Topic Sentence
Often, writers express their
main idea in a clearly defined
sentence known as a topic
sentence. Topic sentences are
usually found at the beginning
of a paragraph in order to
immediately establish the main
idea. But this is not always the
case—topic sentences can be
found anywhere in a paragraph,
and sometimes,
the
author
chooses not to use one at all.
Still, looking for the topic
sentence is a good skill to have
when
ferreting
out
the
meaning of a reading passage.
Topic
sentences
are
often
found at the beginning of
paragraphs.
But
n ot
all
paragraphs begin with a clear
topic
sentence.
Sometimes
writers begin with specific
supporting ideas and lead up to
the main idea. In this case, the
topic sentence is often found
at the end of the paragraph.
Here’s an example:
School is tough enough without
having to worry about looking cool
every single day. The less I have to
decide first thing in the morning,
the better. I can’t tell you how
many mornings I look into my
closet and just stare, unable to
decide what to wear. I also
wouldn’t mind not having to see
guys wearing oversized jeans and
shirts so huge they’d fit a sumo
wrestler. And I certainly would
welcome not seeing kids showing
off designer-labeled clothes. To me,
a dress code makes a lot of sense.
Notice how the last sentence
in this paragraph is the only
one that is general enough to
cover the entire paragraph.
Each
sentence
paragraph
provides
in
the
specific
support for the final assertion:
A dress code is a good idea.
Sometimes the topic sentence
is not found at the beginning
or end of a paragraph but
rather
somewhere
in
the
middle. Other times there isn’t
a clear topic sentence at all.
But that doesn’t mean there
isn’t a main idea. It’s there,
but the author has chosen not
to express it in a clear topic
sentence. In that case, you’ll
have to look carefully at the
paragraph for clues about the
main idea.