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Developing the Essay
Showing vs. telling
| Guide to writing introductions
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Writing>How to improve your writing>Topic Sentence Definition and Examples |
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Topic Sentence Definition and
Examples 1. A topic sentence must be a complete sentence, not a fragment. 2. A topic sentence is usually a direct statement, not a question. 3. The subject of the topic sentence is usually the subject idea of the paragraph. 4. The verb and complement of the topic sentence usually show the focus of the paragraph. 5. The focus part of the topic sentences usually presents a judgment or attitude about the subject. 6. A subordinate word group is sometimes used in the topic sentence to define the focus still further. Subject + Focus = Topic Sentence Examples 1. Myths tell how others have made the passage through life. 2. The earliest evidence of anything like myths is connected with graves. 3. Guilt, especially about killing an animal, is wiped out by the myth. 4. The Blackfoot tribe tell of the buffalo fall in a myth about a young girl. 5. The aborigines in Australia tear the young boys from their mothers to tell them the mythology of the tribe. 6. Myths can sanctify a local landscape more than a ritual can. 7. Because a woman gives birth and nourishment, in the early tradition she is the first planter. 8. An Algonquin story about the origin of maize tells of a boy having a vision. 9. A similar story, coming up throughout Polynesia, is about a girl who loves to bathe in a certain pool. 10. More than any other goal, getting back into the Garden is the aim of the myth. |
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