Lesson Nine

Concluding sentences

A concluding sentence is the last sentence in the paragraph. It refers the reader’s attention to the topic sentence, and if there are more paragraphs that follow, the concluding sentence may offer some kind of a transition to the next paragraph.

Let’s look at the paragraph from the previous lesson:

Early childhood education programs such as Head Start provide cognitive benefits well beyond preschool. Recent studies that compare student test scores show that children who are exposed to structured learning activities outside the home environment are better able to adapt to formalized instruction in grades kindergarten through third grade than children who remain at home. This is particularly true among children from low-income families and children whose parents have limited proficiency in English. Children living in states that do not provide early childhood programs, on the other hand, lag behind their peers. State and local governments must continue to bridge the achievement gap so that children may reach their full academic potential at an early age.

The sentence in red concludes the paragraph. Not only does it refer to the topic sentence, but it also ends the paragraph with some kind of “call to action” following the supporting sentences. In this case, the idea proposed is for state and local to bridge the achievement gap.

The next lesson will explain the most common types of paragraphs.

Next: Lesson Ten