Jane DewhurstTopic Sentences Writing I

Topic sentences should: be complete sentences be general statements about the topic include a main, or controlling, idea

A topic sentence must always by a complete sentence; that is, it contains a subject, a verb and(usually) a complement (object or object clause). The following are not complete sentences.• Driving on freeways.• The death penalty.• How to register for college classes.

In the following examples, however, both the topic and the controlling idea are contained in acomplete sentence:• Driving on freeways requires skill and alertness.• Opposition to the death penalty has grown over the past decade.• Registering for college classes can be a frustrating experience for new students.

A topic sentence is the most general statement in the paragraph because it gives only the mainidea. It does not give any specific details. The following example could serve as a topic sentence:The Arabic origin of many English words is not always obvious.

The following sentence, on the other hand, is too specific to serve as a topic sentence. The slang expression "so long" (meaning goodbye) is probably a corruption of the Arabic "salaam".

Some sentences may be too general to be good topic sentences, particularly if they contain nocontrolling idea:English is a difficult language to learn

The topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. However, it can also be the last. Theconcluding sentence can also refer back to the topic sentence, thus creating a kind of "sandwich"effect. This is particularly helpful to the reader in long paragraphs, as it reminds him/her of thecontrolling idea. Note the different positions for the topic sentence (underlined) in each of theseexamples. HurricanesHurricanes, which are also called cyclones, exert tremendous power. These violent storms are often ahundred miles in diameter, and thir winds can reach velocities of seventy-five miles per hour or more.Furthermore, the strong winds and heavy rainfall that accompany them can completely destroy a small townin a couple of hours. The energy that is released by a hurricane in one day exceeds the total energyconsumed by mankind throughout the world in one year.

Famous School "Failures"Albert Einstein, one of the world's geniuses, failed his university entrance examinations on his first attempt.William Faulkner, one of America's noted writers, never finished college because he could not pass his Englishcourse. Sir Winston Churchill, who is considered one of the masters of the English language, had to havespecial tutoring in English during elementary school. These few examples show that failure in school does notalways predict failure in life.

SynonymsSynonyms, words that have the same basic meaning, do not always have the same emotional meaning. Forexample, the words "stingy" and "frugal" both mean "careful with money". However, to call a person stingy isan insult, while the word frugal has a much more positive connotation. Similarly, a person wants to be slenderbut not skinny, and aggressive but not pushy. Therefore, you should be careful in choosing words becausemany so-called synonyms are not really synonymous at all.

N.B. If you are not very confident about using topic sentences, you should place your topicsentences in the most common position, at the beginning of your paragraphs.

From: Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Writing Academic English, 2nd Edition (New York: Longman, 1991), pp.19f.