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If you have made conclusions as your essay has gone along then your final conclusion only needs to be a short paragraph. If you haven't then there are still four marks available which will require a much more detailed approach.

The key part of any type of final conclusion is that it must refer to and answer the question set. You must use evaluative language. One approach is to the following:

• Summarise what your essay has tried to do
• Make a conclusion that sums up one side of the argument
• Make a conclusion that sums up the other side of the argument
• Make one final overall conclusion

An example with the evaluative words highlighted is below:

To what extent can parliamentary representatives effectively check the powers of the government? (20 marks)

In conclusion it can be seen that MSPs have a number of opportunities to effectively hold the Government to account but that the Government also has powers that enables it to be a powerful decision maker.

The ability to ask questions in committees and at Question Times along with the ability to introduce members Bills allows MSPs to successfully check the work of Government

However, the fact that Government can dominate the committees and the parliament and is in control of the day to day policy making of Government Departments means they have a great deal of power to make the decisions they want to.

Finally a major factor is what type of Government is in power. A majority Government is much stronger than a minority one where the opposition parties have much more power to effectively check what the Government does.