.

2. Create a Connection between the Opening and Closing

Maintain continuity in your essay by linking the ending to the introduction. Reflect on the main points discussed initially and demonstrate how they have been addressed and expanded upon in the body of your work.  This connection enhances the overall flow and coherence of your essay.

3. Revise and Summarize the Main Points

If your essay comprises multiple body paragraphs exploring a complex topic, take the opportunity to revise. Condense the main points discussed in each paragraph.  Rather than simply summarizing, emphasize the significance and relevance of these points to the overall topic.

For instance , if your essay focused on the causes of obesity, highlight the main reasons and their implications in your concluding sentence.

4. Provide an Insight and Call to Action

Make your conclusion thought-provoking by offering insights or suggesting further action related to the topic. This leaves a lasting impact on your readers and encourages them to contemplate the subject matter beyond your essay. 

For example, you can conclude by stating, " Taking proactive measures such as monitoring your calorie intake using dedicated apps can contribute significantly to the fight against obesity ."

Want to craft a conclusion in under 5 minutes? Check out this video!

Types of Conclusion

When it comes to writing conclusions, there are various types that you can employ based on the purpose and nature of your essay or paper. Here are some common types of conclusions:

  • Summary Conclusion: This type of conclusion provides a concise summary of the main points discussed in the essay or paper. It briefly restates the key arguments or findings without introducing new information.
  • Synthesis Conclusion: A synthesis conclusion goes beyond summarizing the main points and aims to connect different ideas presented in the essay. It emphasizes the relationships and connections between various arguments or evidence.
  • Call to Action Conclusion: In a call-to-action conclusion, the writer encourages the reader to take a specific course of action. This type of conclusion is often used in persuasive essays or argumentative essays.
  • Implication or Significance Conclusion: An implication or significance conclusion discusses the broader implications and significance of the essay's findings or arguments. It explains the relevance and impact of the topic in a larger context, highlighting its importance and potential consequences.
  • Future Research Conclusion: When writing a research paper, a future research conclusion suggests potential areas for further exploration or study. It identifies gaps in the existing research and proposes questions or topics that could be addressed in future research endeavors.
  • Personal Reflection Conclusion: A personal reflection conclusion allows the writer to share their own thoughts, insights, or experiences related to the topic. It adds a personal touch and perspective to the conclusion, helping to create a deeper connection with the reader.

Order Essay

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

Helpful Conclusion Examples

Here are some good conclusion examples:

Research Paper Conclusion Example

‘How to write a conclusion for a research paper ?’

Here is a research paper conclusion example that begins with restating the problem discussed in the paper and ends with a call to action.

Report Conclusion Example

‘How to write a conclusion for a report ?’

Reports serve different purposes, such as providing a deeper understanding of a subject and motivating readers to take action. They can cover various forms of content, including book reviews and general reports.

Here is a sample report conclusion;

Thesis Conclusion Example

‘How to write a conclusion for a thesis ?’

Argumentative Essay Conclusion Example

How to write a conclusion for an argumentative essay ?

Persuasive Essay Conclusion Example

‘How to write a conclusion for a persuasive essay ?’

Example of Conclusion For Assignment

How To Write a Conclusion In An Essay

How To Write a Conclusion Sentence

How To Write a Conclusion To a Paper

Good Conclusion vs Poor Conclusion

Summarizes main points effectively

Repeats information without adding new insights

Provides a broader context or perspective

Lacks depth or fails to address significance

Offers insights or implications

Introduces unrelated or irrelevant information

Leaves a lasting impression on the reader

Abruptly ends without a clear concluding thought or closure

Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers!

Tips to Write a Good Conclusion

Here are some tips to write an effective and great conclusion:

  • End the essay and conclusion with a positive note .
  • Remind the importance of your idea or research question.
  • Link back to the themes discussed in the introduction.
  • Summarize the main points without repeating them.
  • Propose a course of action and implications of your arguments.
  • Do not introduce any new information at this stage.
  • Don’t include every single detail shared in the body.
  • If your essay isn’t in the first person, don’t end with your personal thoughts .
  • Avoid using sentences such as “I’m no expert, but this is my opinion…”
  • Don’t start with phrases such as “To conclude, to sum it up, in conclusion…”
  • Don’t share any evidence in this section that should’ve been stated in the body.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Conclusion

Here are the mistakes to avoid when writing a conclusion:

  • Introducing new information not previously discussed.
  • Repeating the introduction without adding a fresh perspective.
  • Being vague or general without depth or precision.
  • Neglecting to emphasize the significance or implications of your work.
  • Ending abruptly without a clear final thought or statement.
  • Ignoring the expectations and needs of your target audience.
  • Failing to revise and edit for clarity and impact.

Wrapping Up! Crafting a strong and effective conclusion paragraph is essential to provide coherence and closure to your essay. It should avoid introducing new ideas, themes, or evidence, as this can confuse readers and diminish the impact of your paper. By implementing these guidelines, you can ensure that your assignments conclude on a memorable and impressive note. However, if you still find yourself in need of assistance, don't hesitate to consult the essay experts at 5StarEssays.com. 

Request our " write my essay " service today and let us guide you every step of your writing journey. Reach out to us now!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many sentences are in conclusion.

Usually, a conclusion is two to three sentences long. The aim of a conclusion is to conclude the main ideas and not to introduce any new points for the readers.

What is a concluding sentence in a body paragraph?

In a body paragraph, the last line is the concluding sentence. It provides closure to the paragraph and connects all the ideas together. However, it does not repeat any ideas and transits to the next section or paragraph.

Can you have quotes in your conclusion?

Ideally, no, you must not place any quotes in the concluding sentence. However, quotes could be added here only when you are referencing someone.

Nova A.

Marketing, Law

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

Was This Blog Helpful?

Keep reading.

  • How to Write an Essay - A Complete Guide with Examples

How to Write a Conclusion

  • The Art of Effective Writing: Thesis Statements Examples and Tips

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Writing a 500 Word Essay - Easy Guide

How to Write a Conclusion

  • What is a Topic Sentence - An Easy Guide with Writing Steps & Examples

How to Write a Conclusion

  • A Complete Essay Outline - Guidelines and Format

How to Write a Conclusion

  • 220 Best Transition Words for Essays

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Essay Format: Detailed Writing Tips & Examples

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Essay Topics: 100+ Best Essay Topics for your Guidance

How to Write a Conclusion

  • How to Title an Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide for Effective Titles

How to Write a Conclusion

  • How to Write a Perfect 1000 Word Essay

How to Write a Conclusion

  • How To Make An Essay Longer - Easy Guide For Beginners

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Learn How to Start an Essay Effectively with Easy Guidelines

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Types of Sentences With Examples

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Hook Examples: How to Start Your Essay Effectively

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Essay Writing Tips - Essential Do’s and Don’ts to Craft Better Essays

How to Write a Conclusion

  • How To Write A Thesis Statement - A Step by Step Guide

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Art Topics - 200+ Brilliant Ideas to Begin With

How to Write a Conclusion

  • Writing Conventions and Tips for College Students

How to Write a Conclusion

People Also Read

  • how to start an essay
  • how to write a research methodology
  • how to write a bio
  • informative essay topics
  • personal statement prompts

Burdened With Assignments?

Bottom Slider

Advertisement

  • Homework Services: Essay Topics Generator

© 2024 - All rights reserved

Facebook Social Icon

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.

In recent times, AI-powered writing assistants have become increasingly popular among content creators, writers, and students. Jenni.ai stands out for its innovative and user-friendly features among the many AI-powered writing assistants available today.

One of the standout features of Jenni.ai is its user-friendly interface. The platform is designed to be easy to use, even for people with little or no technical knowledge. The software is also compatible with various devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, making it accessible to users on the go. Below we will see the conclusion examples essay, which you can write using Jenni.ai!

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!

Start Writing With Jenni Today

Sign up for a free Jenni AI account today. Unlock your research potential and experience the difference for yourself. Your journey to academic excellence starts here.

Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Parts of a Paper / How to Write a Conclusion

How to Write a Conclusion

Introduction.

In this lesson, you will learn how to write a conclusion that follows from your argument.

Guide Overview

  • Writing conclusions
  • What goes into a conclusion?
  • Call to action
  • Restate your claim

Which do you pick?

  • What shouldn’t go in a conclusion
  • End product: a strong conclusion
  • Lesson conclusion

Writing Conclusions

When you write an argument, you need to make sure your reader walks away knowing exactly what your claim is and why it is correct. You can reinforce your claim one last time by writing a conclusion that supports your argument.​

For example, consider the following claim:

Animal testing is harmful to the animals tested on and is unnecessary.

What Goes into a Conclusion?

Your conclusion is the last thing your audience reads. It should relate back to your argument and leave your reader with something to think about.

Your conclusion may include:

  • A “so what” that explains why your argument is important
  • A call to action related to your claim
  • A restatement of your thesis or claim

Including a “so what?” in your conclusion helps your readers to see why your claim is important. ​It tells readers why your argument is relevant to their lives. You can add a “so what?” to your conclusion by returning to your original claim and asking, “so what?” “why is this idea important? ” Include the answer in your conclusion.

To support the claim that animal testing is wrong, you might say the following:

Animal rights is of concern to many people, but we often fail to consider whether the products we use were tested on animals or were made in a way that harms animals. As such, some animal lovers may not realize they are using products made in a way they fundamentally disagree.

Call to Action

A call to action rallies your readers to do something in response to your claim. If you are writing an argument about how climate change is caused by people, include a call to action at the end, asking your readers to make changes and fight back. A call to action helps readers to not only reflect on your claim, but also to walk away and do something with the information you’ve given them.

Going back to the example of your claim that animal testing is wrong, you might say the following:

Ending animal testing is as simple as purchasing products from companies that refuse to test their products on animals, and boycotting brands that do animal testing. For those hoping to take a larger stance against animal testing, writing letters or calling government representatives to express dissatisfaction with the practice can make a difference, as can participating in protests.

Restate Your Claim

The conclusion is the last thing your audience reads. This is a great place to restate your thesis and remind readers of what you are arguing and why. But remember, you don’t want to restate your thesis exactly, find a new way of saying it that ties in some of the evidence you’ve shared.

Here, you want to restate your claim that animal testing is wrong in different words. For example:

“The evidence above suggests that animal testing, known to be detrimental to animals, is also avoidable”
“While animal testing is widely known to harm animals, the myth that it is the best way of testing products has been dispelled through the evidence presented above.

Your conclusion can be made up of any or all of these three elements. You may want to restate your claim and tell your readers why it is important. Or, you could give your readers the “so what?” as part of a call to action.

Exactly what you include in your conclusion is up to you, but it should always relate to your claim and leave readers with something to think about.​

What Shouldn’t Go in a Conclusion

And remember, your conclusion should never introduce new information or claims. According to Chris Erat from the Clarkson Writing Center:

An effective conclusion allows the reader to reflect on the thesis statement after reading the supporting evidence.

End Product: A Strong Conclusion

Based on the points we’ve reviewed, a final conclusion about our animal testing claim may look like this:

Animal rights is of concern to many people, but we often fail to consider whether the products we use were tested on animals or were made in a way that harms animals. As such, some animal lovers may not realize they are using products made in a way they fundamentally disagree. Ending animal testing is as simple as purchasing products from companies that refuse to test their products on animals, and boycotting brands that do animal testing. For those hoping to take a larger stance against animal testing, writing letters or calling government representatives to express dissatisfaction with the practice can make a difference, as can participating in protests. While animal testing is widely known to harm animals, the myth that it is the best way of testing products has been dispelled through the evidence presented above.

Lesson Conclusion

In this lesson, you learned how to write a conclusion that leaves your reader with something to think about.

EasyBib Writing Resources

Writing a paper.

  • Academic Essay
  • Argumentative Essay
  • College Admissions Essay
  • Expository Essay
  • Persuasive Essay
  • Research Paper
  • Thesis Statement
  • Writing a Conclusion
  • Writing an Introduction
  • Writing an Outline
  • Writing a Summary

EasyBib Plus Features

  • Citation Generator
  • Essay Checker
  • Expert Check Proofreader
  • Grammar Checker
  • Paraphrasing Tools

Plagiarism Checker

  • Spell Checker

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Grammar and Plagiarism Checkers

Grammar Basics

Plagiarism Basics

Writing Basics

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Logo for Maricopa Open Digital Press

52 Persuasive Conclusions – Call to Action

Learning Objectives

Conclusions in persuasive speaking function differently than informative speaking. You will learn how to incorporate a call to action in your persuasive conclusion.

  • Create a persuasive conclusion that includes a call to action

Appeals and Challenges

Since the conclusion comes at the end of the speech, it is appropriate to leave the audience with an appeal or a challenge (or a combination of the two). Similar in nature, appeals and challenges are primarily divided by tone. Appeals are generally phrased more as requests, while challenges can take on a more forceful tone, almost ordering or daring audiences to engage in thought or action.

Martin Luther King Jr.

“Martin Luther King Jr.” Public domain.

One of the most historically memorable and effective conclusions that utilized appeal and challenge was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every 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 are free at last! [3]

Your persuasive conclusion will look similar to your informative conclusion. You will create three parts, a summary of important pionts and restatement of the thesis, closure, and a clincher. Your call to action will fit into your closure. What do you want the audience to do with the information that you provided?

Your call to action must be:

  • Relevant to your topic and audience – what is something they can do to help?
  • Realistic – based on your audience, they will resources to do different things.
  • Simple – narrow down to 1-2 things, do not provide 7 things you want them to do.
  • Convenient – provide links, contact information, hours of operations, and any other important information they will need to carry out your call to action. Make it easy for them!

Key Takeaways

Now that you understand the importance of a call to action, you can brainstorm effective strategies to implement your own call to action in your speech.

  • Incorporate a call to action that is realistic for your audience.
  • Ensure your call to action is simple, convenient, and relevant to allow the audience to see themselves taking part in the call to action.
  • Deliver the call to action in the conclusion with confidence! Nonverbal strategies are important during this part of the speech, too.

King, Jr., M. L. (1963, August 28). I have a dream.” Speech posted at  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/sp  eeches/mlkihaveadream.htm  ↵

Public Speaking Copyright © by Dr. Layne Goodman; Amber Green, M.A.; and Various is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Duarte logo

VisualStory®

  • Duarte DataStory®
  • Presentation Principles™

Slide:ology®

  • Slide Design

Speaker Coaching

  • Presenting Virtually™
  • Illuminate™
  • Adaptive Listening™
  • Team training
  • Learning journeys
  • Brand and product storytelling
  • Keynotes and events
  • Sales enablement
  • Communication systems
  • Accelerator Lab™
  • Our culture
  • Our leaders
  • Case studies
  • Media mentions

Guides and tools

  • Learner support

The secret to writing a call to action in a persuasive speech

Secret to writing a CTA in a persuasive speech header

Nancy Duarte

A well-constructed and delivered presentation changes minds and ignites action.

Yet, there’s a key part of a presentation that doesn’t get mentioned enough — the call to action or CTA — and, a clear CTA creates a  critical turning point in your presentation (or any other form of persuasive communication, too).

What is a call to action in writing?

The call to action in writing persuasive speeches comes right before the end of a persuasive speech where you clearly tell the audience a role they can play after they leave your talk. The CTA gives audience members concrete tasks to tackle, and these tasks must be completed in order to bring your ideas to fruition. And, it’s a key part of what makes your speech, persuasive.

An audience might be thoroughly gripped by your narrative and convinced to believe what you do — but if they leave not knowing what they are supposed to do with your ideas, your presentation will have been — essentially fruitless.

Because CTAs are such an important part of a presentation, it’s essential to make sure that the one you deliver lands with the people hearing it. The way to ensure that you write a call to action that persuades is to keep in mind that one size does NOT fit all — and you’ve got to tailor your CTAs.

People respond to different types of calls to action based on their:

  • Temperaments
  • Daily activities

So it’s important to get to know who is in your audience before you decide how you’re going to deliver their post-talk “to-dos.” Once you do, you can ensure your persuasive call to action actually gets a response.

Understanding your audience involves empathy. To get started easily, download our free Audience Needs Map ™. It’ll help you figure out and analyze the best persuasive calls to action for your presentation so that it concludes with success.

Audience resources colored button

Start with your audience for your call to action speech

Before writing your calls to action in your persuasive speech, you need to think about your audience. What is their make-up? What makes them tick? In most presentations, there are four distinct skills your audience has. Remember these as you write your calls to action:

  • Influencers
  • And Innovators

To get your audience to act, your CTAs have to strike a chord and make sense with the skills they bring to the table. Taking action will seem natural for them when they can respond with an action that resonates with them. Audiences have a mix of all these skills, and you should appeal to each of them in your presentations . Let’s break this down.

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

4 call to action examples in persuasive writing

1. getting doers to do something.

Doers are the worker bees of an organization. They are the ones that hear what needs to get done — and then do it. Doers don’t shy away from physical tasks, and have the ability to round up the troops to inspire action in others, as well. Doers make an organization run day in and day out.

If you’re speaking to doers, you’ll want to craft your CTA so that it includes action words that clearly explain what the doers should do. Some examples of call to action language for them involve asking them to:

2. Motivating suppliers to share

Suppliers are usually not as action-oriented as doers. However, they have a lot of resources at their disposal — like money, manpower, materials, etc. Because of the amount of resources they have, suppliers have the means to help people move forward. They can get you the resources you don’t have yourself.

Suppliers in your audience may be execs who could give you staff — or, investors who are trying to decide whether they want to put their money into a venture — or not.

Resonate

To appeal to suppliers, you need to use different words than you would with the doers, since they’re not the ones that are going to be hitting the ground running to complete tasks. Instead, you’ll want to ask them to share their resources.

You may want to use words like:

These can help to appeal to the fact that they have something to give in order to make a change happen.

3. Influencing on your behalf

Influencers have the  power to sway . They can change the minds of individuals and groups — large or small. Influencers are the people who mobilize others. They also evangelize ideas, and they know how to get people to change their beliefs and behavior.

Many influencers are leaders and others look up to them and follow their advice. Influencers can also be people in the spotlight, who people tend to model after — like celebrities or public figures.

When you craft a call to action for an audience of influencers, you want to appeal to their ability to inspire other people. Great call-to-action phrases for influencers include:

Many have social channels where they can share with others what you need for your idea to become reality.

4. Inviting others to innovate

The last type of audience member is the innovator. Innovators are people who can think outside-of-the-box when they hear an idea, and then think of ways to modify that idea. Innovators have outstanding brains in their heads. They can dream up strategies, clarify perspectives, and invent products. These people can generate something new where nothing existed before.

Anybody can be an innovator. But, often, innovators are founders of companies or creators of new products. They can be engineers, artists, or entrepreneurs, and they typically handle fewer of the day-to-day tasks and more of the conceptual work.

To get support from an innovator, appeal to their ability to create things. The best call-to-action phrases for innovators include:

  • Offers to invent

You want to spur an audience of innovators to leave, ready to make something new.

Don’t end with your call to action

Appealing to what motivates various audience members is important to inspire action. However, to make sure your well-tailored CTAs land, you shouldn’t end with your call to action. Nobody ever wants to simply be saddled with a lengthy to-do list.

Duarte Persuasive Presentation Form

Instead, after you deliver your CTA,  paint a picture of what is going to happen for audience members once they complete the requested action. I call this the new bliss in my Resonate® workshop. Throwing out a CTA creates curiosity for listeners; they want that curiosity satisfied by understanding what will happen after the action is over. This satisfaction — and a picture of what the future could look like — will inspire people to act.

Alfred Chuang, founder and CEO of Magnet Systems, recently delivered a  UC Davis Commencement speech  that contained an example of a powerful CTA that described what would happen if listeners chose to act. Chuang encouraged the audience of engineering graduates to keep working on innovative projects.

He ended: “A new world is on the horizon. And it will be more incredible than any of us can possibly imagine. Our greatest innovations are ahead of us, not behind. But we need great engineers to build that world for us. And that’s you. We need you to not give up. Ever. We need you to finish your projects. Done, done, done … And we need you all to be a little insane.”

If you deliver a presentation that is gripping and empathetic, you’ve almost delivered the perfect presentation . All that’s left is including a CTA that clearly explains what listeners could do to help push your idea forward — and an ending that paints a picture of what the world will look like if they help. Then, you can leave your presentation knowing that you’ve delivered a talk that’s going to move people to act.

To learn more about crafting and delivering persuasive presentations, take our Resonate® workshop . And to have us build a persuasive presentation for you with a strong and clear call to action, inquire about our Agency services today.

New call-to-action

This article was originally published on August 2, 2017. It has been updated in August 2024 for relevancy. 

Duarte logo

Check out these related courses

Adaptive Listening™

Build trust and traction

Uncover a better way to listen that goes beyond active listening and paying attention. Learn about the way you prefer to listen, and adapt to meet the needs of others.

Captivate™

Improve your public speaking

Overcome bad habits, conquer fears, and increase your confidence in any speaking setting. Discover your strengths and build on them to improve your delivery.

Structure and storyboard a talk

Analyze your audience and organize your ideas into a story structure that will move them. Transform content into visual concepts and build a storyboard for your presentation.

Illuminate™

Drive strategic change

Craft an effective communication strategy that sparks and sustains change with empathetic speeches, stories, ceremonies, and symbols that motivate and inspire teams.

Personalized help for speakers

Up-level your speaking skills with one-on-one support. We’ll help you rehearse your talk, polish your presence, and transform your message delivery.

Craft a persuasive talk

Learn how the world’s greatest speakers use story to persuade. Develop a story structure that powerfully expresses your ideas, applying the principles of empathy, contrast, and variety.

Presentation Principles™

Learn presentation basics

Follow a step-by-step method to write compelling stories, amplify ideas visually, and present with confidence while learning at your own pace.

Turn ideas into visuals

Use visual thinking and design principles to transform information into effective and memorable graphics for presentations.

Create “skimmable” documents

Build helpful pre-reads and impactful leave-behinds with presentation software to support knowledge sharing and decision-making.

Check out these related resources

Ultimate guide to contrast, what your presentation is missing header

The ultimate guide to contrast: What your presentation is missing

Need to deliver a great presentation? Master the art of contrast to make sure it’s unforgettable and met with success, every time.

"The Secret Structure Of Great Talks" hosted by Nancy Duarte.

The secret structure of great talks

From the “I have a dream” speech to Steve Jobs’ iPhone launch, many great talks have a common structure that helps their message resonate with listeners. Watch Nancy Duarte’s TEDx Talk that’s garnered over 3 million views.

A woman leads a presentation in front of a conference room of people.

Presentation formats guide

Get tips on how to determine your presentation format. This guide will help you consider audience size, presentation setting, and the delivery method that best suits your communication needs.

The top 5 presentation mistakes everyone makes header

The top 5 presentation mistakes everyone makes

We all know what it’s like to sit through a bad presentation … too long, too boring, indecipherable. The thing is, when we take the stage ourselves, many of us fall into the same presentation mistakes.

6 signs your organization needs a better presentation template header

6 signs your organization needs a better presentation template

Let’s end “Franken-decks” together. Our presentation templates come with custom icon libraries, image libraries, template training, and so much more thanks to our holistic approach.

why you should absolutely avoid using filler words how to actually stop

Why you should absolutely avoid using filler words (and how to actually stop)

Want to learn what are filler words and how to stop using them for good? Use these expert public speaking tips to nail your next board meeting, presentation or keynote and learn to embrace the “pause for effect.”

  • Conversion Optimization
  • Growth Marketing
  • Digital Analytics
  • Brand Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Digital Psychology
  • Ecommerce Marketing
  • Product Marketing
  • Technical Content Marketing
  • Technical Marketing
  • Google Analytics 4
  • Browse all courses
  • CXL Features
  • Bottom-of-funnel SEO strategies in tough niches
  • Growing AppSumo to 80m with performance marketing
  • Account based marketing
  • Building a growth process
  • Building an innovative product
  • Growth mindset: growth vs traditional marketing
  • GrowthMaster Training Workshop
  • Marketing strategy
  • Optimizing Your Growth Process
  • Partner Marketing
  • Project Management for Marketers
  • Retention: the most underrated growth channel
  • User-centric marketing
  • Data-driven influencer marketing
  • Messaging strategy in public relations
  • Sales Copywriting & Product Messaging
  • Content marketing research
  • Content recycling
  • Email Marketing: Fundamentals
  • Organic Social Media
  • Product Marketing Content
  • Scaling Content Marketing
  • Content strategy and SEO for lead generation
  • Growth Focused SEO testing
  • On-Page, On-Site & Programmatic SEO
  • SEO Link Building
  • SEO-Driven Editorial Calendar
  • Technical SEO
  • Advanced Facebook Ads
  • Advanced LinkedIn Ads
  • Facebook Ads Creative
  • Facebook Ads Experimentation
  • Facebook Ads for Beginners
  • Google Ads Experiments
  • Google Ads for Beginners
  • Linkedin Experimentation
  • GA4 Intermediate
  • Google Analytics 4 for beginners
  • Preparing for Your GA4 Implementation
  • Special Topics in GTM for GA4
  • Attribution
  • Data presentation and visualization
  • Excel and Sheets for marketers
  • Transactional data analysis
  • Advanced Google Tag Manager
  • Google Tag Manager for Beginners
  • The Measurement Matrix
  • Advanced Experimentation Masterclass
  • CRO Agency masterclass
  • Experimentation program management
  • Intro to CRO and Experimentation
  • Heuristic Evaluation
  • Strategic Research for Experimentation
  • User research
  • Voice of Customer data
  • A/B testing foundations
  • A/B testing mastery
  • CRO for Ecommerce Growth
  • Good Practices
  • Statistics for A/B testing
  • Statistics fundamentals for testing
  • Testing Strategies
  • Digital psychology & behavioral design
  • Intermediate statistics
  • Landing Page Optimization
  • People & Psychology
  • Personalizing for conversion
  • Brand strategy
  • Positioning
  • Radical differentiation
  • Integrated Public Relations and SEO
  • Storytelling
  • Audience building
  • Community building
  • Community strategy
  • Brand tracking 101
  • Brand tracking with Momentive
  • Customer storytelling and proof
  • Segmentation and Persona Research
  • Building a marketing agency
  • Managing a remote marketing team
  • Marketing Management
  • Sales and customer success enablement
  • Automation with Apps script
  • Data collection on the web
  • Data extraction
  • Mobile Analytics
  • Tag managers
  • Python for marketers
  • R for marketers
  • SQL for marketers
  • API Applications
  • Cloud computing concepts
  • Cloud services
  • Machine learning applications
  • Machine learning fundamentals
  • Attention Basics
  • Decision Making and Emotions
  • Learning and Memory
  • Building Habits and Loyalty
  • Building Trust
  • Cognitive Biases
  • Nonconscious Motivation
  • Principles of Persuasive Design
  • Facebook Ads for ecommerce
  • Google Ads for Ecommerce
  • Google Shopping
  • Selling on Amazon: Perfecting Traffic and Conversions
  • Ecommerce Content Marketing
  • Ecommerce SEO
  • Email and SMS Marketing for Ecommerce
  • Customer experience for ecommerce
  • Customer journey for ecommerce
  • Customer segmentation for ecommerce
  • Retention and Customer Lifetime Value
  • Ecommerce brand strategy
  • Ecommerce merchandising
  • Personalization for ecommerce
  • Promotional events
  • Selling on Marketplaces
  • Ecommerce data and metrics
  • Ecommerce forecasting
  • Ecommerce tech stack
  • Unit economics for ecommerce
  • Competitive intel & market research
  • Introduction to product marketing
  • Positioning and company storytelling
  • Pricing and packaging
  • Product Analytics
  • Analyst relations
  • Product launches
  • Hiring product marketers
  • Working with the product team
  • What is included in All-access
  • First time here? See all resources
  • Original research studies
  • AB test calculator
  • Conversion rate optimization guide
  • Conversion optimization guide
  • Ecommerce best practices
  • Bounce rate guide: The foundations
  • Clickthrough rate guide: The foundations
  • Follow our B2B strategy podcast
  • Sign up now

Call To Action In Writing: 7 Powerful Examples

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Careful attention to CTA (call to action) copywriting is the difference between brands that drive conversions and those that only drive traffic.

Brands that slap a “Buy Now” button on a page and call it a day wonder why their campaigns fail to convert. Companies that engage in strategic CTA testing continue to drive success metrics like CTR (click-through rate) up and to the right.

CTA testing is paramount because it’s not always obvious what needs to happen for your business. Landing page platform Unbounce boosted conversion rates by 90% by changing their CTA copy from “Start your 30-day trial” to “Start my free 30-day trial.” 

In this article, we’ll explore seven powerful CTA examples from high-performing companies. You’ll learn what makes them so convincing so that you can apply these lessons in your own CTA writing.

Table of contents

  • CTAs drive the buying journey 
  • Use Voice of Customer research to understand buyer goals 

Start with an imperative (command verb)

  • Leverage power words to build excitement 
  • 1. Pipedrive removes barriers to conversion 

2. ActiveCampaign makes it clear what customers are signing up for

3. wordable talks results.

  • 4. Jasper speaks directly to a common pain point 

5. Emma builds intrigue by keeping it concise

6. betterhelp solves three objections in just three words.

  • 7. ClickUp backs up its claim with a compelling guarantee 

What is a call to action in writing? 

Your call to action is the prompt you give readers or users to take a desired action.

That action might be to:

  • Download an ebook or guide;
  • Sign up for a free trial;
  • Register for an upcoming webinar;
  • Browse products in your online store;
  • Book a sales demonstration.

CTAs are a critical component of marketing material. It’s the point where you tell your reader to do something.

CXL use them on landing pages to invite customers to trial top marketing courses:

Screenshot of CXL Homepage

SEO tool Clearscope invites users to join their Director of SEO in a webinar.

Screenshot of Clearscope Inviting Users on their Webinar

And revenue intelligence platform Gong uses CTAs at the end of blog posts to guide readers to additional content they may find valuable:

Screenshot of Gong’s CTA at the end of their blog post

At the most basic level, these CTAs exist to give customers their next step in the buying journey.

CTAs drive the buying journey 

A CTA in a brand awareness campaign will look entirely different from a CTA meant to drive sales at the bottom of the funnel.

Take this post from Mailchimp on email marketing benchmarks. Most readers will land on this page after searching for “email marketing benchmarks” on Google.

Screenshot of Google showing result for the search query “Email Marketing Benchmarks”

Mailchimp knows, then, that the user’s search intent is to learn more about the subject of email marketing, not about Mailchimp and its features.

So, the CTA at the bottom of this blog post directs readers to related concepts, several of which are more prescriptive and action-focused than email marketing benchmarks (a powerful way to build value for the customer and to establish your brand as an authority).

Screenshot of Related Concepts CTA

Strong CTAs go beyond “buy now”  

The traditional answer as to why CTAs are important is that “customers don’t take action unless they’re told what to do.” 

While this is true, it’s not the whole story. A strong call to action doesn’t just provide a path forward but removes any barriers or objections.

Consider the CTA “Sign up now” on a SaaS product landing page. This raises several buyer objections:

  • Do I have to pay?
  • How much does it cost?
  • Am I locked into a contract?
  • How long is the contract?
  • What payment methods are available?

Effective CTA writing can overcome these objections simply by altering the wording.

Copper uses the copy “Try Free” to preempt and solve these objections.

Screenshot of Copper Website Homepage

The word “Free” eliminates any concerns about cost, and the addition of the term “Try” implies a trial period, so there is no risk of signing up for a lengthy contract.

How to write a call to action that converts 

CTA writing is a form of persuasive writing . Your goal is to convince readers to take a given action in as few words as possible.

A strong understanding of buyer psychology and buyer intelligence will be helpful here. You can also fast-track results with these CTA writing techniques. 

Use Voice of Customer research to understand buyer goals 

Voice of Customer research uses qualitative and quantitative research to uncover the wants and needs of buyers in their own words.

Then, you’ll use these insights verbatim (or close to) in your marketing material to resonate with customer desires.

This is how Copyhackers wrote Beachway Therapy Center’s landing page to drive 400% more click-throughs on the CTA. 

The group mined Amazon addiction book reviews to learn about wants and pains and note memorable phrases.

Screenshot of Amazon addiction book reviews 

Within those reviews, they caught recurring themes and identified the messaging that resonates with their customer base. The group then applied that copy to the landing page.

Screenshot of Beachway Therapy Center Homepage

Messaging strategy agency Make Mention learned that the CTA for their client, “Start with the first hour free,” was asking for too much too soon.

Screenshot of CTA that was created by Make Mention Media to one of their clients

The group conducted online and email surveys and learned that users struggled to understand the course’s value and encountered friction because objections weren’t addressed.

Make Mention redid the page, injecting several phrases from the customers’ vocabulary, including: 

  • “practical exercises”;
  • “getting your first developer job.”

They also directed the CTA button to lead to an alternative page where customers can learn more about the course.

Screenshot of Learn Visual Studio Website Homepage

Make Mention helped customers get more information before asking for the sale, and critically, they used the language customers use. This tweak boosted conversions on the CTA button by over 66%, leading to more check-outs from the Curriculum page than the Pricing page.

A good general rule to follow in CTA writing is to always start with an imperative. Imperatives are action words; they tell the reader to do something.

Powerful examples of action phrases include:

  • Learn; 

SparkToro demonstrates two examples of imperatives in action with their buttons: “Try SparkToro for free” and “See Pricing.”

Screenshot of Sparktoro Website Homepage

Preempt and eliminate objections 

Effective call to action writing preempts objections and eliminates them early.

Take Buzzsumo , which clarifies that new users don’t have to pay a cent for 30 days, obliterating worries about forgetting they’ve started the trial and purchasing accidentally.

Screenshot of Buzzsumo CTA

The most common objections you’ll face are:

  • Cost (Is there one? And if so, how much?);
  • Time (How long is this going to take?);
  • Commitment (Am I locked into anything?).

For cost objections, use terms like “free” and “no credit card required” to clarify that there is no cost involved.

For time objections, phrases like “instantly,” “in 2 minutes,” and “now” communicate that the action will take place quickly.

Solve commitment objections by clearly outlining the trial length (“Try free for 14 days”) or with terms like “free forever” and “no credit card.”

Leverage power words to build excitement 

Command words tell readers what to do. Power words make them feel excited about doing it. Combining the two is what motivates users to take action.

Examples of convincing power words to use in your CTA writing include:

  • Classified;
  • Minimalist;
  • Irresistible;
  • Effortless.

For example, GAP uses the term “unique” to encourage users to sign up for their mailing list (in exchange for a 25% discount).

Screenshot of Gap’s CTA that appears on their website homepage

Create a sense of urgency to inspire immediate action 

Great call to action writing inspires readers to take action now . When done well, they create buyer FOMO (fear of missing out), motivating website visitors to act immediately.

Words like “now,” “instantly,” “limited time,” and “today” are a good starting point but are best supplemented with urgent imperatives like “seize,” “gain,” and “access.”

Youprenuer combines the imperative “Get” with the urgency-building power word “Instant” to build a compelling CTA for their email list.

Screenshot of Youprenuer CTA on their Email List

Use mystery to generate curiosity 

In certain cases, you’ll want to avoid mystery altogether. For instance, when crafting a CTA designed to motivate readers to sign up for a free trial, we want to clarify what customers are getting into.

But curiosity can work in our favor for downloadable content like ebooks and guides.

Terms like “discover,” “see what’s inside,” and “get the secrets” are powerful curiosity-builders that can help motivate readers to hand over their email addresses in exchange for the promised value.

“Explore” is a great example of a curiosity-building word to include in your CTAs, as demonstrated by premium vodka brand Grey Goose .

Screenshot of Grey Goose Explore CTA on their Website Homepage

Back up your claims with social proof 

CTA copy doesn’t need to sit on its own.

Great CTA writers supplement copy with social proof (testimonials, reviews, logos) to give more gravity to their message and build trust with skeptical buyers.

Juro , for example, supplements their “book a demo” CTA with review ratings from Capterra and G2.

Screenshot of Juro “book a demo” CTA webpage

7 impressive calls to action (and why they work so well) 

Ultimately, A/B testing and experimentation will help you uncover your purpose’s perfect call to action.

Use these examples as a jumping-off point, and tweak and test as appropriate.

1. Pipedrive removes barriers to conversion 

One of the biggest factors preventing readers from converting is the unknown. When faced with a CTA like “Start now,” customers wonder internally:

  • What’s involved in starting?
  • Do I need to get my credit card out?
  • What exactly am I committing to?

You can solve these objections before they arise with careful copywriting.

Pipedrive’s homepage CTA section is a powerful example of this. 

Screenshot of Pipedrive’s homepage CTA

The green “Start free” call to action button immediately tells readers there’s no cost involved. The supplementary “No credit card required” copy below also helps users overcome this objection.

The addition of the simple “Full access” answers the question, “But am I just signing up to a limited version, and will I need to pay to access more sophisticated features?”

Lastly, Pipedrive does a great job of communicating why readers should click that CTA button (because Pipedrive users close 28% more deals after their first year using the CRM).

Takeaways from Pipedrive’s CTA example:

  • Incorporate terms like “free” and “no credit card” to solve cost objections;
  • Make it clear to users what they’re signing up for (e.g., full platform access);
  • Use compelling social proof to communicate the why (answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”.

Average CTA writing leaves readers guessing:

  • What am I signing up for exactly?
  • What happens next?
  • What if I don’t like what I see?
  • Am I going to get hounded by a sales rep?

Strong CTA writing makes a reader’s next steps abundantly clear.

Take ActiveCampaign .

The exit popup on their email marketing product page aims to capture a reader’s interest (and email address) before they leave ActiveCampaign’s site.

Screenshot of Activecampaign’s exit popup on their email marketing product page

A simple “Download our guide” wouldn’t be sufficient. Those who leave a landing page without clicking an in-page CTA are clearly unconvinced, so any copy in an exit popup must be especially persuasive.

ActiveCampaign nails this in their header copy.

“Use these 6 emails for your welcome series” tells readers precisely what they’ll receive. 

The use of the term “free” in the body copy eliminates cost objections, and the addition of the bracketed “to get more sales w/o more work” puts the offer in the context of the result, answering the reader’s question, “What’s in it for me?”

“Send me the free guide” (the copy in the CTA itself) is reader-focused (written in first person) and reiterates that there’s nothing to lose as the guide is free.

Lastly, the copy below the CTA button (“We do not sell or share your information with anyone”) works to convince even the most skeptical reader that they’re signing up for a safe offer.

Takeaways from ActiveCampaign’s CTA example:

  • Make it abundantly clear what readers are going to receive;
  • Solves the cost objection by doubling down on terms like “free”;
  • Put your offer in the context of results (answer “What’s in it for me?”);
  • Assure readers that their personal information will remain anonymous and won’t be sold or shared.

Vague, convoluted statements (“Helping ambitious creators design better futures”) don’t convert.

Concise, solution-focused calls to action that speak directly to outcomes (in your customers’ language) do.

Take Wordable , a platform that connects Google Docs with WordPress, HubSpot, and Medium, allowing high-volume content producers to publish to their blog in seconds.

Screenshot of Wordable CTA on their website homepage

Wordable doesn’t waste time telling readers how they’ll “Streamline and transform their content operations processes.” Instead, they jump straight to results:

  • Publish in just one click;
  • Export in seconds rather than hours;
  • Cut back on VA or employee costs;
  • Save as much as 100 hours per week in publishing time.

Then, Wordable delivers a persuasive offer, five free exports (notice the imperative “Get” kicking off the CTA copy), and eliminates any commitment objections by including the phrase “No credit card required.”

Prospects who read this CTA (and accompanying copy) aren’t left wondering what Wordable can do for them. They know exactly what problem it will solve and the results they can expect from hitting that CTA button.

Takeaways from Wordable’s CTA example:

  • Speak your customers’ language (and avoid convoluted, vague, jargon-filled copy);
  • Get straight to the results (What outcomes can your customer expect?);
  • Back up “free” usage claims and solve commitment objectives by not requiring a credit card.

4. Jasper speaks directly to a common pain point 

Though actual figures are hard to come by, marketers estimate that the average consumer sees between 4,000 and 10,000 ads per day . 

Unsurprisingly, users see a large chunk of these ads ( 33% ) on social media platforms.

If you’re going to stand out from the other 3000+ ads your audience sees on these sites, you need to connect directly with their most critical challenges.

Take Jasper , an AI copywriting assistant.

Jasper’s Facebook ad speaks directly to a target audience pain point: content marketing is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process.

Screenshot of Jasper Facebook Ad

The video used in this digital ad is effective in and of itself (it shows the product in action, overlaid with a simple message “Write 10x faster”), but the copy below is what makes this a good CTA example:

“Create high-quality articles in seconds.”

First, Jasper begins with the action verb “create” before describing the desired outcome (high-quality articles) and the compelling benefit of their product (in seconds).

In just six words, Jasper communicates how its platform solves a common challenge for ecommerce site owners, social media managers, and digital marketing professionals. 

Takeaways from Jasper’s CTA example:

  • Identify a pain point that resonates with potential customers;
  • Communicate how you’ll solve that pain point (i.e., your value proposition);
  • Describe this benefit concisely, putting the reader as the subject.

Often, the best call-to-action examples are those that are concise. This is an especially powerful technique when writing CTAs designed to promote downloadable content such as guides, ebooks, and checklists, as it can double as an intrigue-builder.

Take email marketing platform Emma , whose simple CTA “See How” is a compelling example of how much you can achieve with just two words.

Screenshot of Emma’s “See How” CTA on Email

Of course, this CTA is only effective in the context of what you’ve said before:

  • Your email marketing campaigns can be better (probably);
  • We’re going to give you a framework for improving them.

This is an intriguing proposition (readers are asking, “Can I get more from my existing email list?”).

The call to action “See How” builds on this intrigue, inviting readers to click through and answer the question themselves.

Takeaways from Emma’s CTA example:

  • Introduce a common problem;
  • Imply that you’ll help readers solve it;
  • Keep your CTA copy short and sweet to leverage that curiosity.

Skilled CTA writers understand how readers will respond to an offer and what objections or roadblocks will appear to prevent conversion.

Then, they address these objections directly in their copy.

Take BetterHelp , an online therapy platform that uses social media advertising in its demand generation strategy .

Screenshot of Betterhelp Facebook Ad

The intention of the above ad isn’t to convert readers into paid subscribers. It’s simply to convince ad viewers to click through to BetterHelp’s website and learn more about their product.

But, BetterHelp knows that while this is a low-commitment ask, prospective customers will have many concerns:

  • What will others think if they find out I’m using online therapy?
  • I’m busy. I don’t think it will fit around my schedule.
  • Isn’t therapy usually super expensive?

BetterHelp solves all three objections using just three words: 

  • Discreet (Nobody will even know I’m using BetterHelp).
  • Convenient (Therapy appointments are flexible).
  • Affordable (BetterHelp is more cost-effective than traditional therapy solutions).

In this example, these three words supplement the actual call to action copy, “Online Therapy on Your Schedule,” reiterating that BetterHelp’s therapists are flexible about appointment times.

Takeaways from BetterHelp’s CTA example:

  • Put yourself in the reader’s shoes: What concerns might they have that could prevent them from converting?
  • Ask: What can we communicate that would quell these concerns?
  • Test: What’s the best word (or phrase) to communicate that with as few words as possible?

7. ClickUp backs up its claim with a compelling guarantee 

Convincing calls to action often make impressive claims.

But today’s consumers aren’t easily convinced, so if you make bold claims, be prepared to back them up.

Take ClickUp , which guarantees new users will save one day every week.

Screenshot of ClickUp CTA with a compelling guarantee that can be found on their website

That’s a big promise, but ClickUp backs it up by providing context to their claim (we analyzed over 4,000 teams) and supplementing the popup ad with several impressive logos (Samsung, Netflix, IBM.)

But the real winner here is ClickUp’s CTA copy.

“Get More Time” is all about the result. It’s not about what ClickUp wants (“Sign up today”). It’s about what the customer needs .

Takeaways from ClickUp’s CTA example:

  • If you’re going to make a bold claim, be prepared to back it up;
  • Use customer logos as social proof to back up such statements;
  • Frame your CTA copy from the customer’s perspective, not yours.

These call-to-action examples are a solid starting point for designing high-performing CTAs that resonate with your own audience. What works for these brands may not work for yours, so it’s always better to hypothesize and test.

CTAs that convert at high rates come from strategic experimentation. This is the only way to determine whether the word “Get” performs better than “Sign up” or “Access” for a given call to action. And it’s one of the best ways to see real business growth . Check out our A/B testing tutorial today, and become a CTA testing pro.

Related Posts

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Should you say 'read more' or 'product information' in your product category view? Which is…

CTA examples

The call to action is a core component of marketing, sales, and any persuasion-based effort.…

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

In today's review I'm assessing whether websites in question could do anything to better get…

how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

Planning to create a promo video to increase conversions? Good idea. Table of contents1. Dollar…

Picture of Josh Krissansen

Josh Krissansen

Josh is a Content Specialist at Grizzle, a content marketing & SEO agency, and a freelance content writer for B2B clients in the SaaS space.

Current article:

Search posts.

  • Acquisition (182)
  • Brand Building (22)
  • Business Building (109)
  • Copywriting (42)
  • CRO & Testing (316)
  • Customer Stories (7)
  • Digital Analytics (89)
  • Marketing Tactics (50)
  • Original Research (15)
  • Psychology (81)
  • Social Media (20)
  • User Experience & Persuasive Design (179)

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Join 140,000+ marketers and get a weekly expert-led newsletter focused on helping marketing teams overcome growth challenges, punch above their weight, and crush their competition.

  • Your e-mail *
  • I agree to receive updates from CXL.
  • Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

How To Write a Call to Action That Works [Tips + 6 Examples]

Ready for your marketing campaigns to actually drive results? We’ll show you how to motivate your audience with a killer call to action.

cover image

Table of Contents

You know how they say a closed mouth doesn’t get fed? If you want someone to do something, you gotta ask for it. Writing a killer call to action (CTA) is one strategy to get what you want.

Whether you’re trying to get people to buy your products, sign up for your emails, or join your cult, crafting the perfect call to action is essential for success.

But how do you write a call to action that stands out from the crowd and actually drives results? In this blog post, we’ll show you how to motivate with some powerful examples of moving calls to action and tips on writing them yourself.

Bonus: Download a free guide to social advertising and learn the 5 steps to building effective campaigns. No tricks or boring tips—just simple, easy-to-follow instructions that really work.

What is a call to action?

A call to action is a word or phrase that prompts action. It is a marketing term to describe urging your audience to act in a certain way.

A call to action can appear as a clickable button or simply as a piece of text. Call-to-action buttons and phrases can appear at any place in the user journey that you want to direct your audience.

Let’s say you’re trying to sell a pair of shoes on Instagram, and you’re crafting clear social media CTAs . You might have a call to action at the end of your social post caption that says, “Click the link in our bio.” The link in your bio could lead to a product page with information about the shoes on it. The call to action on this page would be an “Add to shopping cart” button.

CTAs aren’t just for social media. They can also appear in emails for an email marketing campaign, on paid ads, at the end of a blog post, and on landing pages.

CTAs are common in print marketing, too — think billboards or flyers that scream “Call Now!”

Examples of common CTAs

You’ll see plenty of CTAs around, but there are a few tried and tested phrases on repeat.

These common CTAs are uncomplicated phrases that tell your user exactly what to do and what they can expect once they follow through. There’s power in simplicity, which is why you’ll see these words used over and over again.

Some of the most common CTAs are:

  • Try for free
  • Add to cart
  • Get started

Why is a good CTA important?

A well-crafted call to action serves as a bridge or a well-lit path. It guides your user where you want them to go. Which, if your business plan is in the right place, will be toward your goals.

A strong CTA will grab customers’ attention and incentivize them to take the decisive step necessary to achieve their goals. Effective CTAs give customers confidence in your business. They can communicate security, trustworthiness, and convenience, all of which can increase conversions or drive traffic where you want it to go.

Calls to action can also combat decision fatigue. When someone has too many options, they can become overwhelmed by choice. CTAs can help cut through decision confusion by giving your reader a direct command. Now, go read the best practices for creating effective CTAs.

Best practices for creating effective CTAs

Much like cutting your bangs, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about creating CTAs. You’ll need to consider things like copywriting, design, visuals, and placement on a webpage.

It might seem like a lot, but we’ve got you covered with the handy best practice list below!

Make it concise and clear

The CTA should be concise and lay out a clear request for the customer, whether that be for them to join a mailing list or purchase a product or service. Don’t write your reader a paragraph with the CTA buried within it; you want them to be able to immediately know where they should go.

Squarespace curious candles get started call to action button

Source: Squarespac e

Make it visible

People don’t scour your web page. They don’t read every word, and they certainly don’t like searching for something. If your CTA isn’t immediately obvious, you will lose your viewer’s interest in seconds. Remember, a competitor is likely doing the same thing you are, and your customers are spoilt for choice.

Make your call-to-action buttons or phrases clearly visible on your page. You can tailor your imagery or site design to point to the CTA for added visibility. Take Fashion Nova, for example. Here, the banner model’s body points toward the Shop Now CTA.

Fashion Nova up to 70% off sitewide

Source: Fashion Nova

Use white space

A great way to make sure people can see your CTA is to surround it with white space.

Don’t be scared of white space on your website! It allows your viewers to breathe in between content and can highlight important information.

Surrounding your button CTA with white space makes it pop.

shop west elm Canada site with white space

Source: West Elm

Use contrasting or bold colors

Stop signs are red for a reason. They pop out among cityscapes or the countryside because that bright, arresting red isn’t at risk of blending in. Do the same for your CTA button colors.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t veer away from your brand colors. A secondary brand color can do the job well. (And if you want to know more about brand colors and a consistent style guide , we’ve got you covered.)

McDonald’s crispy savory waffle fries order now

Source: McDonald’s

Have well-considered page placement

Where you place your call-to-action buttons matters a great deal. You want to consider the natural flow of your user’s journey. You’ll have some users who immediately want to get shopping or head to the next page, and you’ll have users who want to scroll through your landing page before moving on.

A call to action should be placed under your header and at the bottom of your page. You want to capture people immediately (if they’re willing) and give those who need a bit more time another opportunity to hit that CTA at the bottom.

Squarespace all you need to power your ecommerce website get started

Source: Squarespace

Write benefit-forward supporting text

Supporting text is the content that comes before or in between your CTAs. It can be blog content, email body copy, the text on your website, or any copy that supports your CTA.

This extra information is your opportunity to show your audience the benefit that befalls them when they click your CTA.

ecommerce websites that stand out browse templates and learn more

For example, maybe you’re trying to get an audience to sign up for your email newsletter. If you want to convince people to hand over their email addresses, you’ll have to tell them what that newsletter will do for them.

A copywriting newsletter might say something like, “We sift through thousands of copywriting samples and pull only the best for you to repurpose for your own use. Plus, we tell you exactly why they work, so you don’t have to spend time puzzling through strategy. Impress your clients, save time, and look like an expert. Sign up today.”

The supporting copy highlights benefits so the call to action feels extra compelling. The reader knows exactly what to expect when they sign up for the email newsletter and how it will benefit them.

Create thoughtful copywriting

Aside from benefit-forward supporting text, the rest of your copywriting needs to be on point. Everything, from your site headers to your social posts, needs to be in your brand voice and speak directly to your audience.

Don’t forget to pay attention to the language you’re using both in and around your calls to action. Powerful words strike a chord with your audience’s emotions. White-hot CTA copy is an explosive way to skyrocket your ROI. (See what I did there?)

That being said, don’t confuse your audience. While your surrounding text can be full of powerful language, your CTAs need to be clear so your audience knows where they are headed. “Take the Quiz” or “Shop Now” gives your audience everything they need to know about where the button leads.

feeling fatigued? order today and get your energy back learn more and take the quiz

Source: Qunol

Test, test, and test again

The only way to really know if you’re using the best version of your CTA is to test it. Running A/B tests on your calls to action will show you which strategy performs the best.

It’s a simple method: You change one element (like your copy, placement, or colors) and let it run for a set amount of time. Then, see how it compares to the previous version.

6 great call-to-action examples

Now that you know what to do, it’s time to check out what others are doing! Get inspiration for your next CTA from the examples below.

Oh, how we love a good mystery! Whether it’s a cheesy crime drama or a surprise gift from a company, there’s something about not knowing what you might get that is just so enticing.

Glossier’s “It’s a mystery!” CTA makes us itchy to click that button just to see what’s on the other side.

What's that? a special offer for you first order It’s a mystery! CTA

Source: Glossier

Article uses color to its advantage with the website’s call-to-action buttons. Their secondary brand color is a bright coral, which you can see is used for the “Add to cart” CTA button.

It’s clear, eye-catching, and concise, everything a great CTA button should be.

Article beta cypress green left chaise add to cart CTA

Source: Article

Coco & Eve

Coco & Eve’s email marketing campaign uses a discount code as a CTA. Who doesn’t love saving money? Incorporating your discount code into your CTA is a clever way to get people to click.

take an extra 20% off sitewide discount code

Source: Coco & Eve’s email campaign

While this strategy worked well in Coco & Eve’s email campaign, they ran into CTA limitations on other platforms, like Facebook. If you’re advertising on LinkedIn or Facebook, you’ll know that the apps force you to use a set of standard CTA copy on the buttons.

While this poses some limitations, you can still add supporting text that motivates your audience to click. Below, Coco & Eve included the discount code on the imagery instead, which is just one of many clever ways to go about Facebook advertising .

friends and family sale

Source: Coco & Eve on Facebook

Twitter’s “Tweet” CTA uses its own brand-specific language. Before the rise of social media, if you had told someone to tweet something, you’d be met with a blank stare. (We’ve come since 2006, truly.)

To do this yourself, just create a globally-used platform that makes birdsong synonymous with snippets of thought. Easy.

Twitter homepage with Tweet CTA

Source: Twitter

Tushy uses social proof as supporting text in its Instagram story ad . The “100,000+ 5 Star reviews” statement below serves to motivate others to grab a Tushy. Social proof is one of those marketing tactics that just works. People look to other people to determine what’s hot and what’s not.

Social proof works a lot like the bandwagon effect , a kind of cognitive bias. The bandwagon effect is pretty much exactly like it sounds; when a majority of people like or endorse something, it’s often picked up by others. And, with 100,000 5-star reviews called out, Tushy is using the bandwagon effect to its full advantage below.

Tushy free shopping on bidets

Source: Tushy on Instagram

NatGeo dangles a free trial in its Instagram ad, one of many effective call-to-action ideas you can shamelessly steal. Although, when so many people are doing it and finding success, is it really stealing?

redeem free trial for National Geographic online

Source: NatGeo on Instagram

Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage the audience, measure results, and more. Try it free today.

Get Started

Do it better with Hootsuite , the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.

Become a better social marketer.

Get expert social media advice delivered straight to your inbox.

Colleen Christison is a freelance copywriter, copy editor, and brand communications specialist. She spent the first six years of her career in award-winning agencies like Major Tom, writing for social media and websites and developing branding campaigns. Following her agency career, Colleen built her own writing practice, working with brands like Mission Hill Winery, The Prevail Project, and AntiSocial Media.

Related Articles

cover image

How to Write a Great Social Media Call to Action

If you want your audience to do something, you can’t just hope and hint. You need a good social media call to action.

facebook ad conversions

11 Tips to Improve Your Facebook Ad Conversions

Facebook is the number one social media site for driving conversions, which makes creating effective Facebook ads an integral part of your social media strategy. Follow these 11 tips to convert your next Facebook campaign into a success.

cover image

The 21 Social Media Metrics You Must Track for Success in 2024

Pin down the social media metrics that really matter and learn how to track them to build a winning social media presence.

cover image

24 Gen Z Statistics That Matter to Marketers in 2024

Craft your next marketing strategy with these Gen Z statistics. Find out who they are, where they are online, and what they want from brands.

  • Speech Writing
  • Delivery Techniques
  • PowerPoint & Visuals
  • Speaker Habits
  • Speaker Resources

Speech Critiques

  • Book Reviews
  • Browse Articles
  • ALL Articles
  • Learn About Us
  • About Six Minutes
  • Meet Our Authors
  • Write for Us
  • Advertise With Us

5 Keys to End Your Speech with a Great Call-to-Action

Yet many speakers miss a fantastic opportunity with a call-to-action that is wishy-washy, hypothetical, or ill-constructed. Even worse, some speakers omit the call-to-action entirely.

A poor call-to-action undermines the effectiveness of your speech; a great call-to-action stirs your audience to act enthusiastically.

In this article, we reveal the qualities of a strong speech call-to-action which will lead your audience to act.

What is a Speech Call-To-Action?

A speech call-to-action is an explicit appeal to your audience to take a specific action following your speech. A call-to-action is most often made at the conclusion of a persuasive speech.

“ If you have been persuasive and your audience is emotionally invested, the best time for action is now. ”

For example, you might call on your audience to…

  • … adopt a new business process
  • … sponsor an event
  • … attend an event
  • … fund a research initiative
  • … register to vote
  • … join a club
  • … train for a marathon
  • … read out loud to their children
  • … donate money to a charity
  • … travel to Saskatchewan
  • … buy a fire extinguisher
  • … eat more vegetables
  • … use public transit

Guidelines for a Strong Speech Call-to-Action

Your call-to-action and your approach to delivering it may vary according to your audience and your speaking style. While there is no rigid formula, there are a number of  guidelines which will improve the effectiveness of your call-to-action.

  • Make your call-to-action clear and direct.
  • Have your audience act quickly.
  • Lower barriers to action.
  • Focus on benefits for your audience.
  • Customize your call-to-action for each person.

1. Make your call-to-action clear and direct.

Don’t hint. Don’t imply. Don’t suggest.

It’s not a whisper-to-think-about- action; it’s a call-to -action.

Use direct language, and eliminate wishy-washy phrases.

  • Instead of “Maybe you could think about joining…”, say “Join…”
  • Instead of “It would be good to train for…”, say “Train for… “

Don’t assume that your audience will “figure out” what needs to be done. (I have made this mistake in the past and regretted it.) If members of your audience walk out of the room thinking “Wow, this sounds great, but I’m just not sure what to do…”, your call-to-action was not clear enough.

2. Have your audience act quickly.

If you have been persuasive and your audience is emotionally invested, the best time for action is now. The longer it takes to initiate the action, the more likely that your audience will lose motivation.

So, an ideal call-to-action is one which your audience can act on immediately, perhaps even before they leave the room. If this isn’t feasible, then aim for actions which can reasonably be completed (or at least started) within hours or a day or two.

3. Lower barriers to action.

To help your audience act quickly, eliminate as many (trivial or non-trivial) barriers as you can.

For example, ask the following questions about your audience.

  • Do they need to sign up? Bring forms and pens and pass them out.
  • Do they need to read additional information? Bring handouts, or copies of books, or website references.
  • Do they need approval before they can act? Make the first call-to-action to organize the meeting with stakeholders.
  • Do they need to pay? Accept as many forms of payment as possible.

A common psychological barrier is the perception that the suggested action is too big or too risky. This is a legitimate concern, and is often best handled by dividing the call-to-action into several small (less risky) actions.

For example, “train for a marathon” may be too large of a call-to-action for a non-runner. A better call-to-action would be to join a running club or train for a shorter race.

4. Focus on benefits for your audience.

“ A poor call-to-action undermines the effectiveness of your speech; a great call-to-action stirs your audience to act enthusiastically. ”

Always frame your call-to-action in the audience’s best interest.

For example, don’t say this:

  • What I’d really like you to do is…
  • It would make me so happy if you…
  • My foundation has set a target of X that we can reach with your help…

Making you (the speaker) happy is (probably) not highly motivating for your audience.

Instead, say this:

  • Build your financial wealth by…
  • Make your community a safer place to live for yourself and your children by…
  • When you volunteer, you build your skills and gain valuable experience…

Surround the call-to-action with a description of how their lives will be improved when they act. Paint a prosperous vision.

5. Customize your call-to-action for each person.

Audiences don’t act; individuals act. Rather than addressing the group as a whole, focus your call-to-action on each individual in your audience.

Suppose your goal is to have a new business process adopted. Each individual in the room may play a different role in accomplishing this.

  • For the person who controls the budget, the call-to-action is to allocate the necessary funds.
  • For the personnel manager, the call-to-action is to delegate staff to work on the initiative.
  • For others, the call-to-action may be to attend in-depth training about the new process.

Audience analysis is critical . If you know who is in your audience, and understand their motivations and capabilities, you will be able to personalize the call-to-action for them.

Put it into Practice

By working on the planning and execution of the call-to-action in your speeches, you’ll become a more persuasive and effective speaker.

Look back to your last persuasive speech.

  • Did you make a clear and direct call-to-action?
  • Was your audience able to act quickly on it?
  • Did you make an extra effort to lower barriers to action?
  • Did you highlight the benefits for your audience?
  • Did you address individuals rather than the group with a personal call-to-action?

If the answer to any of the above questions was “no”, then how could your call-to-action have been improved?

Please share this...

This is one of many public speaking articles featured on Six Minutes . Subscribe to Six Minutes for free to receive future articles.

Image credit: Megaphone man at the Metro 4 by Hazzat ( CC BY 2.0 )

Add a Comment Cancel reply

E-Mail (hidden)

Subscribe - It's Free!

Follow Us

Similar Articles You May Like...

  • 10 Ways to End Your Speech with a Bang
  • The Ladder of Abstraction and the Public Speaker
  • Speech Critique: Dan Pink (TED 2009)
  • Bookending Your Speech: A Master Technique
  • Speech Analysis: Gettysburg Address – Abraham Lincoln
  • Presentation Power: Four Ways to Persuade

Find More Articles Tagged:

11 comments.

This is a great article. I found in it very useful tactics. thanks a lot.

Brilliant!… can’t wait to put into action. thank you

I really like your tips #3 & 4 about focusing on audience benefits and lowering barriers to action.

Not sure how the tip about personalising the call-to-action should work though. Might you have (say) 3 calls to action if there are 3 decision-makers in the audience?

Very useful to my line of work. Thanks. Keep it up

What would be a good call to action for drug abuse?

Thank you, I found this very helpful in some situations. I definitely recommend this.

My teacher sent me here It really helped. Thank you for taking your precious time to make something to help others even though you didn’t have to. It is very much appreciated

Thank you soooo much it really helped me on my essay for school thank you so much .😊😊😊

I am working on reframing a call to action for a speech THANK YOU for the help ahead of time

How do you write a call-to-action about global warming?

I appreciate your six minute articles Thank you

Recent Tweets

5 Keys to End Your Speech with a Great Call-to-Action https://t.co/a8rputDpUk by @6minutes — @red_suraj Nov 6th, 2017
“A poor call-to-action undermines the effectiveness of your speech; a great call-to-action stirs your audience to a… https://t.co/VbYz3VcxvH — @ToppComm Jul 3rd, 2018
Ending a speech in a meaningful, impactful way is CHALLENGING! Luckily, we have helpful guidelines from @6minutes o… https://t.co/3z46iJn6Os — @speakupcamb Aug 7th, 2018
5 Keys to End Your Speech with a Great Call-to-Action https://t.co/8E7KimKeRE by @6minutes — Mel Sherwood – Pitch & Presentation Specialist (@MelSherwood_) Sep 7th, 2018
5 Keys to End Your Speech with a Great Call-to-Action https://t.co/vkMpPLLHwK by @6minutes — Marcie Hill (@Marcie_Hill) Sep 17th, 2018
5 Keys to End Your Speech with a Great Call-to-Action https://t.co/W8ctelzMPc — @surajd_ Oct 25th, 2018
As a #publicspeaker, you want to see your listeners taking action because of you. To help your audience take action… https://t.co/d4Vf5nSgtS — @GregoryCNSmith Nov 14th, 2018
What is a Speech Call-To-Action? In this article, we reveal the qualities of a strong speech call-to-action which w… https://t.co/nrUtrhIzPS — Free You Up VA (@freeyouupva) Dec 29th, 2018
As Toastmasters, or public speakers, we are usually trying to persuade our audience to take action. Check out his… https://t.co/Tf9LF5ocKj — IS Toastmasters 1424 (@istm1424) Mar 4th, 2019
“Surround the call-to-action with a description of how their lives will be improved when they act. Paint a prospero… https://t.co/ZPGExX28nM — Oke’ Toastmasters (@oketoast) Mar 4th, 2019

Featured Articles

  • Majora Carter (TED, 2006) Energy, Passion, Speaking Rate
  • Hans Rosling (TED, 2006) 6 Techniques to Present Data
  • J.A. Gamache (Toastmasters, 2007) Gestures, Prop, Writing
  • Steve Jobs (Stanford, 2005) Figures of speech, rule of three
  • Al Gore (TED, 2006) Humor, audience interaction
  • Dick Hardt (OSCON, 2005) Lessig Method of Presentation

Books We Recommend

[ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
Follow Six Minutes

Six Minutes Copyright © 2007-2022 All Rights Reserved.

Read our permissions policy , privacy policy , or disclosure policy .

Comments? Questions? Contact us .

IMAGES

  1. How To Write A Good Call To Action For A Persuasive Essay

    how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

  2. How To Write A Good Call To Action For A Persuasive Essay

    how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

  3. Call To Action, argument paper

    how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

  4. 21 Call to Action Examples in Writing and 3 Rules for Effective CTAs

    how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

  5. PPT

    how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

  6. How To Use A Call To Action In An Argumentative Essay

    how to write a call to action in an essay conclusion

COMMENTS

  1. 50 Effective "CTAs" (Calls to Action), with Tips

    The following are the most common CTAs you'll see in marketing. Direct Action CTAs such as "Buy Now" or "Sign Up Today". Informational CTAs like "Learn More" or "Read the Guide". Social sharing CTAs such as "Share With Your Network" or "Repost". Feedback CTAs like "Leave a Review" or "Take a Survey".

  2. Call To Action (One Way To Write A Conclusion Paragraph)

    Call To Action is a great way to close an essay. This video explains how to write it and shares some examples along with tips to help you as you practice it ...

  3. How to Write a Conclusion, With Examples

    Restate your thesis: remind readers of your main point. Reiterate your supporting points: remind readers of your evidence or arguments. Wrap everything up by tying it all together. Write a clincher: with the last sentence, leave your reader with something to think about. For many, the conclusion is the most dreaded part of essay writing.

  4. How to Write a Conclusion with Conclusion Paragraph Examples

    Consider a Quote (if Relevant): A powerful quote from a credible source can add authority and depth to your essay conclusion. Ensure the quote aligns with your thesis and enhances your message. End with a Strong Call to Action (Optional): If your purpose is to persuade or inspire action, conclude with a clear call to action. Tell your reader ...

  5. How to Write Compelling Conclusions

    The Call to Action. The call to action can be used at the end of a variety of papers, but it works best for persuasive papers. Persuasive papers include social action papers and Rogerian argument essays, which begin with a problem and move toward a solution that serves as the author's thesis.

  6. 16 call to action examples + how to write an effective CTA

    Now that we've covered the writing, let's talk about how your CTA should look. The design, layout, and typography of your call to action all play major roles in its success. CTA design best practices. If you're placing your call to action on a web page or other content you design yourself, you want to place it at the top of your visual hierarchy.

  7. Writing a Research Paper Conclusion

    Having summed up your key arguments or findings, the conclusion ends by considering the broader implications of your research. This means expressing the key takeaways, practical or theoretical, from your paper—often in the form of a call for action or suggestions for future research. Argumentative paper: Strong closing statement

  8. Writing Essay Conclusions

    Method: Make a call to action. The goal of a call to action is to prompt readers to do something. Example: Citizens who agree that music education should be a part of all public schools in the United States can make a difference by writing their representatives, going to a school board meeting, and when a ballot initiative comes around, voting ...

  9. How to Conclude an Essay

    Step 1: Return to your thesis. To begin your conclusion, signal that the essay is coming to an end by returning to your overall argument. Don't just repeat your thesis statement —instead, try to rephrase your argument in a way that shows how it has been developed since the introduction. Example: Returning to the thesis.

  10. Conclusions

    The conclusion allows you to have the final say on the issues you have raised in your paper, to synthesize your thoughts, to demonstrate the importance of your ideas, and to propel your reader to a new view of the subject. It is also your opportunity to make a good final impression and to end on a positive note.

  11. How to Write a Conclusion for an Argumentative Essay

    For example, if your essay has been primarily formal and academic, maintain that tone in the conclusion (e.g., avoid closing with an informal anecdote or a witty observation). End With a Thought-Provoking Statement. End your conclusion with a thought-provoking statement or call to action. This could involve a recommendation or prediction, or ...

  12. 5 Steps To Writing an Effective Call to Action (With Examples)

    Demonstrate exactly what your CTA will deliver and how. ‍. 3. Create a sense of urgency. Include phrases like "limited time offer" and "for today only" to motivate users to act. Pair these with action-oriented words like "subscribe" and "download" to encourage a particular action. ‍. 4. Consider your target audience.

  13. Effective Strategies for Crafting a Strong Essay Conclusion

    Use Powerful Language. Choosing strong and impactful language in your essay conclusion can leave a lasting impression on your readers. Avoid using dull or generic words and opt for vivid and evocative language instead. Use words that emphasize the significance of your ideas and reinforce your main points. Consider using powerful verbs, vivid ...

  14. How to Write a Conclusion

    4. Provide an Insight and Call to Action. Make your conclusion thought-provoking by offering insights or suggesting further action related to the topic. This leaves a lasting impact on your readers and encourages them to contemplate the subject matter beyond your essay.

  15. How to Conclude an Essay (With Examples)

    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 ...

  16. How to Write a Conclusion

    Your conclusion is the last thing your audience reads. It should relate back to your argument and leave your reader with something to think about. Your conclusion may include: A "so what" that explains why your argument is important. A call to action related to your claim. A restatement of your thesis or claim.

  17. How to Write an Effective Call to Action

    Level Up Your Team. See why leading organizations rely on MasterClass for learning & development. A call to action, or CTA, is a digital marketing tool that companies use for an array of reasons, including building their customer base, capturing a sale, and turning web visitors into paying customers.

  18. Persuasive Conclusions

    Your persuasive conclusion will look similar to your informative conclusion. You will create three parts, a summary of important pionts and restatement of the thesis, closure, and a clincher. Your call to action will fit into your closure. What do you want the audience to do with the information that you provided?

  19. The secret to writing a call to action in a persuasive speech

    4 call to action examples in persuasive writing. 1. Getting doers to do something. Doers are the worker bees of an organization. They are the ones that hear what needs to get done — and then do it. Doers don't shy away from physical tasks, and have the ability to round up the troops to inspire action in others, as well.

  20. 7 Great Examples of Call To Action Writing

    In this article, we'll explore seven powerful CTA examples from high-performing companies. You'll learn what makes them so convincing so that you can apply these lessons in your own CTA writing. Use Voice of Customer research to understand buyer goals. 2. ActiveCampaign makes it clear what customers are signing up for.

  21. How To Write a Call to Action That Works [Tips + 6 Examples]

    A call to action is a word or phrase that prompts action. It is a marketing term to describe urging your audience to act in a certain way. A call to action can appear as a clickable button or simply as a piece of text. Call-to-action buttons and phrases can appear at any place in the user journey that you want to direct your audience.

  22. 5 Keys to End Your Speech with a Great Call-to-Action

    Customize your call-to-action for each person. 1. Make your call-to-action clear and direct. Don't hint. Don't imply. Don't suggest. It's not a whisper-to-think-about- action; it's a call-to -action. Use direct language, and eliminate wishy-washy phrases. Instead of "Maybe you could think about joining…", say "Join…".

  23. How To Write a Good Call to Action (With Examples)

    Example 2: Call to action: Use eco-friendly straws Revised call to action: When you drink using plastic straws, you have a higher risk of using materials that pollute ocean life. Use eco-friendly straws to minimize the impact of pollution under the sea and worldwide. Learn how to write a call to action, including using action verbs and a unique ...