topic sentence

Examples of topic sentence in the following topics:

• Topic Sentences

  • Supporting sentences: examples, details, and explanations that support the topic sentence (and claim).
  • Concluding sentence: gives the paragraph closure by relating the claim back to the topic sentence and thesis statement.
  • Topic sentences should always connect back to and support your thesis statement.
  • (Stylistically speaking, if you wanted to include "Cooking is difficult," you could make it the first sentence, followed by the topic sentence.
  • It just shouldn't be the topic sentence.)

• Approaches to Your Body Paragraphs

  • Each body paragraph will be organized around a claim, which you'll form into a topic sentence.
  • Like your thesis, each topic sentence is an arguable statement, not a fact.
  • Check, too, to see whether the topic sentence is arguable and clear. 
  • Instead, write your topic sentence and look over the evidence you've gathered for that claim.
  • Your concluding sentence will often have an echo of the topic sentence in it while moving the reader forward to the next topic.

• Varying Your Sentence Structure and Vocabulary

  • So, introduction, conclusion, body paragraphs with topic sentences and transitions—yes to all of these.
  • Length: Longer sentences are better suited for expressing complex thoughts.
  • Here's the rewritten version, with attention paid to sentence variation:
  • Vary the types of sentences you use to keep your paper interesting.
  • Variation is a tool that will help you engage your readers in the topic, so they don't end up slack-jawed and numb.

• Turning Your Topic Into a Question

  • Once you've found a topic that you're interested in — Humbert Humbert's unreliable narration and its effects on the moral classification of his character — and you've read up on other scholars' views on that topic, you're ready to develop a question about your topic to investigate.
  • These are all possible topics.
  • You cannot introduce your paper by declaring that "Hamlet explores the question of revenge" or "Monet uses purple in many ways in his Water Lilies. " Those sentences are topics, not problem statements, because they offer nothing to argue against.
  • It is a summary of what you hope to find out about your topic.
  • To rephrase your topic as a question, think what you want to say about your topic.

• Structure of a Sentence

  • Structural classifications for sentences include simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences.
  • Simple sentences are often used to introduce a topic or present a new thought in an argument—for example, "Juries are charged with rendering impartial verdicts," or "Income taxes are high in Scandinavian countries."
  • You may notice that with both these examples, the reader is likely to start formulating objections or opinions about the topic right away.
  • A declarative sentence, or declaration, is the most common type of sentence.
  • Helping the reader formulate questions about the topic early can engage readers by accessing their curiosity.

• Structural Parallelism Within a Sentence

  • An unclear sentence rambles, drifting among unrelated topics in a haphazard and confusing fashion.
  • Parallelism is when elements of a sentence "echo" each other because they have similar form or structure.
  • Simple rewriting can often remedy errors in these types of sentences.
  • It would distort the meaning to change the sentence to this superficially parallel version:
  • The title sentence is a non-parallel statement.

• Introduction to Commas

  • The first phrase could not stand on its own as a sentence, but when joined to the independent clause by the comma, the sentence is complete.
  • In these situations, say the sentence to yourself.
  • Some modifiers are nonrestrictive, meaning that the sentence would still have essentially the same meaning, topic, and structure without them.
  • In this sentence, "new" and "weird" are nonrestrictive.
  • In other words, if you dropped a restrictive modifier from a sentence, the meaning of the sentence would change.

• Step 6: Editing and Proofreading

  • Editing looks at your work on a sentence-by-sentence level, considering ways to make everything you say as clear and precise as possible.
  • Defined terms: When using terms specific to your topic, make sure you define them for your readers who may not be familiar with them.
  • If you think a sentence is too complicated, rephrase it so that it is easier to read, or break it into two sentences.
  • Consider the following sentences:
  • Some sentences do read better with them.

• Structure of a Sentence

• Abstract

  • While each medium of publication may require different word counts or formats for abstracts, a good general rule is to spend one to two sentences addressing each of the following (do not use headers or use multiple paragraphs; just make sure to address each component):
  • This is where you will introduce and summarize previous work about the topic.
  • Here is where you finally connect your research to the topic, applying your findings to address the hypothesis you started out with.
  • Describe the impact your research will have on the question, problem, or topic, and include a call for specific areas of further research in the field.