Reading and Writing
Topic sentences
Find the topic sentence of a paragraph, judge whether one is too narrow or too broad, and keep every other sentence under it.
A paragraph is a group of sentences about one idea. One of them says what that idea is, and the rest work for it. That one is the topic sentence, and a reader who reads only the topic sentences of a page can still follow the whole thing.
Where it goes
Usually first, so the reader knows straight away what is coming. It can come last instead, gathering up everything said before it — but it has to be somewhere.
Not too narrow, not too broad
For a paragraph about looking after a pair of shoes: "My shoes are black" is too narrow — it covers one detail and leaves the rest homeless. "Shoes are useful" is too broad — half the sentences you might write would fit under it. "A pair of shoes lasts years longer with three simple habits" is the size of the paragraph itself.
A title is not a topic sentence
"Looking after a pair of shoes" is a title: no verb, not a sentence. A topic sentence is a whole sentence, and it makes a claim the rest of the paragraph can support.
Worked example
Three details are ready. What should the topic sentence be? "Its shell is hard enough to stand on." "It can go for months without eating." "It can live longer than any of us."
Ask what all three have in common: they are all about a tortoise being tough or long-lasting.
The topic sentence has to cover every detail, so start from what they share rather than from the first one.
Try it together
Work out the topic sentence of a paragraph you have not seen.
These are its four details: "They huddle together in thousands when the wind rises." "They take turns standing on the cold outer edge." "They shuffle inwards a step at a time so nobody stays outside for long." "They call to one another until each parent finds its own chick."
1.Every detail is about the same bird. Write its name — one word, and more than one of them.
Have a go
Which would be the best topic sentence for those four penguin details?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.