The topic sentence is the part of the paragraph that tells the main idea. It is where you will make your point about the subject. It will appear at the beginning of the paragraph as the first sentence. This is the sentence that will be pulled directly from your outline and will give your reader an idea of what the sentence is about.
You should be able to choose the topic sentence out of every paragraph in a research paper because it is the sentence that explains what the paragraph is about. Here is how each paragraph shows up in a paragraph.
Topic sentence. Reason number one. Explanation of why the reason proves the thesis. Reason number two. Explanation of why this reason proves the thesis. Transition to new paragraph.
This is the basic structure of a paragraph and here is the best ways to construct a topic sentence of your piece.
- Decide on the main idea that you want to present in your paragraph. This would be something that explains the thesis.
- It will be the idea that you presented in your thesis statement. You can include a transitional phrase in the beginning of the sentence.
- It should capture the essence of the paragraph and not mention things that don’t appear in the paragraph.
When you are ready to write your paper, you will develop an outline. The outline will identify the main points that you will want to discuss in your paper. The first part of your paragraphs will be the topic sentences for your paper. So, say you have a five paragraph essay and you use the regular format with the introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You will develop an outline that shows five main sections and the first part will become your topic sentence. It can include the transitional phrase as well if the transitional phrase is used at the beginning of the sentence.
Here is an example:
Thesis statement: When you are writing an essay, you will want to include an introduction, a body section, and a conclusion.
Topic sentence for first body paragraph: The first section of an essay is the introduction which will be where you will introduce the topic and give background information about it.
Notice how the first body paragraph will be about the first part of the essay which is the introduction. If you’re familiar with all of these rules, take a look at this freelance writing website.