Four Things You Need to Know about Topic Sentences
Topic sentences will direct the content that follows them in almost all paragraphs, with introduction and conclusion paragraphs being rare exceptions. Read this overview about the key components of topic sentences.
Four things you need to know about topic sentences:
- A topic sentence is the first sentence of a paragraph
- Its job is to preview what the paragraph will be about
- A topic sentence should contain two parts
- the topic
- what you plan to say about that topic (your attitude or opinion toward the topic)
- A topic sentence should raise a question which is answered by the body of the paragraph
For example, if my topic sentence is "Starting college is stressful for many reasons", I need to check to ensure that it contains these two parts:
Topic: starting college
What the author plans to say about that topic (the opinion/attitude toward the topic or the message the author intends to say about the topic): it is stressful
Every topic sentence should break down into these two parts.
A topic sentence can be used as a way to ensure that the paragraph stays on topic. Make sure that every detail in the paragraph supports the topic sentence and answers the question it raises.
The question can be determined by looking at the message or opinion. For the above example "Starting college is stressful for many reasons," that opinion is, "it is stressful". The question will always be rooted in the opinion or message.
The question raised: "In what ways is starting college stressful?"
Source: Erin Severs
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