General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 01 Topic 02.doc Look at this example from the article "It's a wrap!" TOPIC SENTENCE Historically, hand-held food played a very different role in our culture. Fifty years ago, The upper classes ate small bits of food called canapés with their hands when they were at special banquets and parties. Canapes could be delicately eaten by a lady wearing a silk glove and not stain her clothing. These days, hand-held food similar to canapés is so popular that it is an everyday food for all groups in society. SUPPORTING SENTENCES Topic sentences The topic sentence is the most general sentence of the paragraph. It gives us the subject of the paragraph and often the writer's opinion or idea. The topic sentence helps define what the writer will say in the paragraph. Topic sentences are made up of a subject, a verb and a controlling idea. Look Subject Verb Controlling idea Hand-held food played a different role in our culture historically. The subject tells us generally what the paragraph is about - hand-held food. The controlling idea tells us the main point or opinion the writer is trying to make. It restricts what will be discussed in the paragraph. In this paragraph we will read about the role hand-held food had in society, historically. We will not read about different types of hand-held food or future trends. It is very important to write a detailed topic sentence, because it narrows down what a writer can talk about in the paragraph. FOOD Modern trends in eating Hand-held food growing in popularity 50 years ago versus now Very different role Here are some examples of good and bad topic sentences. Cigarette advertising is bad. This topic sentence is too general. It doesn't have a controlling idea. Cigarette advertising at sporting venues can have a bad influence on young people. This topic sentence narrows down the topic a lot more. 12