How to set a topic sentence and its supporting sentences

华师大松江实验高级中学

沈 勤

Charles is very interested in cars. He knows all the details about every new model. He has collected many magazines on cars. He spends a lot of time working on his old Ford. He attends all the car shows.

topic Controlling words

• Many illness are caused by smoking. Smoking shortened our lives. Even if you don’t smoke, you can be harmed by secondhand smoke. So in order not to hurt ourselves and others, we should stop smoking right away.

Smoking is bad for one’s health.

topic Controlling words

• Read the following topic sentences and think whether they are proper or not.

• 1. I love Alice.

• 2. Mr. Smith is my new colleague.

• 3. The traffic is very terrible.

• 4. Music is very important.

For what reason

How does he do

In what aspect

Where

The reason why I love Alice is her kindness to me.Mr. Smith, my new colleague, performs well in his job.

The traffic in big cities is very terrible.Music is very important in our daily life.

• The topic sentences which have been rewritten.

• 1. The reason why I love Alice is her

kindness to me.

• 2. Mr. Smith, my new colleague, performs

well in his job.

• 3. The traffic in big cities is very terrible.

• 4. Music is important in our daily life.

• Every paragraph needs a topic sentence, which is usually the first sentence of the paragraph. It gives the reader an idea of what the paragraph is going to be about. 

• A topic sentence should not be too broad, too narrow or too vague.

• A topic sentence should have a topic and

contorlling words to keep a writer’s purpose

alive in the paragraph.

Tips:

• I enjoy weekends.

I can sleep late on Saturday mornings.

I can do all kinds of shopping.

My freinds and I can go to the movies.

I needn’t do my homework at weekends.

We usually go for a ride on Saturday afternoon.

• I enjoy weekends. I can sleep late on Saturday mornings. My friends and I can go to the movies. I can do all kinds of shopping. We usually go for a ride on Saturday afternoon.

• I like reading newspapers. There are many newsstands in the streets. I often go there to buy newspapers. Besides them, a variety of magazines are also offered. They have beautiful covers and interesting stories. By reading newspaper, I can learn about what is happening in the world. I can also read my favourite section-sports. Newspapers are my good friends.

reading different kinds of newspapers every

I am fond of

day.

• Supporting sentences should be closely

related to the topic sentence.

• Supporting sentences should further explain

the topic sentence or use typical examples,

numbers or make comparison to strengthen

the topic sentence.

Tips:

• 写作要求：• 如今越来越多的人改变了阅读方式，喜

欢网上看书，你的观点是…

practice

Nowadays, more and more people have changed their ways of reading. They prefer reading on the Internet to traditional reading. In my opinion, ...

Bodypart

Topic sentence 1

Topic sentence 2

Topic sentence 3

Beginning

Ending In a word,.. / To sum up...

Nowadays, more and more people have changed their way of reading. They prefer reading online to tradition reading. In my opinion, there are several advantages about it.

First of all, reading online may provide us with a variety of books. As the invention of modern science and technology, the Internet can offer us all the latest information. Only by moving and clicking the mouse can we read all the books written by our favorite writers.

• In addition, it’s convenient for us to read online. We don’t have to go to the bookstores one by one in search of the books we need. Since the Internet is accessible at any time, we can enjoy reading online whenever we’re free.

• To sum up, I’m fond of reading online. It has made my reading life more convenient and colorful. Let’s enjoy the electronic reading era.

• Homework:

• Finish the composition.

• ( Make sure that there is a topic sentence in each paragraph)