Paragraph Topic Sentences & Paragraphs

A paragraph topic sentence is an idea big enough to introduce other ideas.  It not only indicates how you feel about the paragraph's subject but also suggests a logical direction for the details presented in the paragraph.

A good paragraph topic sentence = governing idea + attitude + direction

Example 1

 

Thanksgiving is closely related to harvest festivals that had long been a traditional holiday in much of Europe. The first North American celebration of these festivals by English colonists was held in Newfoundland by Martin Frobisher and the Frobisher Expedition in 1578. About 40 years later, on December 4, 1619 , after a three-month voyage in the Margaret, some 38 colonists from England disembarked at last in Virginia .  They, too, held a festival celebration in the New World as a first activity. Prior to the English arrivals, there were Spanish expeditions. Of these, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado joined together with friendly Teya Indians, on 23 May 1541 in Texas ’s Palo Duro Canyon to celebrate his expedition's discovery of food supplies. Another such event occurred a quarter century later, on September 8, 1565 , in St. Augustine when Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed; he and his men shared a feast with the natives.  Clearly, the thanksgiving feast was an important European tradition.  (adapted from Wikipedia)

 

Comment: This topic sentence has a strong governing idea, but that idea doesn't relate closely to the rest of the paragraph.  It does not indicate either the writer's attitude toward the subject or the type of logical supporting evidence that will follow.

 

Example 2

 

Thanksgiving was a custom so dear to Europeans, particularly to the Spanish and the English, that they carried it with them to the New World and instituted it immediately upon arrival. One of the earliest North American celebrations was held in Newfoundland by Martin Frobisher and the Frobisher Expedition in 1578, English colonists and explorers. Unlike their later religiously-minded compatriots, the Puritans, these early voyagers came seeking primarily economic gain from the New World. Nevertheless, they also thanked God for their safety in the perilous voyage. About 40 years later, on December 4, 1619 , after a three-month voyage in the Margaret, 38 colonists from England disembarked in Virginia . They, too, held a festival celebration in the New World as a first activity. But the English were not the first to come to the Americas: prior to the English arrivals there were well-established Spanish expeditions and colonies in the South. Of these, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado joined together with friendly Teya Indians, on 23 May 1541 in Texas ’s Palo Duro Canyon to celebrate his expedition's discovery of food supplies. Another such event occurred a quarter-century later, on September 8, 1565 , in St. Augustine when Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed; he and his men also shared a feast with the natives.  Clearly, the thanksgiving feast was an important European tradition.  (adapted from Wikipedia)

 

Comment: This topic sentence sets up the ideas that follow, and indicates the two main groups that will be discussed. The sentences are interlinked, adding facts and making comparisons between groups.

 

Example 2

 

In Tim O'Brien's life he went through certain things that influenced his writing. In 1968, he graduated summa cum laude from Macalester College in St. Paul with a degree in Political Science. Immediately afterward he was drafted into the army. O'Brien was very much against the war, but reported to his duty. Summarizing that decision later, O'Brien said: "I was a coward. I went to war."  O'Brien was in what they called the "unlucky" American division which had engaged in the My Lai Massacre. My Lai , he said, was an evil place: there he felt "the wickedness that soaks into your blood and heats up and starts to sizzle." After leaving the army in 1970, he went to Harvard Graduate School . O'Brien later left Harvard to take up an offer to be an intern with the Washington Post as a newspaper reporter. Soon O'Brien moved from reporter to novelist when his first book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home was published.  (adapted from student papers)

 

Comment: This topic sentence has a weak governing idea.  It suggests the logical supporting evidence that will follow but it does not indicate the writer's attitude toward the subject.

 

Better:  Tim O'Brien's wretched and unwilling participation in the Vietnam War became the heart of his first book. In 1968, he graduated summa cum laude from Macalester College in St. Paul with a degree in Political Science. Immediately afterward he was drafted into the army. O'Brien was very much against the war, but reported to duty. Summarizing that decision later, O'Brien said: "I was a coward. I went to war."  Much of his later writing was inspired by the war-time experiences that were to follow. O'Brien was in what they called the "unlucky" American division which had engaged in the My Lai Massacre. My Lai , he said, was an evil place: there he felt "the wickedness that soaks into your blood and heats up and starts to sizzle."  After leaving Vietnam and the army in 1970, he went to Harvard Graduate School . Harvard, however, did not offer O'Brien the experiences he needed as a writer. He left graduate school to become an intern with the Washington Post as a newspaper reporter. Soon O'Brien moved from reporter to novelist when his first book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home was published.  (adapted from student papers)

 

Comment: This topic sentence indicates the emotions and events that are important to understanding O'Brien's writing.  It details four specific influences -- The Vietnam War, the My Lai Massacre, graduate school at Harvard, and working for the Washington Post -- that shaped his early career.