Structures of Academic Texts

Moreover

• Contrast

• Example

• Addition

• Comparison

Accordingly

• Illustration

• Result

• Contrast

• Sequence

North Americans send cards for many occasions. They send cards to family and friends on birthdays and holidays. They also send thank-you cards, get well cards, graduation cards, and even congratulation cards. It is very common for them to buy cards in stores and send them through the mail, but since computer is the new trend today, sending cards over the internet is also popular.

What is the best topic sentence for the paragraph above?

• Sending cards is very popular in North America.

• It’s important to send cards to your loved ones.

• Sending cards over the internet is the new trend.

• Birthday cards are the most popular kind of card.

Furthermore

• Example

• Addition

• Comparison

• Contrast

Likewise

• Comparison

• Result

• Example

• Contrast

Which would be the best sentence to put at the beginning of the following paragraph?

Georgia has a new flag; the flag has the state seal in it. While South California has a tree and a moon and flag of Wyoming has a buffalo.

• Every state has a different flag.

• Each flag should have their own distinction.

• It is important for the state to have their own flag.

• None of the choices

For instance

• Contrast

• Comparison

• Addition

• Example/Illustration

One thing you must consider is the quality of the university’s educational program. Aside from that, you also need to think about the school’s size and location. Finally, most of all you must be sure to consider the university’s tuition fee to make sure it won’t be a problem in the near future.

What is the best topic sentence for the paragraph above?

• Everyone should consider getting a good education.

• It is expensive to attend a university nowadays.

• There are several factors to consider in choosing a university to attend.

• All of the choices

Consequently

• Constrast

• Comparison

• Sequence

• Result

Choose the best topic that represents the paragraph.

Many people look back to the 1950s as the golden age of the traditional family, but was it really? Teenage pregnancy rates were higher in the 1950s than they are today, although a higher proportion of teenage mothers were married (primarily due to “shotgun weddings,” a colloquialism that developed from the idea that many fathers of pregnant girls had to force, possibly with a weapon, a man to marry his daughter once she became pregnant). Many families were unable to survive the traumas of war and its aftermath, and the divorce rate rose from one in six in 1940 to one in four marriages in 1946. Although many families prospered in the years following World War II, many others suffered from economic hardship. In 1948, Newsweek reported that most of the 27 million schoolchildren in the United States were badly in need of medical or dental care, while more than 900 thousand children were malnourished. —Kunz, THINK Marriages & Families, p. 8

• The Effect of War on Divorce

• Golden Age

• Teenage Pregnancy Rates

• Family Problems in 1950s