1. The Topic Sentence
Definitions, descriptions, and examples:
A topic sentence is a general statement that expresses the main idea of a paragraph.
A paragraph is a group of sentences that develop one main idea.
The main idea is the general statement that the other sentences support or explain.
The general statement of the main idea is also called the topic sentence.
The topic sentence has two main parts:
subject: what the paragraph is about
focus: what the paragraph is going to say about the subject.
Examples:
Most adults / find learning a foreign language difficult.
subject / focus
Telephones / intrude into the privacy of our daily lives.
subject / focus
Parents of teenagers / often feel unappreciated.
subject / focus
A topic sentence sets up one paragraph which is usually less than a page of text;
therefore, the topic sentence should be general, but not too general.
Too general: Sports are exciting.
Still too general: Watching a football game keeps me involved.
Much better: Watching the Spanish Liga match between Barcelona and Madrid kept me on the edge of my chair.
General guidelines for creating effective topic sentences:
1. A topic sentence should always be a complete sentence.
2. A topic sentence should not merely state a single fact.
3. A topic sentence should be a general statement but not too broad or too vague.
Location of the topic sentence in a paragraph
A topic sentence may come at the beginning, as the second sentence, at the end, or may be implied. It is preferable that the topic sentence come at the beginning of the paragraph.
Definitions, descriptions, and examples:
A topic sentence is a general statement that expresses the main idea of a paragraph.
A paragraph is a group of sentences that develop one main idea.
The main idea is the general statement that the other sentences support or explain.
The general statement of the main idea is also called the topic sentence.
The topic sentence has two main parts:
subject: what the paragraph is about
focus: what the paragraph is going to say about the subject.
Examples:
Most adults / find learning a foreign language difficult.
subject / focus
Telephones / intrude into the privacy of our daily lives.
subject / focus
Parents of teenagers / often feel unappreciated.
subject / focus
A topic sentence sets up one paragraph which is usually less than a page of text;
therefore, the topic sentence should be general, but not too general.
Too general: Sports are exciting.
Still too general: Watching a football game keeps me involved.
Much better: Watching the Spanish Liga match between Barcelona and Madrid kept me on the edge of my chair.
General guidelines for creating effective topic sentences:
1. A topic sentence should always be a complete sentence.
2. A topic sentence should not merely state a single fact.
3. A topic sentence should be a general statement but not too broad or too vague.
Location of the topic sentence in a paragraph
A topic sentence may come at the beginning, as the second sentence, at the end, or may be implied. It is preferable that the topic sentence come at the beginning of the paragraph.
Consider this short paragraph:
My hometown, Kingston, is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.
When you read this topic sentence:
My hometown Kingston, is famous for several amazing natural features.
A question comes to your mind:
What are the natural features that make Kingston famous?
You then expect that the rest of the paragraph will give an answer to this question.
Now look at the sentences after the topic sentence.
First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful.
It gives an answer to this question. That is, the second sentence gives some explanation for the fact that Kingston is a famous town. Similarly, we can see that the third sentence also gives some explanation for the fact that Kingston is famous by giving another example of an "amazing natural feature," in this case, Queenston Hill.
The second and third sentences are called supporting details. They are called "supporting" because they "support," or explain, the idea expressed in the topic sentence. Of course, paragraphs in English often have more than two supporting ideas. The paragraph above is actually a very short paragraph. At minimum, you should have at least five sentences in your paragraph. Here we can see our paragraph about Kingston with a few more supporting sentences:
My hometown Kingston is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old.
3. The Concluding Sentence
It is usually a sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information that has been presented. You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.
The topic sentence and concluding sentence hold the supporting sentences in the paragraph. Look at the concluding sentence in our paragraph about Kingston:
My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.
The concluding sentence,
These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place,
summarizes the information in the paragraph. It is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence.
4. Details in Paragraphs
Whenever possible, you should include enough details in your paragraph to help your reader understand exactly what you are writing about. In the paragraph about Kingston, three natural landmarks are mentioned, but we do not know very much about them. For example, we could add a sentence or two about Princeton river concerning HOW wide it is or WHY it is beautiful.
Consider this revision:
My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide, are many willow trees which have long branches that can move gracefully in the wind. In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous; some firm rocks along the sides can be used as stairs. There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles away. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.
We can also add more details to the paragraph to describe the third natural feature of the area, the Big Old Tree.
