Writing Paragraphs
- A topic sentence
- Supporting ideas
- Closing sentence
Topic Sentences
Essays, articles, and many other pieces of English writing are organized into paragraphs. Most paragraphs begin with what we call a topic sentence. A topic sentence summarizes the content of the following paragraph. For this reason, it is often the first sentence of that paragraph, and it is the most important! Take a look at this paragraph about the Tunguska Event:
There are a number of different explanations given as to the cause of the Tunguska Event. The most widely accepted explanation is that the event was of meteoric origin and caused by remnants of Encke's comet, which burnt up during entry but didn't create a crater. Other explanations include crashing of an alien space ship. However, scientists are still not entirely sure.
Can you identify the topic sentence of this paragraph? It is "There are a number of different explanations given as to the cause of the Tunguska Event." This sentence tells the reader what the rest of the paragraph is about, which is: different explanations about what caused the Tunguska Event.
Supporting Ideas
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