Here is an example of a topic sentence with a controlling idea that guides the support for the paragraph: It guides the ideas that provide support for the paragraph and limits the scope of the paragraph. Announcements (like This paragraph will discuss how to build a bird house.) hold little attraction for readers.Įven if all of the above conditions for a topic sentence are met, an effective topic sentence needs one additional element, the "controlling idea." The controlling idea is the point of the paragraph.
A topic sentence should draw the reader into the paragraph.
Negative language (for example, You might hate to do it, but you should keep your room clean.) should not be part of the topic sentence. Starting a topic sentence with there is/are (as in There are several ways to cook rice.) is a weak opener. If the topic sentence is too specific (for example, Webster's New World Dictionary has more than 40,000 words.), there will be nothing else to say on the subject. Is general enough to invite exploration of the topic. If the topic is too general (for example, I like camping.), the reader will not know what to expect in the paragraph. It is not a fact that everyone already knows to be true (for example, A dictionary has meanings for words.). A good topic sentence is specific and well focused, guiding the entire paragraph. Writing effective topic sentences, however, involves more than merely stating the subject of the paragraph. The following are topics suitable for a paragraph: The topic is the subject of the paragraph. The topic sentence generally is composed of two parts: (a) the topic itself and (b) the controlling idea.
It is unquestionably the most important sentence in the paragraph. The "topic sentence" is the sentence in which the main idea of the paragraph is stated.
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