Only write what is in this color.
STRUCTURES OF WRITING:
Topic sentences, support, and the thesis.
Topic Sentences: A reintroduction


Definition: the first
sentence of a supporting
paragraph, which
outlines and organizes
the rest of the paragraph
Roles
relates the paragraph to
the purpose of the piece
 Offers a preview to the
paragraph


Example paragraph:
Many fast-food chains make their profits
from adding a special ingredient called
“forget sauce” to their foods. Made largely
from edible oil products, the condiment is
never listed on the menu. In addition, this
well-kept industry secret is the reason why
ingredients are never listed on the packaging
of victuals sold by these restaurants. "Forget
sauce" has a chemical property which causes
temporary amnesia in consumers. After
spending too much money on barely edible
food bereft of any nutritional value, most
consumers swear they will never repeat such
a disagreeable experience. Within a short
period, however, the chemical in "forget
sauce" takes effect, and they can be
depended upon to return and spend, older
but no wiser.
Topic Sentences: Finding them
On the Kohl’s website, a
customer may scroll through several
screens of customer service
information before they are given the
email address to contact their
customer service department.
b.
Any online customer can quickly
contact JCPenney by completing an
online questionnaire detailing
precisely what the customer needs.
c.
JCPenney also has the
advantage of offering direct customer
service online.
d.
On www.jcpenney.com a
customer can click the “Customer
Service” button and be taken to the
main customer service page.
a.
For JCPenney, a customer can
make returns at any of the 1200 retail
stores across the United States.
b. In this new environment of online
shopping, a customer must also be
aware that returns of merchandise are
sometimes necessary.
c.
With a high number of customer
returns, problems with high shipping
costs would emerge, since
merchandise would often be sent back
to stores.
d. Kohl’s, with only 300 stores,
would have a greater degree of
difficulty handling customer returns.
a.
Interesting and effective topic sentences

Use power statements to
indicate that a list follows:

A couple of, numerous, various,
many, several, four, two




Ex: Three cities have major
pollution problems.
Ex: I enjoy four kinds of music.
Ex: The policy should be
changed for three reasons.
Avoid using “there are” in
your topic sentences

Instead, start with a who,
what, where, or when.
There are two people I call best friends.
 Who: Tamara and Eva are my two best
friends.
×
There are three things that “friendship”
means to me.
 What: The word “friendship” means three
things to me.
×
There are several friends of mine at
school.
 Where: At school, I have several good
friends.
×
There were many interesting places my
friend Sam traveled to last summer.
 When: Last summer, my friend Sam
traveled to various interesting places.
×
Interesting and effective topic sentences

Use occasion/position
topic sentences

 Ex:
Even though bike
helmets can be
unfashionable or
uncomfortable, every
cyclist should wear
them.

Occasion phrases begin
with:
 Unless
 Although
 As
long as
 In order to
 While
 Since
 Until
Occasion and position

The position states your
purpose.
Interesting and effective topic sentences



Although baseball cards are just pieces
of cardboard with pictures on them,
some of them are worth a lot of money.
Unless pictures of my grandparents
were shown, you would never know that
I am actually French.
Although Japan is located on the other
side of the Pacific Ocean, many people
have crossed the Pacific to become
American citizens.
Exit Slip
Write an topic sentence using one of the methods
we practiced today for the following paragraph:
The actors do a splendid job staying in character; we
never see them slip. The medical emergencies are
realistic and interesting, without being overdone.
Finally, the show itself is named after a specific source
within medicine: Anatomy, a book written by Henry
Gray.
 Underline and identify the part of the topic
sentence or the type of topic sentence.

Frequent Topic Sentence Problems

Mentions details stated
within the paragraph:
the actors do
a splendid job staying
in character, we never
see them slip.

Too broad:

 Although

Irrelevant:
 The
actors of Grey’s
Anatomy have
numerous talents.

Shows in the medical
field are very great
shows for many reasons.
Too specific:

Although some people
may think soap operas
have cheesy actors,
Grey’s Anatomy actors
that do a splendid job
staying in character; we
never see them slip.
Examples of good topic sentences
Power Statement

Several aspects of the
show make Grey’s
Anatomy worth
watching.
 Provides
a relevant
overview/intro to the
paragraph w/o giving
details.
Occasion/Position Statement

Although most medical
shows are overdone
and boring, Grey’s
Anatomy is a very
well-made show.
 Provides
a relevant
overview/intro to the
paragraph without
giving details.
Supporting a topic sentence
In order to write well-developed paragraphs,
we’re going to help the audience SEE.
S: Say it– your topic sentence
E: Example– give one.
E: Explain it.
While writing them may be cumbersome, thankyou cards are the best way to let a person know that
you appreciate their kindness. When Sally received
her card from Jennifer, she was overjoyed. The
thank-you card was personal, hand-written, and
funny. This made Jennifer feel appreciated and
acknowledged. There may be other gifts a person
can buy to make a person feel appreciated;
however, Jennifer never felt happier than when she
opened and read the letter.

A little more on the “E”s of SEE:
Examples





True story
Hypothetical story
(anecdote)
Fact
Theory
Other example
Explanations






Expert opinion
Proven statistic
Additional details
Discuss importance
Define terms
Other explanations, as
necessary
SEE identification practice
If you like technology, the
Student Technology
Leadership Club is just the
club for you. STLP students
are involved in much more
than computer
hardware
and
A discussion
of how people
software.
canthe
cannotStudents
afford to put
participate
in raising
things they
want onmoney
credit
for thecards:
One Laptop Per Child
foundation,
presenting
•They think
they’ll have the
technology-related
projects at
money later
regional and state levels, and
•They learned this from their
even advocating
for changes
parents, who didn’t use cash
in technology
in our
or checks,available
either
schools. STLP students are
•Payments
become
too much
more than
computer
gurus.
to handle.
Very few people make
purchases they can actually
afford. Consumers put the
things they want on credit
cards or they finance the items.
They do this because they think
they will have the money later
orExamples
because
theystudents
have never
of ways
are involvedtheir
in more
than
just
witnessed
own
parents
computer
hardware
buying
things
withand
cash or
software:They seem to think that
check.
credit
is money
the only
way to go.
•Raising
for OLPC
After
maxing out their credit,
•Competing at regional/state
consumers find that they cannot
•Making
a difference
even
afford
the payments on
their purchases.
Your turn to practice (exit slip)


For the following topic sentence, write a supporting
paragraph. Be sure to copy down the topic
sentence.
Very few students want the class change to last four
minutes.
Use your notes, not your partner.
Topics coming soon

Support


SEE: Say it, give an Example, Explain it.


State the fact
Example of something relevant to the fact









Relevant, interest, information
Methods


List statements
However statements
Creating interest
Introducing the topic
Leading into the thesis
Writing the body of the paper




Examples
Difference b/t outlines and papers
Writing the introduction

And, but, or statements
However statements
Picking a topic



Methods of persuasion
Thesis:


Transitioning within supportive paragraphs:



Explain how it is relevant, what it means,
when it happened and any other
information relevant
Persuasion:


Statistics
Story
Expert opinion
Outlining: a method of organizing a
paper
Three statements to support the thesis
Those three statements become the topic
sentence
Support the topic sentence
Writing the conclusion to the paper



Wrapping back to the introduction
Don’t introduce new facts, ideas, opinions
Don’t add humor if the rest of the paper
was not humorous
Works Cited
Isaacs, Becky. "Untitled Document." IWS2.CCCCD.EDU - Collin
County Community College District. 10 Mar. 2009
<http://ftp.ccccd.edu/andrade/1301/sitescomp.htm>.
"Untitled Document." IWS2.CCCCD.EDU - Collin County
Community College District. 10 Mar. 2009
<http://ftp.ccccd.edu/andrade/1301/compcars.htm>.
"Writing Topic Sentences." Université d'Ottawa - University
of Ottawa. 16 Aug. 2007. University of Ottowa. 10 Mar.
2009
<http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hyperg
rammar/partopic.html>.