Writing the Topic Sentence

Name___________________Date______ HR.________ #_______

I. The Two Parts of a Topic Sentence:

1. The limited topic2. The writer’s idea about the limited topic

The writer’s idea is usually expressed in a key word or words. All the details in a paragraph should support the idea expressed in the key words. In each of the topic sentences below, a single line appears under the topic and shading around the idea about the topic (expressed in a key word or words):

My girlfriend is very aggressive.Highway accidents are often caused by absentmindedness.The kitchen is the most widely used room in my house.Voting should be required by law in America.My pickup truck is the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned.

Activity 1For each point below, put a single line under the topic and a double line under the idea about the topic (or shade it as above).

1. Billboards should be abolished.2. Single life has several advantages for me.3. The middle child is often a neglected member of the family.4. The apartment needed repairs.5. Television commercials use many propaganda techniques.6. My parents have rigid racial attitudes.7. The language in many movies today is offensive.8. Homeowners today are more energy conscious than ever before.9. My friend Debbie, who is only nineteen, is extremely old-fashioned.10. Looking for a job can be a degrading experience.11. Certain regulations in the school cafeteria should be strictly enforced.12. My car is a temperamental machine.13. Living in a one-room apartment has its drawbacks.14. The city’s traffic-light system has both values and drawbacks.15. Consumers’ complaints can often have positive results.

Writing the Topic Sentence

II. Common Errors in Writing Topic Sentences

When writing a topic sentence, people sometimes make one of several mistakes that undermine their chances of producing an effective paper. One mistake is to substitute an announcement of the topic for a true topic sentence. Other mistakes include writing statements that are too broad or too narrow. Below are examples of all three errors.

Announcements

Automobile drivers are the concern of this paragraph.I want to talk about increases in the divorce rate.The subject of this paper will be my apartment.

These statements are simply announcements of a topic idea. They merely identify, in a rather weak and unimaginative way, the writer’s general subject. A topic sentence must advance a point about a limited subject.

Activity 2Put A beside the sentence that only announces a topic in each pair of sentences below. Put OK beside the sentence that advances an idea about the topic.

1. ____ a. This paper will deal with flunking math.____ b. I flunked math last semester for several reasons.

2. ____ a. I am going to write about my job as a gas station attendant.____ b. Working as a gas station attendant was the worst job I ever had.

3. ____ a. Obscene phone calls are the subject of this paragraph.____ b. People should know what to do when they receive an obscene phone call.

4. ____ a. In several ways, my college library is inconvenient to use.____ b. This paragraph will deal with the college library.

5. ____ a. My paper will discuss the topic of procrastination.____ b. The following steps will help people stop procrastinating.

Statements That Are Too Broad

People do not always behave responsibly in public places.Many people have trouble getting along with others.The places where people live have definite effects on their lives.

All the statements above are too broad to be supported adequately. For example, “Many people have trouble getting along with others” could not be supported with specific details in a single paragraph. The statement is broad enough to cover every kind of problem from marital difficulties

Writing the Topic Sentence

to quarrels among neighbors to international conflicts. A limited point that could be covered in a paragraph would be: “The divorce rate is increasing for several reasons.

Activity 3Put TB beside the statement in each pair that is too broad to be supported adequately in a short paper. Put OK beside the statement that makes a limited point.

1. ____ a. Professional football is a dangerous sport.____ b. Professional sports are violent.

2. ____ a. Married life is the best way of living.____ b. Teenage marriages often end in divorce for several reasons.

3. ____ a. Aspirin can have several harmful side effects.____ b. Drugs are dangerous.

4. ____ a. I have always done poorly in school.____ b. I flunked math last semester for several reasons.

5. ____ a. Computers are changing our society.____ b. Using computers to teach school children is a mistake.

Statements That Are Too NarrowThe driver in front of me suddenly slowed for a turn without signaling.Almost one out of every two marriages ends in divorce.I have no hot water in my apartment between midnight and 6 a.m.

There is no room in any of the three statements above for support bo be given. For instance, “I have no hot water in my apartment between midnight and 6 a.m.” is too narrow to be expanded into a paragraph. Such a statement is sometimes called a dead-end statement: there is no place to go with it. Because it is a simple fact, it needs no support. On the other hand, “My landlord is cheating me in several ways” is a point that could be expanded into a paragraph.

Activity 4Put TN beside the statement in each pair that is too narrow to be developed into a paragraph. Put OK beside the statement in each pair that calls for support or development of some kind.

1. ____ a. I do push-ups and sit-ups each morning.____ b. Exercising every morning has had positive effects on my health.

2. ____ a. Jose works nine hours a day and then goes to school three hours a night.____ b. Jose is an ambitious man.

Writing the Topic Sentence

3. ____ a. I started college after being away from school for seven years.____ b. Several of my fears about returning to school have proved to be groundless.

4. ____ a. Parts of Walt Disney’s Bambi make it a frightening movie for children.____ b. Last summer I visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

5. ____ a. My brother was depressed yesterday for several reasons.____ b. Yesterday my brother had to pay fifty-two dollars for a motor-tune-up.

III. Writing a Topic SentenceActivity 5This activity will give you practice in writing an accurate topic sentence – one that is

neither too broad nor too narrow for the supporting material in a paragraph. An added value of the activity is that sometimes you will construct your topic sentence after you have decided what details you want to discuss. You will need to know, then, how to write a topic sentence that will match exactly the details that you have developed.

1. Topic Sentence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________a. Some are caused by careless people tossing matches out car windows.b. A few are started when lightning strikes a tree.c. Some result from campers who fail to douse cooking fires.d. The majority of forest fires are deliberately set by arsonists.

2. Topic Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a. We had to wait a half hour even though we had reserved a table.b. Our appetizers and main courses all arrived at the same time.c. The busboy ignored our requests for more water.d. The wrong desserts were delivered to us.

3. Topic Sentence: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a. My phone goes dead at certain times of the day.b. When I talk long distance, I hear conversations in the background.c. The line to the phone service center is busy for hours.d. My telephone bill includes three calls I never made.

4. Topic Sentence: ________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

a. The crowd scenes were crudely spliced from another film.b. Mountains and other background scenery were just painted cardboard cutouts.c. The “sync” was off, so that we heard voices even when the actors’ lips were not moving.d. The so-called monster was just a spider that had been filmed through a magnifying lens.

Writing the Topic Sentence

5. Topic Sentence: ________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

a. In early grades we had spelling bees, and I would be among the first ones sitting down.b. In sixth-grade English, my teacher kept me busy diagramming sentences on the board.c. In tenth grade we had to recite poems, and I always forgot my lines.d. In my senior year, my compositions had more red correction marks than anyone else’s.

6. Topic Sentence: _________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

a. The medicine cabinet in the bathroom was hanging on one hinge.b. Water was dripping into a bucket under the kitchen sink.c. An ugly crack ran down one of the dining room walls.d. The apartment thermostat was broken so the only choices were no heat or constant heat.

7. Topic Sentence: _______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

a. College grads usually earn more money than high school grads.b. College grads are less likely to face unemployment ever.c. College grads have greater self-esteem and more confidence.d. College grads develop a wider variety of interests.

8. Topic Sentence: ______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

a. I have missed many of my classes.b. Instead of sleeping, I keep thinking about my ex-boyfriend.c. I was too miserable to go to my cousin’s wedding, an event I had been looking forward to.d. I quit my job so I wouldn’t have to see him at work.

9. Topic Sentence: _____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

a. The prose in my sociology book is clearer than that of my other textbooks.b. Each chapter opens with a funny story pertaining to the subject matter.c. There are many headings and sub-headings, which make for easy studying.d. There are helpful chapter quizzes and detailed answer keys.

10. Topic Sentence: ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

a. Rory, a student in a large urban high school, was slashed with a knife in the boys’ room.b. Alice’s gym locker was forced open and looted by a person who entered the school illegally.c. A teacher, left alone in a classroom, was attacked by an intruder.d. Many students’ personal belongings have disappeared from their backpacks.

11. Topic Sentence: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a. Iran now is a republic governed by Islamic law.b. Kuwait is another Arab country using Islamic laws. Pakistan has adopted laws from the

Islamic code of Justice.c. Egypt is considering closing bars, nightclubs, and casinos in respect for Islamic laws.