What is a Topic Sentence? - Definition & Examples

High school and college students feel the necessity of writing lots of essays. Essay writing incorporates a number of paragraphs to explain particular ideas.

Topic sentences are used to describe information in each paragraph of the paper. It is not easy to come up with an excellent sentence but it is easy to learn how to write good topic sentences for different types of essays.

Use this ultimate guide to understand this important element of essays better. So first, let’s define what is a topic sentence.

What Is a Topic Sentence In An Essay?

A topic sentence is the most essential element that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. It should be written in an effective way to help the reader get the main idea quickly.

Each topic sentence in a paragraph must have a topic and a controlling idea to show where the information is heading. The topic sentence aims to tell what the rest of the paragraph is all about.

Generally, it appears at the start of the body paragraph, and often it is the paragraph’s first line.

What is the Purpose of a Topic Sentence?

The topic sentence is written for the following purposes.

• It makes a claim
• Gives an idea of what the paragraph is about
• Relates the paragraph to the main argument of the essay

What is the Difference Between a Topic Sentence and a Thesis statement?

The thesis statement tells what the whole paper is focusing on. However, the topic sentence only tells what the paragraph is about.

The thesis statement is basically the main idea of the paper and the topic sentence helps the readers to understand what the paragraph is about.

Elements of a Good Topic Sentence

No idea what are the characteristics of a good topic sentence?

Here are the elements of a good topic sentence that you should take into account.

• A good sentence is one that must identify the main idea to be discussed in the paragraph. Read the paragraph several times and think about the central idea to come up with an appropriate sentence.
• The supporting details in the paragraph will help you develop the topic sentence. Give yourself enough time to read the supporting details and think about the ideas being discussed.
• They must relate to the thesis of the essay. The thesis statement serves as a road map and tells the reader where you are heading with this information.

Although most of the essay paragraphs must have a topic sentence. But there are some cases when there is no need to add it at all. For example, you can omit if the paragraph continues to develop a story or idea that you introduced in the previous paragraph.

How to Write a Topic Sentence?

The following is a step-by-step guide to writing excellent topic sentences in various types of papers.

1. Create a Thesis

   At the beginning of the writing process, create a strong thesis statement to explain all the ideas that you are going to discuss in your essay. You have to summarize all the ideas to create a good topic sentence for each paragraph of the essay.

2. List Down Your Ideas

   It would be a great help to write down all the ideas and create an essay outline to easily identify what thought is important.

3. Make It Convincing

   Answer questions like ‘Does it make sensed understand what is a topic sentence, ‘Do these statements effectively explain the topic’, and ‘Is there a logical connection’. Think about these questions and try to make your topic sentence specific and convincing.

4. Check the Statement One More Time

   Have a look at your statements one more time to see if it is like a road map for readers. Try to create a consistent paper so that your reader can easily understand all its aspects.

5. Ask Someone Else for Review

   Ask someone else to have a look at your paper if you really want to have an objective opinion. The feedback will help you avoid common writing problems and improve your overall writing.

Topic Sentences Examples

Before you start the writing process, it would be a great idea to search for good topic sentences and choose the main idea of your paper. Don’t hesitate to read some helpful examples and understand what is a topic sentence in paragraph examples to get a more clear idea. If you lack inspiration, here are some of the examples that you can have a look at. These examples will help you understand what is a good topic sentence and how to write a perfect one.

• There are many reasons why pollution in the ABC area is the worst in the world.
• Dogs are wonderful pets because they help their owners to release stress and live longer.
• It is possible to lower the teen pregnancy rate by improving education.
• Education plays an important role in lowering crime rates.
• Getting a quality education is a key to success in a future career.
• Environmental pollution is related to the contaminating activities of humans.
• There are several reasons people face failure in their careers.
• The most important strategy that all companies should implement is to provide security and protect ships from pirates.
• Cooking requires a completely different skill set.
• There are many reasons that contribute to global warming.

Topic sentences are no doubt crucial for any type of paper. You should learn how to write them properly to make your work more exciting to the reader. Try to make your writing intriguing by adding the major ideas in your last sentence.

Hopefully, this guide helps you to make your overall writing process more comfortable and less daunting for you. If you are short on time and unable to do this task, you may give your assignment to our professional essay writer online at MyPerfectWords.com. They know how to deal with any type of academic task so you can get an excellent paper on time. 

So contact our best essay writing service for your writing queries today!