Regents Questions
#26 & #27
Topic & Concluding Sentences
The Topic Sentence in General



Needs to state what the entire paragraph is about
First sentence of the paragraph
Needs to connect back to the thesis statement

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Note, for questions 26 & 27, there is no thesis statement b/c
there is no full essay, which means the topic sentence is acting
as a thesis statement for the paragraph.
Needs to be broad and universal
Should NOT include specific evidence or quotations =
save it for the body of the paragraph
Examples

Incorrect
John Gardner’s depiction of
Grendel as angry at God is
shown when Grendel
“uplift[s] a defiant middle
finger” at the sky and
“give[s] an obscene little
kick” (2).

Correct
John Gardner’s depiction of
Grendel shows that anger
leads to disillusionment as
shown by Grendel’s
reactions to God.
The Topic Sentence in Question #26
Prompt: Write a well-developed paragraph in which you
use ideas from both passages to establish a controlling idea
about ___________________. Develop your controlling
idea using specific examples and details from both passages.

This question wants to see you develop a theme. It will
give you a topic, and the test is whether or not you can
break it into a relevant theme in order to analyze it in the
passages they provide you.

Therefore, the topic sentence should include the theme,
and for organization and clarity sake, we are going to
word it in a “leads to” format.
The Topic Sentence in Question #26
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But, that’s not all. Since you are having to do this for the
sake of a testing situation, and since exhausted,
overburdened English teachers (with varying degrees of
abilities & perhaps certain prejudices or expectations
towards BTECH students) will be grading these tests, let’s
help them NOT MISS YOUR CONTROLLING IDEA!

Let’s use the words “controlling idea” and let’s DRAW A
BOX AROUND IT!!
The Topic Sentence in Question #26

Example:
John Gardner’s
novel
Grendel,
he evidencesidea
the that
Both In
Passage
I and Passage
II show
a controlling
controlling idea that
lying leads to the preservation of relationships.
a belief in nothing (or nihilism) leads to violence.

Revision TIME! Go back through your Regents Paragraphs
for Grendel and revise the topic sentences so that they are in
the above format. Be sure to use the phrase “controlling idea,”
word the theme in a “leads to,” and draw a box around it.
Instead of saying “Passages I and II,” please say “John Gardner’s
novel Grendel.”
Applying Questions #26 & #27
to REAL LIFE WRITING

The reality is that when crafting a “real” thesis statement, you should have four parts: warrant,
claim, reason, evidence.

However, #26 only calls for one part = the claim (or controlling idea/ theme). A claim by
itself in NO WAY is a developed thesis statement, but we are going to stop there for
Question #26 to make sure that the grader is not confused about whether or not you have
answered the prompt.
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Qualification: This is where writing becomes confusing for students and for us teachers to
teach you because we are tied to the constraints of these exams, which do not necessarily call
for “quality writing.” This, herein, is the universal problem with standardized testing and with
rating teachers based upon those exams– the exams are not “good,” but I have to teach you
how to do well on them anyway b/c 40% of my job depends on those scores this year… and
NOT just for me! This year, I am also carrying the P.E. teachers + the Foreign Language
teachers who have 20% of their overall “teacher score” based upon my English Regents
Scores. ???
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Moving on to Question #27- It asks you take a second step in creating a topic sentence/
thesis statement because it asks you to include both a claim (theme) and evidence (literary
element or technique) (that is only two parts of the four part thesis statement). Remember
that in reality, you WOULD ALWAYS DO THIS, but you are not to do this in question #26
because we do not want to confuse the grader in any way! You are ONLY to include the
controlling idea/ theme/ claim, and that is all.
The Topic Sentence in Question #27
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Prompt: Choose a specific literary element (e.g. theme, characterization,
structure, point of view, etc.) or literary technique (e.g. symbolism, irony,
figurative language, etc.) used by one of the authors. Using specific details
from either Passage I OR Passage II, in a well-developed paragraph, show
how the author uses that element or technique to develop the passage.

Since all literary elements & literary techniques point to theme (or
“controlling idea”), this question wants to see you use a specific literary
element or technique as evidence of the theme (or “controlling idea”) in
action.

Therefore, the topic sentence should include the theme (“controlling idea”)
in a “leads to” format PLUS the specific literary element or technique.
Note, even though the prompt mentions “theme,” you are not going to use
theme to prove theme. This is where the Regents creators are confused.
The argument IS the theme– it’s NOT separate from it!
The Topic Sentence in Question #27
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But, that’s not all. Let’s make sure the grader DOES NOT
MISS YOUR LITERARY ELEMENT OR TECHNIQUE!
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So, let’s use the words “literary element” or “literary
technique” and DRAW A BOX AROUND the specific
device we are using as evidence of the theme.
The Topic Sentence in Question #27
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Example:
Passage
that
deceit
leads
toshows
downfall
the
PassageII Ishows
shows
the poem
idea
that
ambition
leads that
to through
corruption
The
epic
Beowulf
literary
element
of characterization.
the through the
pride leads
tothrough
downfall
literary
techniqueof
of epithets.
irony.
literary
technique
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Revision Time! Go back to the Beowulf paragraphs
(Regents Paragraphs #1 & #2) & revise the topic
sentences to look like the above except use Beowulf
instead of “Passage I” or “Passage II.”
The Conclusion Sentence
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Now, for the easy part. The last sentence of each
paragraph should rephrase the topic sentence.
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Do not use the exact same sentence or exact same
words as the topic sentence, but you do need to remind
the reader again what the point of the paragraph is.
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This will serve greater purpose when you are writing
longer paragraphs for actual essays.
Example of Concluding Sentences
Topic Sentence: The epic poem Beowulf shows that pride leads
to downfall through the literary technique of epithets.
Concluding Sentence: The epic hero Beowulf makes many
decisions based upon his pride that cause his ultimate death as
emphasized by the shifting epithets in the poem.
Revision Time! Go back through all Regents paragraphs now
and revise the concluding sentences!