How To Write A Topic Sentence For A Paragraph?

If you want to write great paragraphs for your next essay, keep the following points in mind:

Clearly state your main idea:

As we have mentioned, your topic sentence is the first line of your paragraph. Therefore, it needs to give a clear brief about the subject matter of your paragraph without making it difficult to understand.

It should mention your topic, your opinion, or a controlling idea.
After this, you need to make sure that the subsequent sentences have details that are related to your topic sentence.
However, keep in mind that a topic sentence is not an invitation to just announce your topic in the English essay.
If you just write down that you are ‘going to discuss the benefits of gardening’ in your topic sentence, it will not be effective.
You have to try and make your intentions clear without actually stating them explicitly.

Create a balance between the general idea and specifics:

Your topic sentence has to relate the paragraph you are writing to the thesis statement of your essay. However, you need to ensure that there is a balance between the broad and narrow.

This means that your sentence should not be too vague, or you will not be able to discuss your ideas in a single paragraph.
For example, a sentence like “The world suffered a lot during the second world war” is too general.
On the other hand, if the topic sentence is too narrow, that will not work either.
Something like “Christmas trees are either firs or cedars” does not give you much room to expand.
Instead, you should aim for a good amount of balance in your topic sentence.
Something like “The Sherman’s district in the South suffered incredibly during the American civil war” works.
This is because this sentence in an essay is broad enough to be related to a bigger idea but is not so narrow that there would be nothing to discuss.

Engage your readers:

One of the main purposes of the topic sentence is to hook the readers and draw them in. Some effective ways to do this are:

Bring up a question in your topic sentence that will intrigue them.
Try giving a physical or emotional description of a character.
If a relevant conversation can attract your reader’s attention, try using dialogues to start your paragraph.
Use the topic sentence to portray an emotion to your readers.
Include some details without creating a run-on sentence that has too many facts and figures.
Try and create interest in your essay by using sensory language in your topic sentence.
Avoid having rhetorical questions in your sentence.

Present a reasonable opinion:

Since the body of your paragraph is supposed to prove your topic sentence, it has to be something that can be proved using credible evidence. Making tall claims in your topic sentence will not get you anywhere.

You can state an opinion in your topic sentence but only do that if you can back it up with evidence in your paragraph.
Our assignment help experts say that a topic sentence like “growing herbs can further your appreciation for fresh cooking” is good.
This is because the phrase “further your appreciation” shows something that you believe and can examine in the upcoming paragraph.
You can also look for supporting evidence that can justify this claim of yours.
However, avoid writing only facts in your topic sentence.
Even though facts are interesting, they are not the best choice for your topic sentence as they tell the readers truly little about what to expect.
If you do want to include a fact, try clubbing it together with your own opinion.
Alternatively, you can save your facts to be used as evidence later.

Use your topic sentence as a transition:

Using your topic sentences as a transition can guide your readers through your arguments and keep them from getting lost on your train of thoughts.

This can be done by thinking of the topic sentence as a bridge between the main idea, the previous paragraph, and the key points of the next paragraph.
You can use transitional elements like ‘also’ or ‘in contrast’ to create a relationship between the paragraphs.
For example, take the sentence “although gardening has many health benefits, people still need to be careful when they are outside.’
It establishes a reasonable connection to the overall idea of your essay as well as the previous paragraph.
Simultaneously, it also points the reader in the direction of the new paragraph.

This is a simple checklist that should teach you ‘How to write a topic sentence for a body paragraph?’ However, if you are feeling confused or need some extra guidance, our team is available 24*7 to help you out.

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What Things Should You Keep In Mind To Write A Topic Sentence For An English Essay?

An essay is generally divided into three to five paragraphs that elaborate your main idea properly. As we have already discussed the key points of writing a good topic sentence for each paragraph above. Let us briefly go over the relation between a topic sentence and an essay and see how you can write an effective one.

Start by writing an essay outline:

Every paragraph of your essay has a main idea or goal that you are trying to communicate to your readers.

Your topic sentence will identify this main idea.
However, to write a good topic sentence for your essay, you need to have a clear idea of what your topic sentence will be about.
An outline can help you do that.
An outline does not mean going into too much detail, but just having a general idea of the subtopics that you want to discuss will be a good start.

Looking at samples can help:

Not everyone is proficient at writing topic sentences. Thus, if you are new to this, looking at examples always helps. Our experts can equip you with different kind of examples for the same and even teach you the difference between a research paper and essay writing.

“Increasing the funding for public roads in Jackson County is bound to improve the quality of life for residents.”
After this, you can use the rest of the paragraph to correlate the idea of public roads to the happiness of residents.
However, a sentence like “The increased funding in Jackson County has led to a decrease in traffic jams by 20%”
Even though it is an interesting fact, it is too narrow to be elaborated upon.
Thus, you have to make sure that your topic sentence can direct the entire paragraph.

Draw a connection between the topic sentence and thesis statement:

Your thesis statement presents the main goal, idea, or argument that is overarching in your essay.

It can be analytical, or it may try to persuade the reader about a particular topic.
Thus, it can be helpful to think of your topic sentences like mini-thesis statements for every paragraph.
However, a topic sentence does not necessarily have to present an argument like a thesis statement.
You have the liberty of just using your topic sentence as a preview for what is about to come.

Keep it short and sweet:

Your topic sentence has to put forward your intentions to the reader without forcing them. Our essay help online can assist you in doing this.

If you keep your topic sentence short and sweet, it will make your intentions clear without pressurising your readers.
Think of your topic sentence as a middle ground.
It should be a bit more specific than your thesis but should not present the entire information of your paragraph in one go either.
Keeping it short will also help the flow of your paragraph.

Avoid introducing yourself in your topic sentence:

Even though topic sentences vary in content and structure from one person to another, two things can be assumed about your paper still:

You have your title and introduction specifically set aside to introduce your topic.
Your personal information is available somewhere in the essay.
That is why it is inadvisable to use statements like “My paper is about…” or “I am going to tell you…”
Your essay/paragraph should not have an awkward topic sentence like the one mentioned above.
Unless you are writing an opinion piece, avoid using “I” altogether.

We hope that you have gained a better idea of ‘How to write a topic sentence in an essay?’ today. Reach out to us if you have any questions about how to write an academic report or need further assignment assistance.

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Nick

Nick is a multi-faceted individual with diverse interests. I love teaching young students through coaching or writing who always gathered praise for a sharp calculative mind. I own a positive outlook towards life and also give motivational speeches for young kids and college students.