A topic sentence can be found at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the paragraph.

The topic sentence answers one or more questions like why, how, or where.

What are the two main elements of a topic sentence?

Which of the following is a function of the concluding sentence?

Usually, a good paragraph contains ____ sentences

A topic sentence must be about something you can prove, explain, or show through description.

What do you call the words that hold the main points together by showing the relationships between ideas?

Which of the following sequences makes a good paragraph?

Read and identify which is the irrelevant sentence.

(I)Garfield is a comic strip featuring the cat Garfield, the pet dog Odie, and their socially inept owner Jon Arbuckle. (II) The main character is Garfield, who is a lazy, overweight, orange cat. (III) He considers himself to be more intelligent than humans or dogs. (IV) He was named Garfield after his grandfather. (V) He hates Mondays and loves lasagna apparently.

Find the irrelevant sentence:

(I) Doping is the use of drugs to try to improve sports performance. (II) This practice is banned by sports federations throughout the world. (III) Athletes need to know which substances are banned in sport. (IV) The use of drugs during athletic festivals is evident. (V) Furthermore, they must make sure that any product or medication they take does not contain a prohibited substance.

Pick the most appropriate topic sentence:

_________________________Mine is eleven years old, and it is always breaking down when I need it. It costs a lot of money for repairs each year. Also, the heater doesn’t work anymore, so it is cold in the winter. I really wish I could change it.

Pick the most appropriate topic sentence:

_____________________. The teachers are all very old and boring. The courses are not good. The buildings are old and dirty and there is no heating in them. Worst of all, it takes me two hours to get there. I wish I had gone to a different school.

______________. When I was seventeen years old, I applied to be an American Field Service exchange student. I was very proud and excited when I was chosen, but I never realized how much that year would influence the rest of my life. From the moment I got off the plane in Rio de Janeiro, I felt like a new person. At first I was nervous about speaking Portuguese, but the Brazilians soon helped me to feel at ease. Before I left my home, I had been shy and quiet. In Brazil I became much more confident and outgoing. Most importantly, I had thought I would become an engineer. In Brazil I learned to love music and realized I wanted to become a professional musician.

Choose the 3 supporting sentences for the topic sentence below:

Mobile phones in the classroom can have a negative impact on the student learning.