How to Write an Introduction and Conclusion (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: C720
Your introduction and conclusion are the frame of your essay. A strong introduction sets out your argument in a few sentences, and a strong conclusion shows where that argument has led. Together, they show the examiner that you have answered the question from start to finish, which is exactly what you need for the highest marks in WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature.
This page shows you how to write an introduction for English Literature essays built around a thesis statement, how to write a conclusion that develops it, and how the two link together, with worked examples from Macbeth, An Inspector Calls and A Christmas Carol.
What is a thesis statement in English Literature?
A thesis statement is a short answer to the essay question that sets out your argument (the overall view you will prove in your essay). It is usually one sentence long, and it goes in your introduction.
A thesis is different from repeating the question. Repeating the question tells the examiner what you have been asked; a thesis tells them what you think. Here are both for this question:
Question: June 2025: Macbeth changes throughout the play. Write about some of the ways Macbeth changes and how Shakespeare presents this.
Repeating the question | Thesis statement |
|---|---|
Macbeth changes throughout the play, and Shakespeare presents this in different ways. | Macbeth changes from a loyal soldier into a fearful tyrant, and Shakespeare suggests that ambition alone is not enough to make him act. |
Only the thesis gives a judgement on how and why Macbeth changes. It also gives the essay a direction, because each paragraph can now test one part of that view.
Your thesis covers the whole essay. Each main paragraph then opens with a topic sentence that covers one part of it.
The strongest thesis statements are built around a big idea (a concept such as power, guilt or responsibility that runs through the whole text), so they let you write about the whole text, not just one scene.
How to write an essay introduction for English Literature
Your introduction is built around your thesis statement. Here is how to write it in four steps:
Find the focus of the question: pick out the key words, and check what the question asks you to write about. Some questions open with a statement, such as “Macbeth changes throughout the play.” Others ask for your opinion, such as which character you have “the most sympathy” for
Write your thesis statement: give your overall answer to the question in one sentence, using its key words
Signpost your main ideas: briefly name the two or three ideas your paragraphs will use to prove your thesis
Name the writer’s purpose: say briefly why the writer presents the character or theme this way
Here are the four steps for this question:
Question: November 2021: Write about Sheila Birling and how she is presented at different points in the play.
Step | An Inspector Calls |
|---|---|
1. Focus | Key words: “Sheila”, “how she is presented”, “different points in the play” |
2. Thesis statement | Priestley presents Sheila as the character who learns the most from the Inspector’s visit. |
3. Main ideas | She moves from a spoilt, self-centred young woman to someone who accepts her guilt, and finally to someone who challenges her parents’ refusal to change. |
4. Writer’s purpose | Through Sheila, Priestley suggests that the younger generation can build a fairer, more responsible society. |
Put steps 2 to 4 together and you have a three-sentence introduction:
Priestley presents Sheila as the character who learns the most from the Inspector’s visit. She moves from a spoilt, self-centred young woman to someone who accepts her guilt, and finally to someone who challenges her parents’ refusal to change. Through Sheila, Priestley suggests that the younger generation can build a fairer, more responsible society. |
How long should an introduction be?
Two to four sentences (one short paragraph) is enough. The three-sentence introduction above is a good model to follow. A long introduction uses up time you need for analysis, so set up your argument and move on.
What should you leave out of your introduction?
Leave out anything that delays your argument:
Plot summary: the examiner knows the story
Background facts: include context only if it shapes your answer, for example Priestley writing in 1945 about the kind of society he wanted Britain to become
Quotations: save your evidence for your main paragraphs, where you have room to analyse it
A list of techniques: name methods when you analyse them, not in advance
A pre-learned opening: stock phrases such as “the eponymous hero” rarely fit the question, so learn each text’s big ideas instead and build a fresh thesis in the exam
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Spend the first few minutes of each essay planning, before you write a word of your introduction. Jot down a one-sentence answer to the question, then list three ideas that support it, each with a moment or quotation from the text. That gives you your thesis and main ideas, so all your introduction needs is the writer’s purpose.
For example, if you decide that Macbeth changes because his ambition is “strong, but not enough on its own”, your three ideas might be his hesitation before the murder, Lady Macbeth’s pressure and the emptiness he feels once he is king. Your thesis is ready, and your plan gives you a clear order for your paragraphs.
How to write a conclusion for an English Literature essay
A conclusion brings your argument together. It should show where your thesis has led, not simply repeat it. Here is how to write an essay conclusion in three steps:
Answer the question again, using its key words and what your essay has shown
Draw your ideas together: sum up in a sentence how your paragraphs support your thesis
Zoom out to the big idea: say what the text suggests more widely about people or society
Keep your conclusion focused. It is not the place for a new point or a new quotation: everything in it should come from the argument you have already made.
You can see a full conclusion, alongside a weak version, in the examples further down this page.
Do you need an introduction and conclusion?
Yes, you should include both. No marks are given for an introduction or conclusion on their own, but the top band of the WJEC Eduqas mark scheme asks you to “sustain focus on the task, including overview”. A clear thesis at the start and a conclusion that draws the argument together at the end both show a sustained focus on the question. The exception is the 15-mark questions (the Shakespeare extract question, the first anthology question and the first unseen poetry question), where you have about 20 minutes. A one-sentence overview is enough there. Examiners praised extract answers that gave “some overview of its significance and key ideas”.
How long should a conclusion be?
Aim for two to four sentences, like your introduction. If you are running out of time, write one sentence that answers the question: a brief final judgement is far better than no ending at all.
How should your introduction and conclusion link together?
Your introduction and conclusion work as a pair. The introduction states your argument, your main paragraphs develop it, and your conclusion shows where it has led. This is called a line of argument (one clear view that runs through the whole essay).
Think of it like a journey. Your introduction says where you are heading, and your conclusion shows that you have arrived, and what you have found out on the way.
The table below uses Macbeth as an example. It shows how one line of argument runs from the introduction, through each main paragraph, to the conclusion.
Question: June 2025: Macbeth changes throughout the play. Write about some of the ways Macbeth changes and how Shakespeare presents this.
Part of the essay | What it does | An example using Macbeth |
|---|---|---|
Introduction | States the thesis | Macbeth changes from a loyal soldier into a fearful tyrant, and Shakespeare suggests that ambition alone is not enough to make him act. |
Paragraph 1 | Tests the first idea | Macbeth admits that only “Vaulting ambition” drives him, and he decides not to kill Duncan. |
Paragraph 2 | Tests the second idea | His ambition only turns into action when Lady Macbeth questions his courage, so it needs her pressure to drive him to murder. |
Paragraph 3 | Tests the third idea | Once he is king, his ambition brings fear instead of satisfaction. |
Conclusion | Shows where the thesis has led | Macbeth changes because his ambition is real but hollow: it needs Lady Macbeth’s pressure to become action, and once fulfilled it leaves him fearful and alone. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare warns that ambition destroys anyone who lets it overrule their conscience. |
The conclusion does not copy the introduction. It answers the same question, but with the deeper understanding the essay has built.
What do strong introductions and conclusions look like?
The table below shows three introductions for this A Christmas Carol question. Each version answers the question more directly and sets up a clearer argument.
Question: June 2025: Write about Scrooge and how he is presented at different points in the novel.
Version | Introduction: A Christmas Carol |
|---|---|
Weak | A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens, published in 1843. It is about a man called Scrooge who is visited by three ghosts. In this essay, I am going to write about how Scrooge is presented. |
Better | Dickens presents Scrooge learning lots of lessons from the ghosts who visit him. He learns that he should be nicer to other people and less mean with his money, and by the end of the novella he changes. |
Strong | Dickens presents Scrooge’s change across the novella as a journey from isolation to connection. The Spirits show him what his greed has cost himself and others, and the vision of his own lonely death finally convinces him to change. Through Scrooge, Dickens suggests that wealth only has value when it is used to help others. |
The weak version gives background and announces the topic without answering the question. The better version answers the question and names some of the lessons, but it describes what happens instead of making a judgement, and it never says why Dickens presents Scrooge’s change. The strong version makes a judgement and sets out the stages of the argument.
The next table shows two conclusions for the An Inspector Calls question from earlier on this page.
Question: November 2021: Write about Sheila Birling and how she is presented at different points in the play.
Version | Conclusion: An Inspector Calls |
|---|---|
Weak | In conclusion, Sheila is presented in lots of different ways at different points in the play, and she changes a lot during the play. |
Strong | Priestley presents Sheila as the character who changes the most, moving from thoughtless privilege to genuine responsibility. Unlike her parents, she refuses to forget what the Inspector has shown her once the danger seems to have passed. Through Sheila, Priestley suggests that real change means accepting responsibility for others, and that the hope for a fairer society lies with the younger generation. |
The strong version returns to the thesis, shows how Sheila’s change develops and zooms out to Priestley’s message.
Introductions and conclusions in your WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature exam
WJEC Eduqas assesses your argument through AO1, which asks you to “maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response”.
This table shows how to approach each part of your two components:
Component | Section | Introduction | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
Component 1 | Extract question (15 marks): in one sentence, place the extract in the play and sum up its key idea. Essay question (20 + 5 marks): give a thesis about the whole play | Extract question: finish with one sentence that answers the question. Essay question: make a final judgement on the play as a whole | |
Component 1 | First question (15 marks): sum up the poem’s big idea in one sentence, and save most of your context for your main paragraphs. Comparison question (25 marks): introduce both poems and the connection between them | First question: zoom out to what the poet is saying overall. Comparison question: draw the two poems together in a final comparison | |
Component 2 | There is one question on each text, so build your thesis from its key words. You do not have to start with the extract | Return to your thesis and zoom out to the writer’s message | |
Component 2 | Give a thesis about the whole novel. You do not have to start with the extract. A brief link to context can help if it shapes your thesis | Make a final judgement on the novel as a whole | |
Component 2 | First question (15 marks): sum up what the poem is about in one sentence, using the statement printed above the question. Comparison question (25 marks): open with the main similarity or difference between the two poems | First question: zoom out to what the poet is saying overall. Comparison question: end with a brief final comparison of the two poems |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Your conclusion is the last thing the examiner reads before they judge your argument. Before you write it, reread your introduction. Then answer the question again, showing how far your thinking has developed since your first paragraph.
For example, if your introduction argues that Scrooge’s lessons take him “from isolation to connection”, your conclusion might show that Dickens uses this journey to argue that no one is beyond redemption. The examiner can follow your argument from your first sentence to your last, which is the sustained focus on the question that top-level answers show.
Sources
Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor (eds), 2005, The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Second Edition), Oxford University Press
Priestley, J.B. (1992). An Inspector Calls. Heinemann.
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Project Gutenberg eBook #46. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46
WJEC Eduqas. GCSE (9–1) English Literature Specification (C720), Version 4, August 2024. WJEC.
WJEC Eduqas. GCSE English Literature Component 1 Question Papers, Summer 2024 and Summer 2025, Component 2 Question Paper, Summer 2025, and Component 1 Question Paper, November 2021. WJEC.
WJEC Eduqas. GCSE English Literature Component 1 Marking Scheme, Summer 2025. WJEC.
WJEC Eduqas. GCSE English Literature Examiners’ Report, Summer 2025. WJEC.
Unlock more, it's free!
Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams
the (exam) results speak for themselves:
Was this revision note helpful?
