What Is a Paragraph? The Topic Sentence

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What Is a Paragraph?The Topic Sentence

• Ku-Yaw Chang
• canseco_at_mail.dyu.edu.tw
• Assistant Professor, Department of Computer
  Science and Information Engineering
• Da-Yeh University

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The Topic Sentence

• State the topic and the controlling idea of the
  paragraph
• A complete sentence
• Usually (not always) the first sentence in the
  paragraph

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Important Issue (1/3)

• A complete sentence
• A subject, a verb and (usually) a complement
• Not complete sentences
• Driving on freeways
• The importance of gold
• How to register for college classes

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Important Issue (2/3)

• Contain both a topic and a controlling idea
• Limit the topic to a specific area to be
  discussed
• Examples
• Driving on freeways requires skill and alertness.
• Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two
  important characteristics.
• Registering for college classes can be a
  frustrating experience for new students.

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Important Issue (3/3)

• Give only the main idea, not specific details.
• Examples
• The Arabic origin of many English words is not
  always obvious.
• The slang expression so long is probably a
  corruption of the Arabic salaam.
• too specific
• English is a difficult language to learn.
• too general

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The Topic Sentence

• Position
• The first sentence
• The last sentence
• The first and last sentence of the paragraph
• Sandwich-style

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Practice One

• Step 1
• Decide which of the following sentences is the
  topic sentence of the paragraph
• Step 2
• Write TS on the line next to that sentence
• Step 3
• Decide the order of the supporting sentences and
  number them SS1, SS2, SS3, and so on

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Paragraph 1

1. It enables customers to do several banking
   transactions twenty-four hours a day.
2. In addition, a customer can transfer funds
   between accounts or get a cash advance on a
   credit card.
3. An automated teller machine (ATM) is a convenient
   miniature bank.
4. For example, a customer can use an ATM to deposit
   money and withdraw a limited amount of cash.

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Paragraph 2

1. After an attack by a great white, 462 stitches
   were required to sew up an Australian scuba
   diver.
2. With their razor-sharp teeth and strong jaws,
   great white sharks are very dangerous.
3. Nevertheless, one did just that near a public
   beach in Australia in 1985.
4. Even when they attack humans, however, great
   whites do not usually eat them.
5. In 1997, a great white shark bit a man surfing at
   a beach in California and left three shark teeth
   in his legs.
6. It bit in half and totally devoured a young
   female swimmer.
7. Great whites do not usually attack humans, but
   when they do, they always cause serious injury
   and even death.

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Two Essential Parts

• The topic
• Name the subject (or main idea) of the paragraph
• The controlling idea
• Makes a specific comment about the topic
• Indicate what the rest of the paragraph will say
  about the topic

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Two Essential Parts

• Convenience foods are easy to prepare.
• The native foods of Americans immigrant
  population are reflected in American cooking.
• The average American teenager consumes enormous
  quantities of junk food.

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Practice Two

• Circle the topic and underline the controlling
  idea in each of the following sentences.
• Driving on freeways requires nerves of steel.
• The Caribbean island of Trinidad attracts
  tourists because of its calypso music.
• Spectacular beaches make Puerto Rico a tourist
  paradise.
• In my opinion, many TV commercials for cosmetics
  lie to women.
• Owning an automobile is a necessity for me.

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Writing Topic Sentences

• Neither too general or too specific
• Too general
• American food is terrible.
• Too specific
• American food is tasteless and greasy because
  Americans use to many canned, frozen, and
  prepackaged foods and because everything is fried
  in oil or butter.
• Good
• American food is tasteless and greasy.

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Writing Topic Sentences

• Do not include too many unrelated ideas (not be
  unified)
• Too many ideas
• San Francisco is famous for its temperate
  climate, its many tourist attractions, and its
  cosmopolitan atmosphere.
• Good
• San Francisco is famous for its cosmopolitan
  atmosphere.

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The End