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.

• Building a Speech: Starting with an Outline

  • Other outlines are very detailed, filling in a skeleton of topic headings with topic sentences, pieces of evidence, and transitions.
  • A topic outline is a hierarchical list of a speech's main points.
  • Topic outlines tend to use keywords and short phrases rather than complete sentences.
  • A sentence outline expresses the central ideas of a speech in complete sentences.
  • Sentence outlines are more detailed than topic outlines, but less detailed than first drafts.

• 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.

• The Preparation Outline

  • As its name suggests, a preparation outline helps you lay out the main topics and sub-points of your speech.
  • Common outline styles include sentence outlines, topics outlines, chronological outlines, and alphanumeric outlines.
  • While sentence outlines follow a hierarchical structure composed of sentences and headings around the subject of the speech, topics outlines are comprised of topics and subtopics.
  • If, for example, you have separate visual aids for the introduction, main points in the body of your speech, and your conclusion, than using a sentence style for your preparation outline may be more appropriate.
  • Sub-topics should be added underneath each main topic covered in the body of the preparation outline

• 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.

• Introducing the Topic, Thesis, and Main Points

  • Explain the topic at a level that is appropriate for your audience,
  • Remember: the thesis statement should summarize your argument in one to three sentences.
  • Translate that list into complete sentences, and voila!
  • Vitamin D deficiency may be the hottest topic in nutrition today.
  • Identify your topic, thesis, and main points early in your speech

• 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.

• Practice 2: Contingency Tables

  • Copy the data provided in Probability Topics Practice 1: Contingency Tables into the table below.
  • State the decision and conclusion (in a complete sentence) for the following preconceived levels of α .