Topic Sentences

[Based on material in Ebbitt, W. R., & Ebbitt, D. R. (1990).  Index to English.  Oxford 
University Press.]

Definition.  The topic of a paragraph is what the paragraph is about.  Usually it takes the 
form of a sentence or two sentences.  For convenience, we will refer to it as "the topic 
sentence" even though it occasionally may be one or two sentences.  The other sentences 
in the paragraph develop the idea (support it, illustrate it, qualify it, etc.)

Position.  The topic sentence has no fixed position..  It can be found at the beginning, 
middle or end (or missing altogether, in which case the reader must work quite hard to 
infer what the paragraph is about).

Rhetorical considerations for position.  Readers generally want to know right away what 
the topic is (so they can generate expectations about what is coming next and thus 
comprehend the paragraph more easily, or skip the paragraph if they are not interested 
in it).  For this reason, writers often put the topic in the opening sentence.  For special 
purposes, you can put it somewhere else (e.g., a "bad news" letter and want to soften 
the blow before delivering the bad news).

Often, a few simple changes can turn a paragraph with a poorly developed topic 
sentence into a good one.  These changes include (1) putting the topic sentence in the 
initial position; (2) combining sentences so that one is subordinate to another; (3) 
adding words that show relationships among ideas; and (4) deleting (or moving) ideas 
that do not contribute to the topic.

Negative example.  Barth reminds us that the success of a writer should not be 
measured by the amount of works published nor the types of literature. A writer is 
successful is he has improved and taken some steps towards becoming a more 
affluent and creative writer. How it gets taught, learned or studied is besides the 
point. The most important fact remains in that the writer has grown in his ability.

Improved version.  The most important means for measuring the success of a writer 
is to look at whether the writer has grown in his ability.  Barth argues against the 
view that the success is best measured by the amount of works published or the 
types of literature or how the writer learned it.  Instead, a writer is successful if he 
has improved and taken some steps towards becoming a more affluent and creative 
writer.

Topic Sentences