| Global Revision
Checking the Relevance of Topic Sentences
Topic sentences
are like miniature
thesis
statements. They give the reader a summary of the
contents of the paragraphs they introduce. Well-written
topic sentences guide the reader from the paper’s thesis
statement to the smaller subjects contained within the
scope of the paper. At the same time, they link back to
the thesis or to the preceding paragraph. For that
reason, it is well worth your time and effort to make
sure your topic sentences are solid and function as they
are supposed to.
One strategy you can use when you are making global
revisions is to ensure that the topic sentence of each
paragraph in the paper relates directly back to the
paper’s thesis statement or to the preceding paragraph.
In most cases, the first or second sentence in a
paragraph will be that paragraph’s topic sentence, so
it’s a logical place for this kind of connection to
occur. This sentence should consist of your own words
and not those from a borrowed source.
You should look at the information contained in each
topic sentence and ask yourself
- Is this information related to my thesis
statement in any way?
- If so, how is it related? If not, is it directly
related to the previous paragraph? Have I let my
reader know how it is related?
- Will the reader be able to tell that this topic
sentence and paragraph are applicable to my subject
as a whole and how it is applicable?
Here is an example in which a paper’s thesis
statement and the beginning of one of its body
paragraphs are provided:
Thesis:
Scholars of communication should be informed that
vast differences exist between low-context and
high-context cultures.
Beginning of a body paragraph:
One major distinction between low-context and
high-context cultures is that many of the people who
live in high-context cultures place a very strong
emphasis on the protection of their families’ honor.
Notice how the subject matter in the topic sentence
from the body paragraph is linked directly to that
of the thesis statement and how the writer has told
us how they relate. Basically, the reader should be
able to delve into each paragraph and understand, by
means of the topic sentence, how it fits in with the
rest of the paper.
Learn about Checking the Concluding or Transitioning
Sentences
Copyright 2006 by the Academic Center
and the University of Houston-Victoria.
Created 2006 by Kelli Trungale. |
