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Topic Sentence Parag PDF

The document discusses what constitutes a well-written paragraph. A paragraph contains a topic sentence that states the main idea, supporting sentences with details and examples that develop the main idea, and a concluding sentence that restates the main idea. It provides an example paragraph about a student's bad first day of college that demonstrates these elements, with a topic sentence stating the day was a disaster, supporting sentences giving specific examples of problems that occurred, and a concluding sentence wrapping up that the day could not have been worse.

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Saad Ali
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193 views2 pages

Topic Sentence Parag PDF

The document discusses what constitutes a well-written paragraph. A paragraph contains a topic sentence that states the main idea, supporting sentences with details and examples that develop the main idea, and a concluding sentence that restates the main idea. It provides an example paragraph about a student's bad first day of college that demonstrates these elements, with a topic sentence stating the day was a disaster, supporting sentences giving specific examples of problems that occurred, and a concluding sentence wrapping up that the day could not have been worse.

Uploaded by

Saad Ali
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TOPIC SENTENCE/PARAGRAPH

What is a Paragraph? A paragraph is a group of sentences that convey an idea. Each sentence works together as part of a unit to create an overall thought or impression. A paragraph is the smallest unit or cluster of sentences in which one idea can be developed adequately. Paragraphs can stand alone or function as part of an essay, but each paragraph covers only one main idea. The most important sentence in your paragraph is the topic sentence, which clearly states the subject of the whole paragraph. The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph because it gives an overview of the sentences to follow. The supporting sentences after the topic sentence help to develop the main idea. These sentences give specific details related to the topic sentence. A final or concluding sentence often restates or summarizes the main idea of the topic sentence. A good paragraph has: a topic sentence stating the main point of the paragraph, supporting sentences with details and specific examples as proof of your point, logical, coherent thoughts that are developed in order from one sentence to the next, and a concluding idea that wraps up the point of the paragraph. Read the following paragraph model. Look for the topic sentence, concrete details and examples in the supporting sentences, and see how the writer sums up the point of the paragraph with a concluding sentence. (Also, because this is academic writing, the writer indents the first line five spaces to mark the beginning of a paragraph. This practice is not always followed in commercial or instructive writing or in business letters or memos.) My First Day My first day of college was a disaster. First, I went to the wrong classroom for math. I was sitting in the class, surrounded by people taking notes and paying attention to how to do equations, which would have been okay if I was supposed to be in an algebra class. In reality, I was supposed to be in geometry, and when I discovered my error, I had already missed the first twenty minutes of a one-hour class. When I got to the correct class, all twenty-five students turned and looked at me as the teacher said,

Youre late. That would have been bad enough, but in my next class my history teacher spoke so fast I could not follow most of what he said. The only thing I did hear was that we were having a quiz tomorrow over todays lecture. My day seemed to be going better during botany class, that is, until we visited the lab. I had a sneezing fit because of one of the plants in the lab and had to leave the room. When I finally finished my classes for the day, I discovered I had locked my keys in the car and had to wait for my brother to bring another set. My first day of school was so bad that I know the rest will have to be better. In the above paragraph, the topic sentence appears in bold and the concluding sentence in italics. Notice how the sentences in between support and develop the topic sentence by giving specific examples and details. These examples are the writers proof of his bad first day of school. A good topic sentence: informs the reader of the subject that will be discussed in the paragraph, asserts the writers point of view or attitude, intrigues the reader to continue reading, creates a sense of action, and is not vague, rambling, too narrow or too broad.

Revised 2005

at Meramec

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