What UT offers has nothing to do with Anna’s talents! Sentence 3 gives you another example of Anna’s gifts.

Unlike other desert creatures, the kangaroo rat does not store water in its body but instead is able to convert the dry seeds it eats into moisture. Its ability to adapt to such a hostile environment makes the kangaroo rat a truly amazing creature. It seems so simple, but by doing just a few breathing exercises a couple of hours before an exam, I gradually got my anxiety under control. The exercises help slow my heart rate and make me feel less anxious. Better yet, they require no pills, no equipment, and very little time.

How to Write an Introduction to a Reflective Essay

I should add here that a topic sentence is probably followed by “an example” which, itself, is explained in further detail. While the main idea is usually in the first sentence, the next most common placement is in the last sentence of a paragraph.

• Whereas thematic patterning can emerge subconsciously, a book’s controlling idea should be clearly understood by the author at the beginning of the drafting process.
• If the purpose of the essay is actually to evaluate education in only one particular state, or to discuss math or English education specifically, then the topic sentence is misleading.
• It reiterates the main point that viewers are bored with reality television shows by using different words from the topic sentence.

Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Whether you’re studying times tables or applying to college, Classroom has the answers. 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. If you thought the purpose of this essay was to give information, you didn’t understand the task. The purpose was to persuade the principal to let your club hold the dance in the school.

Parts of the Basic Paragraph

We are also going to be looking at a variety of examples to give us a better understanding of its function. Notice that the example and explanation steps of this 5-step process can be repeated as needed. The idea is that you continue to use this pattern until you have completely developed the main idea of the paragraph. define controlling idea Supporting sentences help explain, prove, or enhance the topic sentence by offering facts, reasons, statistics, quotations, or examples. Topic sentences may be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph. In most academic essays, the topic sentence is placed at the beginning of a paragraph.

The controlling idea I worked with for M School was sociopathic behavior leads to unresolvable cycles of violence. Though never explicitly stated in those words, that simple sentence is what I want readers to take away from the book. It, therefore, informed many of the decisions I made during the drafting process. Write your controlling idea in the first box of the organizer. As prewriting, ‌prepare a graphic organizer to provide a visual guide for the writing process of your essay.‌ One approach to a graphic organizer is a box web.

Topic Sentence

They should be used to expand on what has been said in the topic sentence. This will not only make your workflow but will also ensure that each paragraph remains focused and relevant to the topic sentence. You should give some evidence to support your topic sentence. On top of this, the topic sentence should always refer back to the thesis statement which was made at the beginning of the essay. You can imagine the thesis statement as being a map which directs the reader as to where you are going with the information and how it is being treated. At this point, you can remind your reader about the relevance of the information that you just discussed in the paragraph.

When we cannot overcome the cyclical psychic wounds of abuse, addiction, jealousy, and family dysfunction, evil and our inner demons can overcome our better selves, resulting in terror and death. I walked slowly down the dark path, afraid of my own shadow.

I What is a Topic Sentence?

This is most true when there are several paragraphs regarding a theme. In those cases, the topic sentence is essential to “signal to the reader” that what follows is a different aspect of how to make an essay shorter the theme . The Oxford English Grammar defines a topic sentence as “ommonly, though not invariably, the first sentence of a paragraph. Conveys a generalization followed by an example” .

• Another type of supporting detail you could use in your paragraph is an expert testimony.
• A topic sentence helps readers focus their attention by stating both the subject of the paragraph and the controlling idea.
• You may have the finest content, or materials, but if you do not arrange them in the correct order, then the final product will not hold together very well.
• The word “blood” appears throughout Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, continually drawing attention back to the theme of murder and the guilt felt by the play’s protagonists King and Queen Macbeth.

The writings of war veteran’s Kurt Vonnegut and Earnest Hemingway often return to the topic of war. A less obvious, but still powerful, way of inserting theme into your manuscript is the use of thematic patterning.

Repetition of Wording

The foundation of a good paragraph is the topic sentence, which expresses the main idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence relates to the thesis, or main point, of the essay and guides the reader by signposting what the paragraph is about. All the sentences in the rest of the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. The topic sentence should not be too general or too specific. When considering the options, look for a topic sentence that is general enough to show the paragraph’s main idea instead of just one of its details. The answer should be specific enough that the reader understands the main idea of the paragraph.

Are you fairly confident that you know what the rest of the article is about? An effective topic sentence combines a main idea with the writer’s personal attitude or opinion. It serves to orient the reader and provides an indication of what will follow in the rest of the paragraph. Using the tips on developing effective topic sentences in this section, create a topic sentence on each of the following subjects. Remember to include a controlling idea as well as a main idea.

Chapter 6

Activate your 30 day free trial to continue reading. Activate your 30 day free trial to unlock unlimited reading. The controlling topic here is that there are ‘a lot of reasons’ and the topic is that a certain town is the most polluted.

They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph. A good topic sentence contains both a topic and a controlling idea or opinion. A good writer can assert the main idea of a short, coherent essay briefly. Instead of rambling, be as straightforward as possible. A thesis statement should contain the main point of the paper and suggest to the reader a direction that the paper will take in exploring, proving, or disproving that main point.

Step 1 Decide on a controlling idea and create a topic sentence

A topic sentence is one which appears, usually at the beginning of each paragraph of an essay. Your topic sentence may serve one of many purposes including summarising and comparing.

The medial topic sentence usually functions as a transition between two ideas or details. This works when you want to show that there are two points to an issue, but the one you are arguing, the second point, is stronger, more specific, or more important. This topic sentence is generally introduced with a transition signal. The most common place for a topic sentence is at the beginning of the paragraph because it explains what the paragraph is going to discuss. The initial placement helps the writer organize the paragraph and tells the reader what to expect right in the beginning. The purpose of your paragraph will be made clear in your topic sentence.

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In an effort to prepare better, I decided to apply the “teach to learn” principle by teaching some of the more difficult concepts to members of my family. I found that as I was forced to explain the hard concepts in new ways that I actually was able to identify gaps in my own understanding. It helped me know what I needed to go back and review before taking the test. As a result of this approach, my score on this most recent test went up by a full letter grade. Once we finish the first draft, Story Grid recommends working with an EDITOR to refine the controlling idea based on the story. This will allow us to create a second draft that more tightly adheres to the final controlling idea.