PREFACE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 6
Home > Chapter 5: Paragraph Structure
Chapter 5: Paragraph Structure
5c: Topic Sentences
One paragraph typically focuses on one key idea and consists of
three elements: a topic sentence, (a) supporting
sentence(s), and sometimes a concluding sentence.
A topic sentence tells the reader the
focus and key idea of a paragraph and usually appears at the
beginning of a paragraph to signal to the reader what the
paragraph is about, but it is also possible for a topic sentence
to appear anywhere in a paragraph. For some text types (e.g.
stories, interviews, feature articles), topic sentences may not be
a salient feature.
Activity 3
Read the following paragraph and decide which sentence is the topic sentence.
(A) Body mass index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height commonly used to define weight groups and screen for overweight and obese individuals. (B) In the metric system, BMI is calculated by dividing the body weight in kilograms by the square of height in metres, i.e. kg/m2. (C) The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines an adult in Asia with BMI from 23.0 to 24.9 as overweight. An adult with BMI above 25.0 is classified as obese.
- A
- B
- C
