Topic Sentences and Concluding Sentences
What is a topic sentence?
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A topic sentence identifies (and introduces) a topic.
It is usually the first sentence or near the beginning of the paragraph.
It tells what your paragraph is about.
It is general; it doesn’t give details.
It has general introduction words, such as: several things, some important things, a
number of reasons.
It has nouns, not pronouns.
What is a concluding sentence?
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A concluding sentence ends (and sums up) a topic.
It is usually the last sentence in a paragraph.
It tells what the paragraph was about.
It is general; it doesn’t give details.
It has summary noun phrases, such as: this information, these ideas, those reasons.
OR
It has summary adjectives, such as: important, difficult, excellent.
The conclusion is almost like the topic. It has many of the same words as the topic
sentence.
Example #1:
TS- Chaucer’s “Pardoner’s Tale” presents the theme that greed leads to corruption.
CS- In summary, “The Pardoner’s Tale” warns against allowing evil to corrupt one’s morals.
Example #2:
TS- In Chaucer’s “Pardoner’s Tale,” he utilizes alliteration to emphasize the corruption of this
pilgrim.
CS- Ultimately, Chaucer’s tale presents the idea that evil is caused by greed, which is
emphasized throughout the story by his use of alliteration.
Example #3:
TS- Chaucer’s pilgrims, the Parson and the Pardoner, present different viewpoints on the
relationship between selfishness and corruption- the Parson shows how selflessness leads to
goodness, and the Pardoner shows how selfishness leads to corruption.
CS- The underlying message of Chaucer’s description of these two pilgrims is that one should
not do things for selfish reasons as that selfishness only leads to corrupt acts.