IGCSE English 0500: Writing a Synthesising Coursework Conclusion

Your discursive coursework assignment argues that the local library should extend its evening opening hours to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Across its body paragraphs, the assignment has developed three strands: wider access for people who work during the day, extra study space during exam season, and a quiet space that benefits mental wellbeing.

Write a concluding paragraph (roughly 70–100 words) that:

draws the three strands together into a single closing statement, rather than restating them one by one in the same order and wording already used
does not introduce any new supporting point beyond the three strands above
ends with a considered final reflection or implication, not a flat restatement of the thesis or a cliché closing phrase such as "In conclusion, as I have said." [8]

Assessment focus

This question tests the ability to close an extended argument by drawing separate strands into one final idea, rather than either mechanically repeating each paragraph’s point in turn or trailing off without a genuine sense of closure. A skill particularly relevant to untimed coursework, where there is space to draft and revise the ending deliberately.

Mark scheme (8 marks)

2 marks: the three strands are synthesised into a single closing statement, not restated one by one in the original wording.
2 marks: no new supporting point is introduced beyond the three strands already developed in the assignment.
2 marks: the paragraph ends with a considered final reflection or implication, not a flat restatement of the thesis or a cliché closing phrase.
2 marks: the paragraph is cohesive and roughly the specified length.

Model conclusion

“Three people arrive at the library door after five o’clock for three different reasons: the shift worker who cannot get there before six, the exam candidate needing another quiet hour before results week, and the visitor who comes for nothing more than an hour of calm and leaves steadier than they arrived. What unites them is not one problem but one answer. Hours that finally match the hours people are actually free. Extending them is not an experiment in what the library could become; it is recognition of who has been waiting outside its doors all along.”

Why this works

Rather than repeating each strand in turn, the model conclusion folds all three into a single image (three people, each representing one strand already argued in the assignment (daytime access, exam-season study space, mental wellbeing), converging on the library at the same later hour) so the strands are synthesised rather than listed. No new supporting point, such as cost or practicality, is introduced; every detail in the conclusion traces back to one of the three strands already developed in the body paragraphs. The final sentence (“who has been waiting outside its doors all along”) offers a considered implication beyond the thesis itself, giving the paragraph genuine closure rather than a restated summary.

Common pitfalls specific to this task

Writing three separate sentences, each restating one strand in turn (“Firstly… Secondly… Finally…”), which summarises rather than synthesises.
Adding a new point in the final paragraph, such as the library’s cost to the council, that was never argued earlier in the assignment.
Ending on “In conclusion, the library should extend its hours,” which restates the thesis without any further reflection or implication.