如何写好Topic Sentence


Important Topic Sentence in a Passage

The topic sentence properly used can achieve unity in the paragraph, which indicates the importance of the topic sentence.

But what is the topic sentence? The topic sentence is an EMPHATICALLY placed, EXPLICIT statement of the central idea in a paragraph. A good topic sentence in a paragraph will help the writer to focus on his subject, prevent him from introducing unrelated material.

How does a topic sentence work then? A topic sentence does two things:
1) it lays down the subject
2) it puts forth the main idea about the subject

suppose we are asked to write a paragraph on each of the following subjects:

1)
Subject: Music
Focus: … is interesting and enjoyable.

2)
subject: Education
focus: … is very important in the modern world.

3)
Subject: Drama
Focus: I like …

Now we have some topic sentences (which may or may not be good topic sentences—that is the question we are going to discuss below). Clearly each of the topic sentences has two parts: a subject and something said about the subject, we can call it the focus.

But are they good topic sentences? Surely not! Take the subject “music” for instance.
Ask ourselves, “what do we mean by music? What kind of music? Do we mean symphonic music, chamber music, pop music or other sources? How can we cover so many types of music in one paragraph? Or in a short article of 150 to 200 words?”

Focus: … is interesting and enjoyable.
Ask ourselves again, “ what do we mean by interesting and enjoyable? Look in a dictionary, interesting—exciting curiosity or attention, enjoyable—agreeable. These two words don’t say very much about music. They simply express approval and they are FAR TOO VAGUE for a good topic sentence.

We can find that “Music is interesting and enjoyable” makes a bad topic sentence—bad because the subject is too broad; bad because the focus is vague.

(Could you provide a satisfying topic sentence for the subject "music"??)

The same is true of each of the following examples:
Science fiction is always exciting.
Water pollution is a big problem.
Life began in a strange way.

What makes good topic sentences then? A good topic sentence has a limited subject and a sharp focus. That is, neither too general nor too narrow. A topic sentence that is too general leaves little to be said in the rest of the paragraph. Too general requires much more paragraphs to develop it.

Here are some simple, factual statements that are too narrow to require any development or support:

1)I live in an apartment.
2)Last summer I worked as a gas station attendant.
3) Many children watch cartoons on Saturday morning.

The following, in contrast, are assertive statements that we can write about in a paragraph

1) Living in an apartment has its drawbacks/advantages.
2) Working as a gas station attendant was the worst job I ever had last summer.
3) Some experts feel that violence in cartoons is bad for children.

You can provide better topic sentences than that of the above. Why not have a try?


Exercises: revise the following topic sentences to narrow the focus by stressing a controlling idea.

Eg. Original: Today many young people have developed a culture of their own.
Revision: Long hair, colorful clothing, and new musical forms are part of the new culture of many of today’s young people.

Eg. The Santana is a fine car.
à Super engine performance and beautiful design make the Santana a fine automobile.

1) Participation in college sports is beneficial.
2) Motion pictures should be censored.
3) People could make a better use of their leisure time.
4) China should take a stronger role in world affairs.
5) Studying a foreign language is useful.
6) Online education is becoming more important every year.