Topic sentence

Topic sentence

The topic sentence is a primarily prescriptive grammatical term to describe what is usually, but not always, the first sentence in a paragraph. The topic sentence acts as a kind of summary and offers the reader an insightful view of the writer’s main ideas for the following paragraph. More than just being a mere summary, however, a topic sentence often provides a claim or an insight directly or indirectly related to the thesis. It adds cohesion to a paper and helps organize ideas both within the paragraph and the whole body of work at large.

Its use is considered standard in the American educational system and most venues of writing mainly because it increases reading accessibility.Fact|date=November 2007

ee also

*Thesis statement
*Lede (news)


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  • topic sentence — n. the principal sentence, setting forth the main idea and coming usually at the beginning, in a paragraph or section of a discourse, esp. of an expository nature …   English World dictionary

  • topic sentence — noun a sentence that states the topic of its paragraph • Hypernyms: ↑sentence …   Useful english dictionary

  • topic sentence — a sentence that expresses the essential idea of a paragraph or larger section, usually appearing at the beginning. Also, topical sentence. [1915 20] * * * …   Universalium

  • topic sentence — noun Date: 1885 a sentence that states the main thought of a paragraph or of a larger unit of discourse and is usually placed at or near the beginning …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • topic sentence — noun A sentence at the beginning of a paragraph indicating the general matter to be discussed later in that paragraph …   Wiktionary

  • topic sentence — top′ic sen′tence n. a sentence that expresses the essential idea of a paragraph or larger section, usu. at the beginning • Etymology: 1915–20 …   From formal English to slang

  • Topic — can refer to: * An area of interest, also called a subject ** The focus of an article in a publication ** The focus of a discussion or debate; see On topic * Topic (or theme) in linguistics, the part of a proposition that is being talked about… …   Wikipedia

  • Sentence element — Sentence elements are the groups of words that combine together to comprise the ‘building units’ of a well formed sentence. A sentence element approach to grammar assumes a top down methodology. In other words, it starts with the sentence as a… …   Wikipedia

  • Topic (linguistics) — In linguistics, the topic (or theme) is the part of the proposition that is being talked about (predicated). Once stated, the topic is therefore old news , i.e. the things already mentioned and understood. For example, the topic is emphasized in… …   Wikipedia

  • Sentence spacing — Double sentence spaced typewriter text (1946) vs. single sentence spaced typeset text (1979) Sentence spacing is the horizontal space between sentences in typeset text. It is a matter of typographical convention …   Wikipedia

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