Is it true that the conclusion paragraph of an essay is not critical?

You should base the structure of an essay on its purpose, and some essays do not have conclusion paragraphs.

First of all, there are many different kinds of essays. You probably have written a lot of essays for school, and possibly for different classes. People write essays for newspapers and magazines as well. The essay is a very popular literary genre. Many professional essays vary significantly in structure from the typical five-paragraph essay.

The five...

You should base the structure of an essay on its purpose, and some essays do not have conclusion paragraphs.

First of all, there are many different kinds of essays. You probably have written a lot of essays for school, and possibly for different classes. People write essays for newspapers and magazines as well. The essay is a very popular literary genre. Many professional essays vary significantly in structure from the typical five-paragraph essay.

The five paragraph essay has been a school staple for generations. This essay typically begins with an introduction paragraph supported by three body paragraphs, and ends with a conclusion paragraph. This is still a good general rule of thumb. The introduction gives you a place to include your thesis, which is where you focus your essay, and the conclusion gives you a chance to review your arguments.

The most common case in which you will not always have a conclusion is in on-demand writing. This is the type of writing used on standardized tests such as the Advanced Placement test. In this case, many teachers suggest dispensing with the introduction and conclusion process, because there is not much time and the essay graders would rather you get to your arguments and focus on them.

For this type of essay, it is best to begin with a thesis and then jump right into your points. You should first make sure that your thesis is clear and specific, and fully addresses the prompt (the essay question). Then use the next paragraphs to support your thesis. Be sure to use a lot of evidence to support your points, whatever you are writing about. In this case, you often do not have time to summarize your case in a conclusion, and summarizing is not considered as important as getting your arguments across.

A good rule of thumb in a multi-essay, on-demand writing situation is to write the thesis and support for all of your essays first. Then go back and proofread. If you have time, you can add a conclusion after you have done this. You will have made sure that you accomplished your task first.