A. Write good topic sentences for the following paragraphs.

Remember to
include both a topic and a controlling idea.

Paragraph 1

The English speakers use a lot of foreign words of other countries and cultures without knowing it.
English speakers relaxing at home, for example, may put on kímonos, which is a Japanese word.
English speakers who live in a warm climate may take an afternoon siesta on an outdoor patio
without realizing that these are Spanish words. In their gardens, they may enjoy the fragrance of
jasmine flowers, a word that came into English from Persian. They may even relax on a chaise
while snacking on yogurt, words of French and Turkish origin, respectively. At night, they may
shampoo their hair and put on pajamas, words from the Hindi language of India.

Paragraph 2

Educational systems have some differences depending on the continent. In European universities,
students are not required to attend classes. In fact, professors in Germany generally do not know
the names of the students enrolled in their courses. In the United States, however, students are
required to attend all classes and may be penalized if they do not. Furthermore, in the European
system, students usually take just one comprehensive examination at the end of their entire four
or five years of study. In the North American system, on the other hand, students usually have
numerous quizzes, tests, and homework assignments, and they almost always have to take a final
examination in each course at the end of each semester.

Work with a partner or in a small group. Read each topic sentence. Then fill in the blanks with
additional supporting sentences. Add as many supporting sentences as you can, but you do not
have to fill in all of the blanks.

1-Owning a small car has several advantages.

a. A small car is easier to park.

b. you can save money on gasoline.
c. costs less than a big car.
d. It’s easier to learn to drive.

2-To keep your teeth healthy and your smile bright, do the following things.

a. Don't eat sugary foods.

b. wash them after eating.
c. Wash them in the mornings and evenings.
d. Frequent visits to the dentist.
3-Consider these three/four/five factors when planning a family vacation.

a. Consider the interests of everyone.

b. You should consider your budget.
c. Think about how many people will go with you.
d. How many vacation days you will have

4-A good friend has two/three/four important qualities.

a. He/She can keep secrets.

b. They support you.
c. They not betray you.

5-Avoid studying for a big test by taking the following actions.

a. Turn on the television, the radio, or cd player.
b. Close notebooks and books.
c. Go out to play.

Language and Perception

Although we all possess the same physical organs for sensing the world—eyes for seeing, ears for
hearing, noses for smelling, skin for feeling, and mouths for tasting—our perception of the world
depends to a great extent on the language we speak, according to a famous hypothesis* proposed
by linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. They hypothesized that language is like a pair
of eyeglasses through which we “see” the world in a particular way. A classic example of the
relationship between language and perception is the word snow. [Eskimo languages have as many
as 32 different words for snow]. For instance, [the Eskimos have different words for falling snow,
snow on the ground, snow packed as hard as ice, slushy snow, wind-driven snow, and what we
might call “cornmeal” snow.] [The ancient Aztec languages of Mexico, in contrast, used only one
word to mean snow, cold, and ice.] Thus, if the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is correct and we can
perceive only things that we have words for, the Aztecs perceived snow, cold, and ice as one and
the same phenomenon.
Writing Technique Questions

1. What is the main idea of this paragraph? Underline the part of the topic sentence that expresses
the main idea.
-Perception of the world.
2. What examples does the writer use to support this idea? Put brackets [ ] around them.
3. What words and phrases introduce the examples? Circle them.
Greeting Cards

Have you noticed how many different kinds of greeting cards you can buy these days? In the old
days, the local drugstore had one rack displaying maybe five or six basic kinds of cards. You could
walk into the store and choose an appropriate card in five minutes or less. Nowadays, however,
the display space for greeting cards is as big as a soccer field, and it may take an hour or two to
hunt down exactly the right card with exactly the right message. There are at least 30 categories of
birthday cards alone: birthday cards for different ages, from different ages, for different relatives,
from different relatives, for different genders, from different genders, from a couple, from the
office, for dog owners, for cat owners, and so on. There are cards for getting a job, for retiring
from a job, for acquiring a pet, for losing a pet, for becoming engaged, for breaking up. There are
also greeting cards to send for no reason—Thinking of you” or “Just because” cards. The newest
type of card is the “encouragement card.” card offers comforting thoughts and helpful advice to
someone who is sad or distressed in these an encouragement troubled time. In short, there is now
a greeting card for every possible life event and for a few nonevents as well.

A Hawaiian Legend

Native people create legends to explain unusual phenomena in their environment. A legend from
the Hawaiian island of Kauai explains how the naupaka flower, a flower that grows on beaches
there, got its unusual shape. The flower looks like half a small daisy—there are petals on one side
only. The legend says that the marriage of two young lovers on the island was opposed by both
sets of parents. The parents found the couple together on a beach one day, and to prevent them
from being together, one of the families moved to the mountains, separating the young couple
forever. As a result, the naupaka flower separated into two halves; one half moved to the
mountains, and the other half stayed near the beach. This story is a good example of a legend
invented by native people to interpret the world around them.

Writing Technique Questions

1. In which paragraph does the concluding sentence summarize the main points of the paragraph,
which are not specifically stated in the topic sentence?
-In the first paragraph “Greeting cards”

2. In which paragraph does the concluding sentence paraphrase (repeat in different words) the
topic sentence?
-In the second paragraph “A Hawaiian Legend”

3. Circle the conclusion signals in each paragraph.

B. On the line at the end of each paragraph, write a concluding sentence. Be sure

to begin with a conclusion signal.

1-The college cafeteria is an inexpensive place to eat. For example, you can get a cheeseburger,
french fries, and a soda for only $3.00. A slice of pizza is only $1.50, and a cup of coffee is only 50€.
There is a daily special for about $2.50. It includes an entrée, rice or potatoes, and a vegetable.
The salad bar is the best deal of all. You get all you can eat for $2.00. In conclusion, if you are
hungry in the college, you don’t need much money to eat.

2- Watching children's programs on television is a good way to learn a foreign language. First, the
actors speak slowly and repeat often. Also, the vocabulary is not difficult. Finally, there is always a
lot of action, so you know what is happening even if you don't understand the words. In brief, the
children’s program can help you to learn a new language.
 The following sentences are a scrambled paragraph. Put the sentences in order and copy them
in the diagram on page 50. This is how to proceed.

Step 1 Find the topic sentence. Give it the number 1.

Step 2 Find the concluding sentence. Give it the number 9.

Step 3 Then decide which sentences are supporting points and put them in order. Look for the
words First, Second, Third, and Finally.

Step 4 Decide which examples support which points.

Step 5 Copy the sentences into the appropriate boxes.

Fast Food, Unhealthy Food

___a. For example, a 6-inch Pizza Hut Personal Pan pepperoni pizza has 660 calories, and a
McDonald's Big Mac has 560 calories.

_9_b. In conclusion, a quick meal at a fast-food restaurant may be delicious and convenient, but it
is definitely not a healthy way to eat.

_3__c. Second, a lot of the calories from fast food are from fat. For instance, a portion of Nachos
Supreme from Taco Bell contains26 grams of fat, and a Big Mac contains 30 grams.

_4__d. Third, fast-food items such as hamburgers and french fries contain high amounts of salt. A
typical meal at McDonald's contains as much as 1,370 milligrams of sodium.

_1__e. Fast food is extremely popular in the United States, but it is not very good for you.

__2_f. First of all, most fast food is very high in calories. For example, a 6-inch Pizza Hut Personal
Pan pepperoni pizza has 660 calories, and a McDonald's Big Mac has 560 calories

___g- A typical meal at McDonald's contains as much as 1,370 milligrams of sodium.

_5__h. Finally, add a sugary soft drink to your fast-food meal, and you pound the last nail into the
heart of any nutritionist. *

___ I. For instance, a portion of Nachos Supreme from Taco Bell contains26 grams of fat, and a Big
Mac contains 30 grams.