How to Write an Introduction and Conclusion (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 4ET1
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 Edexcel International GCSE English Literature.
This page shows you how to write an essay introduction built around a thesis statement, how to write a conclusion for an English essay that develops it, and how the two link together, with worked examples from Macbeth, An Inspector Calls and Great Expectations.
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. Every thesis statement English Literature students write should answer the question directly.
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: ‘The witches are to blame for Duncan’s murder.’ How far do you agree with this statement? You must consider language, form and structure and refer to the context of the play in your answer. (Sample Assessment Materials, Paper 2)
Repeating the question | Thesis statement |
|---|---|
Shakespeare presents the witches as being to blame for Duncan’s murder in the play. | The witches plant the idea of murder, but Shakespeare suggests that they are not fully to blame: it takes Macbeth’s ambition and Lady Macbeth’s pressure to turn their prophecy into murder. |
Only the thesis gives a judgement on the question “how far…?”. 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 an introduction for English Literature essays in four steps:
Find the focus of the question: pick out the key words, and check whether it asks “how” or “how far”
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: ‘Some characters feel sorry for what they have done and some do not.’ Explore the theme of regret in An Inspector Calls. You must consider language, form and structure in your answer. (Paper 2, June 2025)
Step | An Inspector Calls |
|---|---|
1. Focus | Key words: “regret”, “feel sorry”, “some do not” |
2. Thesis statement | Priestley presents Sheila as the character who feels the deepest regret after 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 feels the deepest regret after 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 King James I’s interest in witchcraft in an essay on the witches in Macbeth
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’s 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 examiners praise answers that are well focused “From the beginning”, and they point out when “the focus of the question is not immediately apparent from the start”. They also note when a conclusion “actually deals with the question”, because this shows a sustained focus on the question.
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: ‘The witches are to blame for Duncan’s murder.’ How far do you agree with this statement? (Sample Assessment Materials, Paper 2)
Part of the essay | What it does | An example using Macbeth |
|---|---|---|
Introduction | States the thesis | The witches plant the idea of murder, but Shakespeare suggests that they are not enough on their own to make Macbeth act. |
Paragraph 1 | Tests the first idea | The witches’ prophecy makes Macbeth think of murder, but he 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, Macbeth plans Banquo’s murder without Lady Macbeth, so the guilt is more and more his own. |
Conclusion | Shows where the thesis has led | The witches are only partly to blame: they give Macbeth the idea, but it needs his ambition and Lady Macbeth’s pressure to become action, and once he is king he chooses to kill again. 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 Great Expectations question. Each version answers the question more directly and sets up a clearer argument.
Question: How is Miss Havisham presented in the novel? You must consider language, form and structure and refer to the context of the novel in your answer. (Paper 2, June 2025)
Version | Introduction: Great Expectations |
|---|---|
Weak | Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens, published in 1861. It is about a boy called Pip who meets Miss Havisham. In this essay, I am going to write about Miss Havisham. |
Better | Dickens presents Miss Havisham as a strange, bitter woman who lives alone. She was jilted on her wedding day and uses Estella to get revenge on men, and by the end of the novel she is sorry. |
Strong | Dickens presents Miss Havisham as a woman trapped by the past. Her stopped clocks and wedding dress show how her bitterness has frozen her life, and her use of Estella spreads that harm to others. Through Miss Havisham, Dickens suggests that refusing to let go of pain destroys both the sufferer and the people around them. |
The weak version gives background and announces the topic without answering the question. The better version answers the question and names some of her traits, but it describes what happens instead of making a judgement, and it never says why Dickens presents Miss Havisham this way. 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: ‘Some characters feel sorry for what they have done and some do not.’ Explore the theme of regret in An Inspector Calls. (Paper 2, June 2025)
Version | Conclusion: An Inspector Calls |
|---|---|
Weak | In conclusion, Sheila feels a lot of regret about what she has done, and she changes a lot during the play. |
Strong | Priestley presents Sheila as the character whose regret changes her 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 Edexcel International GCSE English Literature exam
Edexcel assesses your argument through AO1, which asks you to “Demonstrate a close knowledge and understanding of texts, maintaining a critical style and presenting an informed personal engagement”. A clear introduction and conclusion help you show the “perceptive critical style” that Level 5 answers need.
AO1 is assessed in the Modern Prose, Modern Drama and Literary Heritage questions. The two poetry questions on Paper 1 don’t assess AO1, but a short introduction still helps you stay focused on the question. A clear thesis statement IGCSE English Literature examiners can follow works in every section.
This table shows how to approach each part of your two exam papers:
Paper | Section | Introduction | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
Paper 1 | Sum up what the poem is about in one sentence, using the key words of the question | Zoom out to what the poet is saying overall | |
Paper 1 | Draw the two poems together in a final comparison | ||
Paper 1 | Give a thesis about the whole novel. If the question gives a statement, say how far you agree with it | Make a final judgement on the novel as a whole | |
Paper 2 | Choose your question, then build your thesis from its key words | Return to your thesis and zoom out to the writer’s message | |
Paper 2 | Give a thesis about the whole play or novel. There is no extract, so you can draw on any part of the text | Make a final judgement on the text as a whole |
If you take the coursework option (Component 3) instead of Paper 2, the same approach works for both assignments. Moderators say that “A well-planned, concise and carefully structured response, within the word limit, can achieve full marks.” The specification gives no fixed word limit. It advises 650 to 800 words for each assignment.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Examiners mark your essay as a whole, so your conclusion is the last thing they’ll read before they judge your argument. Before you write it, reread your introduction. Then answer the question again, showing how far your thinking has developed.
For example, if your introduction argues that Miss Havisham is “trapped by the past”, your conclusion might show that Dickens uses her final plea for forgiveness 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
Wells, S. and Taylor, G. (eds) (2005). The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works. 2nd edn. Oxford University Press.
Priestley, J.B. (1992). An Inspector Calls. Heinemann.
Dickens, C. (2008). Great Expectations. Oxford.
Pearson Edexcel (n.d.). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Specification. Issue 3. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel (n.d.). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Sample Assessment Materials. Issue 3. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel (2025). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Paper 2 Question Paper and Mark Scheme, June 2025. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel (2024–2025). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Paper 1, Paper 2 and Component 3 Examiner Reports, June 2024 and June 2025. Pearson.
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