ELEMENTS OF GREAT WRITING 1. What is the topic sentence? Write it here.

What Is a Topic Sentence?

A topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph. It is usually found at the beginning of a 2. What do you expect to read about based on the topic sentence?
paragraph. A topic sentence has several important jobs. It:

• introduces the main idea

• limits or focuses the topic
• often tells the reader how the information will be organized in the paragraph
3. These words or expressions are very important to the organization of the paragraph.
Number them in the same order that they are in the paragraph.
ACTIVITY 1 | Analyzing a paragraph
finally first in addition for these reasons
Discuss the questions. Then read the paragraph and answer the questions that follow.

1. Can you name three benefits of exercising regularly?

4. Read the last sentence carefully. What do you think the purpose of this sentence is? Begin
2. What are three reasons that people do not exercise regularly? your answer with The purpose of this sentence is to . . .
WORDS TO KNOW Paragraph 3.1
climb: (v) to go up in good shape: (idiom) having good physical condition
improve: (v) to make better reduce: (v) to make less

ACTIVITY 2 | Recognizing good topic sentences

Read each set of sentences. Write the general topic that the sentences share. Then check (✓) the
PARAGRAPH 3.1
sentence you think is the best topic sentence. Discuss your reasons with the class.

Reasons for Exercise Winter is a good season.

There are many excellent reasons for exercising several times each week. First,
1. General topic: Winter weather is cold, and it snows.
people who exercise look better. Exercise is important to keep our bodies in good
shape. In addition, people who exercise have more energy. For example, a person who winter ✓
The best season for children is winter.
exercises can walk up stairs or climb hills more easily. People who exercise have a
healthier heart, too. Finally, exercise reduces stress and helps you have a clear mind. Too Soccer is popular for many reasons.
much stress can cause you to worry a lot, and that is not good for your health. For these 2. General topic: For a soccer game, players need a special leather ball.
reasons, if you want to improve your health, you should exercise regularly.
Soccer is a nice game.
There are many people in Los Angeles.

3. General topic: People from many different cultures live in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is a big city in California.

 onolingual dictionaries have only one language, but
M
bilingual dictionaries have two languages.


Many language students prefer bilingual dictionaries to
4. General topic:
monolingual dictionaries.

 ictionaries that have two languages, such as French and

D
An “anti-gravity” yoga class, where English, are called bilingual dictionaries.
students use silk hammocks to lift
46 UNIT 3 • Topic Sentences themselves off the floor   47
 Features of a Topic Sentence 3. Crossword puzzles are not only educational and fun, but also addictive.

A topic sentence has these important features. Expectation:

1. It has a controlling idea that limits the topic and guides the flow of the paragraph. The
controlling idea tells the reader what you will say about your topic. Here are two topic
sentences. The topic is circled and the controlling idea is underlined.
4. Recent research has shown once again that eating dark green, leafy vegetables such as
• Soccer is popular for many reasons. broccoli and cabbage may reduce the risk of some types of cancer.
Explanation: The reader expects the paragraph to explain why soccer is popular.
Expectation:
• Many language students prefer bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries.
Explanation: The reader expects the paragraph to explain why this statement is true.

2. It is not a fact. For example, “Libraries have books” is not a good topic sentence. The 5. Although buying a house may seem like a good idea, renting an apartment has many advantages.
information in this sentence is true, but it is a fact and there is little to say about it.
Expectation:
3. It is specific. “Tea is delicious” is not a good topic sentence because the information in the
sentence is too general. If you want to write a paragraph about tea, make your topic sentence
more specific, such as “Green tea has many health benefits.”
ACTIVITY 4 |R
 ecognizing good topic sentences and
4. It is not too specific. “This dictionary contains more than 42,000 words” limits the topic too
much. There is nothing else for the writer to say, so the paragraph cannot continue.
controlling ideas
Read the three sentences. Check (✓) the best topic sentence. Underline the controlling idea in
that sentence. Be prepared to explain your selections.
ACTIVITY 3 | Recognizing controlling ideas in topic sentences
Read each topic sentence. The topic is circled. Underline the controlling idea. What WORDS TO KNOW Activity 4
information do you expect to find in the paragraph? Share your answers with a partner.
contribution: (n) what someone does to help immigrant: (n) someone who comes to live in a
make something successful different country
WORDS TO KNOW Activity 3 recognize: (v) to give attention or notice to
addictive: (adj) having qualities that make you educational: (adj) describes something that
want to do something again and again teaches or involves learning
advantage: (n) a good or desirable quality or investigator: (n) a person who tries to learn 1. I n an English class, most of the female students receive higher grades than
feature how something happened the males.
confuse: (v) to mix up mentally so one cannot  Research has shown female students like learning languages more than males do.
understand
Many students like languages very much.

1. The new test has three sections dealing with three important skills. 2. Cats are better pets than goldfish for many reasons.
Expectation: Cats and goldfish are both animals.
Cats cannot swim very well, but goldfish can.

2. The shocking crash of the airplane off the coast of Florida confused investigators. 3. The people in my office eat lunch from 11:30 to 12:30.
Expectation: Yesterday I went to work late, and my boss was of course very angry.
Yesterday was the worst day of my life.

48 UNIT 3 • Topic Sentences   49

 4. Paul Cézanne was born in France in the last century. ACTIVITY 7 | Writing topic sentences in paragraphs
 aul Cézanne, the father of modern art, made important contributions to the
P Read the paragraphs and write a topic sentence for each. Be sure to indent the first line.
history of art.
Many of the museum visitors recognized Paul Cézanne's work immediately. WORDS TO KNOW Paragraphs 3.2 to 3.4
connection: (n) an association effective: (adj) useful
5. Many Canadians speak French, and some of them speak Chinese. control: (v) to manage imagine: (v) to make a picture in your head
The current population of Canada includes immigrants from all over the world. culture: (n) the beliefs and actions of a group in sum: (connector) in conclusion
depend (on): (v) to need
 large number of new immigrants live in British Columbia, Canada, but not many
A
of them speak German.
PARAGRAPH 3.2

ACTIVITY 5 | Adding controlling ideas

These topic sentences are too general. Using the same topic, write a topic sentence with a clear
Reasons for Playing Instruments
controlling idea. Then compare your sentences with a partner’s.

1. Flowers are beautiful.

Some people learn to play a musical instrument because they want to have fun. They want
Flowers are the best gift to receive when you are feeling down. to play it with their friends or maybe in a band. Other people learn to play an instrument
OR Only four kinds of flowers grow during the short summers in Alaska. because it is part of their culture. Certain instruments are popular in some cultures, such
as the guitar in Spain or the oud1 in the Middle East. Sometimes, people even learn to play
2. Cats are nice. an instrument because they think it will make them smarter. They want to keep their mind
busy, and music is different from the work they think about all day long. In sum, there is
clearly not just one main reason that people play a musical instrument.

3. Paris is the capital of France. 1

oud: a stringed instrument that is popular in the Middle East

PARAGRAPH 3.3
4. Reading blogs is interesting.

Differences between Modern Reptiles and Dinosaurs

5. Running is a hobby.

One is size. Most modern reptiles are small. Dinosaurs were much larger than any reptile on
ACTIVITY 6 | Studying the controlling idea of a paragraph Earth now. Second, the legs of most reptiles today are on the sides of their body. However,
dinosaurs’ legs were on the bottom of their body. In this way, dinosaurs could stand up
Answer the questions.
on their back legs. Third, today’s reptiles use the environment to control their body
1. Write the topic sentence from Paragraph 3.1 here. temperature. In contrast, dinosaurs controlled their own body temperature. They did not
depend on what was around them. While reptiles and dinosaurs may seem very similar,
they are actually very different.
2. Underline the controlling idea(s) in that topic sentence.
A saltwater crocodile, the world’s
3. How is the controlling idea connected to the information in the paragraph? largest reptile

50 UNIT 3 • Topic Sentences 51

 PARAGRAPH 3.4 ACTIVITY 8 | Identifying types of sentences
Identify each sentence. Write simple, compound, or complex. Be ready to explain your answers.
A Method for Learning New Words
A hatchet 1. When I walked into the room, I was very nervous.

2.  eijing has many famous tourist attractions, such as the Imperial

B
Palace, Tian’anmen Square, and the Lama Temple.

3.  entral Park has a zoo and many other interesting places to visit, but
C
sometimes it is too cold to visit in the winter.
In the Keyword Method, language learners make a connection
between the sound of the word they are trying to learn and a word in 4.  good writer learns to create longer, more detailed sentences from
A
their first language. For example, a Japanese learner of English might simple ideas.
connect the English word hatchet with the Japanese word hachi,
5. Some families do not have the extra time that pets require.
which means “eight,” because the two words have a similar sound. In
the second step, learners make a picture in their heads to help them 6.  lthough Bolívar’s name is not as well-known outside Latin America,
A
remember the word. In this case, the learner might imagine a person many people there consider him the most important historical person.
using a hatchet to cut down eight trees. For many language learners,
the Keyword Method is effective. 7.  razil and Chile are near each other, but these two South American
B
countries are very different in geography, population, and language.

8.  ike most countries in South America, the majority of people in Chile

L
Grammar: Complex Sentences speak Spanish.
Three kinds of sentences are important for your writing: simple, compound, and complex. 9.  efore e-readers were invented, students had to carry several heavy
B
books with them each day.
• a simple sentence has one independent clause. An independent clause has one
subject-verb relationship, and it can stand alone as a sentence. 10. E-readers are wireless, so students can carry them anywhere.
People from many different cultures live in Los Angeles.
• a compound sentence has two independent clauses that can stand alone. The two clauses ACTIVITY 9 | Identifying types of complex sentences
are connected with words such as and, but, so.
Underline the dependent clause in each sentence. Write Adj if it is an adjective clause or Adv if
The weather there is hot, and it often rains. it is an adverb clause.
• a complex sentence has one independent clause and one dependent clause Each clause has
1. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
a subject-verb relationship. A dependent clause cannot stand alone. Here are two common
types of dependent clauses. 2. If your photocopies cost 21 cents, your change should be four cents.
TYPE OF DEPENDENT CLAUSE EXAMPLES OF COMPLEX SENTENCES
3. Gumbo is a thick soup that is made with shrimp and vegetables.
An adjective clause gives more information about People who exercise regularly are healthier.
a noun it follows. It begins with a relative pronoun Dictionaries that have two languages are useful. 4. Bush became president after Clinton was president for eight years.
(who/whom, that, or which).

An adverb clause begins with a connecting word, They play the guitar because they enjoy it. 5. The season that many young children enjoy a lot is summer.
such as because (reason); before, after, when (time); Before they start working, they check email.
if (condition); although (contrast). 6.  ecause they do not go to school in summer, children often like summer more
B
than other seasons.

7. Most people become angry when their computer freezes.

8. In class, we discussed problems that were common in the 1990s.

52 UNIT 3 • Topic Sentences   53