A topic sentence, usually the first one in a paragraph, states
the main idea or point of a paragraph. A good topic sentence has
two important characteristics:
1) It includes the topic of the paragraph.
2) It includes the writer's feeling, attitude, or belief about
the topic.
For example, a paragraph about a person might begin with a topic
sentence like this:
-----------------------------------------
| My brother Alika is an honest person. |
-----------------------------------------
My brother Alika = (the topic)
is an honest person = (the belief about the topic)
To recap, when writing a topic sentence, make sure you mention
1) the topic and 2) a feeling, attitude, belief, or
opinion you are trying to express about it.
To test your ability to determine good topic sentences from poor
ones, read each of the following and jot down on a piece of paper
whether you think it is an effective or ineffective topic
sentence.
1) History class yesterday was boring
2) My history class begins every day at 9 a.m.
3) I have no hot water in my apartment at night.
4) My car is a Toyota Celica.
5) My neighborhood is a wonderful place to live.
6) Joseph is an ambitious man.
7) I run five miles every morning.
8) Last night, I went out with my friends.
9) The movie Terminator II was exciting and action-packed.
10) For several reasons, students aren't as well-prepared for
college as they used to be.
Click here to check your answers
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