TOPIC SENTENCES
PART ONE: If
these are good topic sentences, write GOOD.
If they are not, revise them so that they are acceptable.
1. How I spent my summer vacation.
2. If you want to succeed in school, you must
have determination, self-discipline, and good attendance.
3. How to build a model airplane.
4. Writing a good essay for English class.
5. My best friend is not only fun and friendly
but also sincere and caring.
6. The student body and athletic eligibility
rules.
PART TWO: Read the paragraph. It does NOT have a topic sentence. Write a
good topic sentence that would “cover” the sentences. Make sure you don’t make a fragment/title.
1. (Write a topic sentence here) The term “alpine” refers to recreational
downhill skiing and competitive downhill, slalom, and giant slalom
ski-racing. Alpine skiers usually ride
mechanical lifts to the top of a slope and then ski down. Alpine skiing utilizes heavier skis, stiffer
boots, and more rigid bindings than does Nordic skiing. Nordic skiing comes from the Scandinavians,
who use the term as a catch all phrase to include ski-touring, cross country
ski-racing, ski-racing, ski-mountaineering, ski-biathlon, and ski-jumping.
2. (Write a topic sentence here) Hammerhead sharks feed mainly on crabs, barnacles,
and small fish. The larger ones prey on
large fish such as sea bass, skates, and rays.
They will also even attack and devour one another. Plus, the larger hammerheads have been known
to attack and eat humans as well.
PART THREE: Find the topic sentence in each of these
paragraphs. Underline it or make it bold.
#1. Playfulness is a
characteristic of most animals. Kittens
wrestle and spar with each other.
Puppies chase their tails, and bear cubs slide down mud banks. Sailors know that porpoises often race with
vessels.
#2. Not only did the
pioneer woman spin yarn, weave cloth, and sew garments, but she also made soap
with fat and lye and made candles with tallow.
She churned butter, grew fruits and vegetables, and tended a family
cow. Since there was rarely a doctor
available, she acted as nurse and doctor both.
Often she taught her children to read and write and to love music. Often, she hunted with a rifle to help
provide food for the family. The pioneer
woman had to have many skills.
#3. A number of
place-names taken from American Indian languages are usually difficult to
spell. The names that have undergone
changes present few spelling problems.
Mauwauwaming has become, and is easily spelled, Wyoming. Machinhiganing has been simplified to
Michigan. Rarenawok and Asingsing are
now Roanoke and Sing Sing. But the
spelling of other names, which seeks to reproduce the sound of original words,
must present travelers with a few uneasy moments. Pity, for example, the modern tourist who is
spending several weeks in Maine and must write home about having seen Lake
Magaguadavic and Lake Mooselookmeguntic and about passing through the towns of
Oquossoc, Passadumkeag, and Mattawamkeag, and Wytopilock.
#4. For the first
time in generations our forests are growing more wood each year than we are
cutting. This does not mean that fewer
trees are cut. On the contrary, each
year more logs are hauled out of the forests than were removed during the
preceding year. It is the rate of growth
of new wood that is rising annually.
This increase is due to wise forest management. Trees that are mature or diseased are cut out
to allow room for growth of healthy or younger trees. Loggers leave seed trees to make sure that
new growth gets started, or they plant seedlings where there are not enough
seed trees.
#5. Many people think
that the rocket is a recent invention.
Although the rocket has received its greatest development within the first
fifty years, it was used as a primitive weapon many centuries ago. The Chinese had rockets in the thirteenth
century and called them “arrows of fire.”
In the fifteenth century, the Italians used rockets which traveled over
the ground on rollers and were made in the shape of animals. Neither the Chinese nor the Italian rockets
were probably very destructive. They
were designed to frighten enemies, not to kill them.
PART FOUR: A-CONTRACT – Make 5 of these topics into good topic sentences that would fit a
paragraph, not an essay. Don’t make them
too general.
1. The most useful animal
2. Your favorite holiday
3. Getting your drivers’ license
4. Why a particular sport is fun
5. A movie you liked
6. Baking cookies
7. Buying the right shoes
8. Homework
9. Taking math tests
10. Making friends
