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A topic is very important in writing.Without it, we couldn’t write or we don’t know what we are going to write about.

One of the tasks in writing is to select a topic.When you have to do so, ask yourself at least two questions: “Am I interested in the subject?” and “Will my reader be interested?”You cannot expect to write effectively about a subject that is boring to you, nor will your reader feel excited about it.In a case like this, switch to another topic.

There is much more to choosing a topic than just making sure that it is interesting.Among other things, you will have to narrow down a topic to a size where you can discuss it effectively.Many times the topics you are assigned to or the topics you have chosen tend to be too general or too broad.Topics like “Our Universe” or “Education System in China” may require books to cover.You need to do something to such subjects so that they are manageable in a paragraph or a short essay.

But you may ask how can I narrow a topic down when my writing teacher gives me a topic, say pollution, and ask me to write a composition within 500 words.You see, this topic is too general, too broad.How can I write it within 500 words? Here, there are three methods help you solve this problem.

(1) Use a specific time.

Suppose your topic is “pollution”, which is indeed a broad area.Then you can limit it by time (“Pollution in the 1980s”).

(2) Use a specific place.

If you think the topic is still too broad, you can limit it by place (“Pollution in Shanghai”), or you can combine these two to make your topic even more limited (“Pollution in Shanghai in the 1980s”).

(3) Use a specific aspect.

That may still be too big a topic, for you might have to talk about water pollution, air pollution and noise pollution.And so try just one aspect of it, say, water pollution.Combine that with what you did earlier and you will have limited your topic down into “Water Pollution in Shanghai in the 1980s”.

Even this topic is broad for a whole book.Then, you might tell your reader how people are trying to solve the problem.So limit your topic further and it might now read: “Efforts to Prevent Water Pollution in Shanghai in the 1980s”.

But you can be more specific.There may have been dozens of such efforts.In this case,you might decide to write only a few.And it is easier to find information on only several such efforts.Now your topic is limited to something like this: “Three Recent Efforts to Prevent Water Pollution in Shanghai” (where “recent” has replaced “the 1980s”).

If you want to make it still more specific, you can contrite on “three recent successful attempts”.Now you have a topic you can handle in a paragraph or a short essay.

So, when you have to narrow your subject considerably, these three methods will help you limit your topic: time, place, and aspect (which means “just a part”).However, it should be noted that not all of them are always useful for every topic; sometimes we can only use one of the methods to narrow a topic down, for example, a topic “Reading books”.We can narrow this topic down by using a specific aspect, we can say advantages/benefits of reading books,or ways of reading books, we needn’t narrow this topic down by using a specific time or place.Otherwise we can’t write this topic because it is too specific to develop.But on the average you will find these methods helpful in limiting your topic to a manageable size.

Choose the best topic sentence for the following paragraphs.

_________________________________________You may think that the ring has a diamond in it, but it doesn’t.You may think that the ring is made of gold, but it isn’t.You may also think that the ring was very expensive, but you’re wrong.It cost nothing to make.My boyfriend made it out of some old leather, but he made it with love.That’s why it is my favorite gift.

A.My boyfriend made a leather ring.

B.My favorite gift is a ring from my boyfriend.

C.My favorite ring is a diamond ring.

D.My boyfriend gave me a gold ring.

_________________________________________My neighbor Joe is a quiet boy.He doesn’t have many friends.No one invites him to parties because they don’t know him very well.One day when I was walking home, some boys from another school stopped me and asked me for money.When I said no, one of them started hitting me.A minute later, Joe was by my side helping me.The other boys ran away.People say, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” Joe is now my best friend.

A.A good friend is hard to know well.

B.How I met my best friend at party.

C.Now I understand what a real friend is.

D.Joe is my best friend who doesn’t like parties.

_________________________________________Tests can be useful, but not everything important is on a test.We can test what is inside of books, but we cannot test how we feel or what we imagine.Students need more time to think about their own lives, not only take tests in school.Teachers should help students to learn by experience, not only reading and writing.For the above reasons, I think teachers should give students fewer tests.

A.Tests play a part in learning, so we need tests.

B.Should teachers give students a lot of tests? I don’t think so.

C.Should teachers give students time to think about life? I think so.

D.Should teachers test students about life experience? I think so.

_________________________________________Changing the color of one’s hair is like changing the color of one’s clothes.If a student wears black shoes one day and brown shoes the next, has he done anything wrong? Why should students look all the same? Modern people are free to choose their own clothes.Why shouldn’t students have the right to change the color of their own hair?

A.I think students should not color their hair.

B.I think coloring their hair is a new trend for students.

C.I think coloring their hair makes students look cool.

D.I think students should be allowed to color their hair.

_________________________________________Last month I took an important math test at school.I sat next to the smartest kid in our class, and I copied almost all of his answers.He got 98 on the test, and I got a 92.My parents were happy, my teacher was happy, and myclassmates were proud of me.But I feel lousy.I didn’t learn anything.I can’t cheat all through my life.From now on, I’m going to work harder so I don’t have to cheat again.

A.I’ll never cheat on a test again.

B.I’ll copy harder from now on.

C.Feeling proud is not good for me.

D.Getting good grades makes me feel happy.

_________________________________________From the early morning before my alarm rings until after I go to sleep at night, that dog is always making noise.He is friendly to my neighbor, of course, but he is unfriendly to everyone else in the neighborhood.Children are even afraid to walk by his house because of his dog.Whenever they see that dog, they ran home quickly.I would like to tell my neighbor about his dog, but I’m afraid of it, too.

A.Dogs are people’s good friends.

B.I don’t like my neighbor’s dog.

C.Barking dogs won’t bite.

D.Dogs sometimes are dangerous.

Write three topic sentences for the following subjects.

Underline the topic sentence in each paragraph below.If the topic sentence is implied, write one for the paragraph.

1.Synonyms, words that have the same basic meaning, do not always have the same emotional meaning.For example, the words “stingy” and “frugal” both mean “careful with money”.However, to call a person stingy is an insult, while the word frugal has a much more positive connotation.Similarly, a person wants to be “slender” but not “skinny,” and“aggressive” but not “pushy”.Therefore, you should be careful in choosing words because many so-called synonyms are not synonymous at all.

2.The sky is clear blue.Sparrows chirp in the early mornings.The fruit in the backyard are beginning to bloom.The hills are turning green, and purple and yellow wildflowers are appearing in the fields.The snow on top of Camel Mountain has all melted.It must finally be spring.

3.The younger generation is essentially different from the older generation.The world of the older people has vanished, and they do not understand all of the problems of the modern world.On the other hand, the younger people have grown up with these problems,and they are deeply concerned about them.The older generations still controls the power in business organizations, government, and education.The young people want to make changes in these areas to fit the needs of modern society.In order to reconcile their differences, both generations must realize that the world has changed, and that new responses are necessary for many of the problems of society.

4.Everyone agrees that water pollution is a serious problem today.Oceans, lakes, and rivers all over the world are becoming polluted with garbage and dangerous chemicals.Factories contribute to the problem because they rely on the rivers for disposing of wastes.Oil and other chemicals can kill fish and make water bad for drinking.Polluted water is a hazard to everyone.Since people are dependent on water, they should be involved in finding a solution to this problem.

5.I shall never forget my first sight of her, for she had the saddest face of any woman I have ever seen.Standing there, dressed entirely in black, a bowl of lilies by her side, her face rose from the shadows like one who has known every suffering.Beautiful? I am not sure about that.A beautiful expression, certainly.A beautiful bearing, too.But my first impression remains, also my last.The very air which she breathed seemed heavy with sadness.

6.In rock music there is a distinct and almost overwhelming beat.No single beat is characteristic of the music today.But each song has an easily recognizable rhythm.As you listen to a song, your foot usually starts to pick up the beat.Before long, your entire body seems to be moving with it.Your head pounds with the beat, and there is no room for thought.Only the surge of the music is important.In its own way, rock music is as dominant as the Rock of Gibraltar.Its message is an overpowering emotional one.

7.Baby-sitting with my little brother is no fun.Just as I settle down to read or watch television, he demands that I play with him.If I get a telephone call, he screams in the background or knocks something over.I always have to hang up to find out what’s wrong with him.He refuses to let me eat a snack in peace.Usually he wants half of whatever I have to eat.Then, when he finally grows tired, it takes about an hour for him to fall asleep.

8.First, you have to find the spot where the leak is.Then scrape the leaky place so the glue will stick when you patch the hole.Next, put glue on the tire patch.While the glue is drying, check to make sure that the area around the leak is rough enough to hold the patch.Now put the patch on the tire.Let the patch dry before you try to pump up the tire again.

9.Yesterday at the swimming pool everything seemed to go wrong.Soon after I arrived,I sat on my sunglasses and broke them.Later my bathing suit caught on the rough edge of a chair, tearing a hole in the side of the suit.But my worst moment came when I decided to climb up to the high diving tower to see what the view was like.Once I was up there, I realized that my friends were looking at me because they thought I was going to dive.I decided I was too afraid to dive from that height.I climbed down the ladder, feeling very embarrassed.

10.The word hero has several meanings.It is often applied to ordinary people who happen to perform an act of great courage–a fireman saves someone from a burning hose at the risk of his own life, for example.Then, the principal character of a play, a novel, or a film is known as the hero of the story, even if he is not particularly brave.But the heroes and heroines that we are going to consider now constitute a third group.They are the giants, the out-of-the-ordinary figures whose superiority fills our hearts with admiration and awe; the men and women who give us a high example to follow, a purpose in life, or something just a dream, because they represent the person that we would like to be.

11.Upon entering, the young lady quickly concluded that she was in the Blue Room.Two large windows, covered from ceiling to floor with royal blue velvet drapes, were directly in front of her.Beside each of these windows stood a chair upholstered in the same royal blue velvet.Hanging on the wall to her right was the portrait of a distinguished gentleman in a blue military uniform.A round table covered with a blue cloth sat in the very center of the room.Against the wall to her left were four blue chairs identical to the two beside the windows.Even the white marble floor beneath the chairs reflected their shiny blue.

12.Californians and New Englanders are both Americans.They speak the same language and abide by the same federal laws.But, they are very different in their ways of life.Mobility,both physical and psychological, has made a great impression on the culture of Californians:lack of mobility is the mark of the customs and morality of New Englanders.

13.James strolled in park, feeling his clothes stirred gently by the soft, sweet summer air,already warm at 8:00 a.m.He noticed that the sky was radiantly blue and completely cloudless.The bright early sunlight was making the lush grass an especially rich, warm shade of green.It was a beautiful morning for a walk.

14.The different born-order affects children’s personalities.Firstborn children and only children tend to be leaders.Researchers have found that they dominate their younger brothers and sisters, have more self-esteem, and appear to be more adult-oriented.Twenty-ones of the original twenty-three astronauts were either first-born or only children.Children who are born in the middle tend to be passive.They are the average students and are often dominated by both older and younger siblings.Last-born children have the highest social intelligence quotients.They are more verbal and tend to be more popular with their peers than are their older brothers and sisters.

Read the following paragraphs carefully and write a topic sentence for each paragraph in the space provided.

1._________________________________________ .Famous inventor Thomas Edison, for instance, did so poorly in his first years of school that his teacher warned his parents that he’d never be a success at everything.Similarly, Henry Ford, the father of the auto industry, had trouble in school with both reading and writing.But perhaps the best example is Albert Einstein, whose parents and teachers suspected that he was retarded because he responded to questions so slowly and in a stuttering voice.Einstein’s high school record was poor in everything but math and he failed his college entrance exams the first time.Even out of school the man had trouble holding a job–until he announced the theory of relativity.

2._________________________________________.Indians with distinctive physical characters might be given names such as Big Foot or Crooked Leg.If there had been a big storm on the day of a baby’s birth, the baby might have been named Thunder Cloud.Crey Eagle, Red Dog, Big Bear, and Spotted Wolf are examples of Indians named after animals.

3._________________________________________ .She thinks she knows everything and can do anything.According to her, she is an expert bowler, tennis player,swimmer, and softball player.She tells everyone she meets that she is the smartest person in her class.No matter what the problem is, Helen is sure she can solve it because she believes there is nothing she cannot do.

4._________________________________________ .In many countries around the world, women are entering the work force in great number for the first time.They work at a multitude of jobs: as factory workers, police, doctors, teachers, nurses, airplane pilots, bus drivers, and even mangers, directors, ministers, prime ministers and presidents.In fact,women are really “holding up half of heaven,” as Mao said.

5._________________________________________.Some birds use bits of grass.The tailorbird of Africa and India uses grass to sew leaves together.Other birds find twigs and pebbles useful.

6._________________________________________.We got off a bad start because I had forgotten to buy coffee.My fan belt broke when I was on my way to work.When I finally got to work, I found the interesting project I’d been working on was canceled and I spent the whole day doing boring filing.My husband forgot I didn’t have a car, so he failed to pick me up after work.Because I was upset, I burned the steak I had splurged on.The baby sitter was sick so we couldn’t go to the movie we were looking forward to.Feeling there was nothing else to do; I flung myself on my bed–which immediately collapsed.I hope I don’t have such a frustrating day soon again.

7._________________________________________ .Americans relaxing at home, for example, may put on kimonos, which is a Japanese word.Americans who live in a warm climate may take an afternoon siesta on an outdoor patio without even realizing that these are Spanish words.In their gardens, they may enjoy the fragrance of jasmine flowers, a word that came into English from Persian.They may even relax on a chalse longue while sipping a drink with vodka, words of French and Russian origin, respectively.

8._________________________________________ .We are awakened by electric alarm clocks and music pouring from our radio; we operate out toaster, brush our teeth with an electric toothbrush, and shave with an electric razor.We read the day’s headlines from newspaper printed on huge electric presses, and we write a letter on our electric typewriter before leaving for wok to operate a computer and word processor.

9._________________________________________ .Because lunch comes in the middle of the day, it gives me a welcome break from studying.At school, lunch means thirty minutes out of class and a chance to rest after the morning’s work.While eating, I can plan what I’m going to do in the afternoon.And besides offering a pleasant break in the city, lunch is always a good meal.

10. _________________________________________ .One very real problem is that of traffic signs and signals.Those that are red-green color blind have trouble seeing stop signs found on shady streets because they may not notice them against the leaves.In addition,they have trouble identifying signal lights and must memorize the position of the lights to know which signals being given.Perhaps less of a problem is that of dressing.Those who are fashion-conscious avoid brightly colored wardrobes so that they will not wear clashing colors.Perhaps the greatest handicap of color-blind persons is evident when they select occupations.For example, they cannot work as interior decorators, commercial photographers, painters,airline or ship pilots, or railroad engineers.As most color-blind people cope with their problems, their handicap unnoticed.

11._________________________________________.The color of the food that they order indicates their tastes.For instance, a person who orders red, yellow,and orange foods usually wears brightly colored clothes and lives in an apartment decorated in lively colors.The texture of the food gives clues to the way that people deal with life situations.The dinner that prefers such crunchy foods as crackers probably meets the day-to-day conflicts head-on while the dinner that orders soft creamy foods will go to almost any length to avoid conflicts.Finally, the manner in which people eat their meals reveals their work habits.Those that eat all of their food at the same time probably have four or five things going on; those that finish one dish before beginning another one may be capable of handling only one project at a time.

12._________________________________________.Not so long ago, students would sit with pen in hand, writing the basic forms of a language, learning structures they would never be able to speak.In that same classroom today，pens and notebooks have been put away.The spoken sounds of foreign tongue fill the room．Today the last skill learned-writing a foreign language-comes as a natural and possible part of the total language learning process.Yet, just a few years ago, the last skill learned was the first skill mastered today–speaking a foreign tongue.

13._________________________________________ .It may be in the state of a gas, a liquid or a solid.A solid has definite shape and definite volume.A liquid has definite volume，but it has no definite shape.It may flow or take the shape of its container.A gas changes not only in shape but also in volume, for it expands and contracts easily.

14._________________________________________.It is easy to be a winner.A winner can show his joy publicly.He can laugh and sing and dance and celebrate his victory.People love to be with winners.Winners are never lonely.Unlike winners, losers are the lonely ones of the world.It is difficult to face defeat with dignity.Losers cannot show their disappointment publicly.They cannot cry or grieve about their defeat.They may suffer privately, but they must be composed in public.They have nothing to celebrate and no one to share their sadness.

15._________________________________________ .I get scared in a group of people all writing at once.The ticking of the clock makes me so nervous that I forget what I have learned.Often I do not understand the question well enough to answer it.

16._________________________________________ .You walk two blocks north and then turn right on Adams Street.Walk another two blocks to Third Street.Then, turn left on Third Street and walk until you see a dirt road with a yellow house on the corner.That’s my house.

17._________________________________________ .Some of the fans said they went to baseball games because they felt it would help their team to win the series.Others considered going to baseball games more exciting than watching them on TV.A few felt that purchasing tickets to baseball games would ensure the financial success of the game.And a very small number explained that going to baseball games was strictly a social occasion.

18._________________________________________ .Red, for example, is the color of fire, heat, blood and life.People say red is an exciting and active color.They associate red with a strong feeling like anger.Red is also used for signs of danger,such as stop signs and fire engines.Orange is the bright, warm color of leaves in autumn.People say orange is a lively color.They associate orange with happiness.Yellow is the color of sunlight.People say it is a cheerful color.They associate yellow, too, with happiness.Green is the cool color of grass in spring.People say it is a refreshing color.

19._________________________________________.When I decided that I really wanted to learn English, I made the mistake of thinking that I could learn it quickly.I bought some books and tapes that said, “Learn English in Three Months!” Nonsense! No one can learn a foreign language quickly.I even dated an American girl, but I paid more attention to her than her English, so I didn’t learn very much.Now I understand that only if I work hard for a long time will I learn English well.

20._________________________________________.First, learning how to dress, wear makeup, and groom our hair are all important social skills which will become important to us after graduation.Most kids who have to wear uniforms look like slobs on the weekend.Another reason that students should not wear uniforms is because students look like pieces of machinery in a factory.In this modern Information Age, creativity is more important than conformity.How can anyone be creative when he looks like everyone else? Finally,wearing uniforms can be uncomfortable.We’re supposed to change our winter uniform to our spring uniform on a certain day every year, but nobody told Mother Nature that! We freeze or sweat because of this several days every year.For the above reasons, I am totally opposed to students having to wear uniforms to school.

Choose which paragraph is better and why.

I worked very hard yesterday, but I felt really good at the end of that long day.My father asked me to help him paint our new apartment yesterday morning.At first I wanted to watch TV or go out with my friends.After thinking about it, though, I realized that I should help around our house, too.Our house is not a hotel.Besides, my father often does lot of things for me.We worked together all morning and afternoon.By dinner time I was tired and hungry,but I felt good.We finished the painting, and the house looked and smelled new.Playing around is not the only way to feel good.

My father asked me to help him paint our new apartment yesterday morning.At first I wanted to watch TV or go out with my friends.After thinking about it, though, I realized that I should help around our house, too.Our house is not a hotel.Besides, my father often does lot of things for me.We worked together all morning and afternoon.By dinner time I was tired and hungry, but I felt good.We finished the painting, and the house looked and smelled new.Playing around is not the only way to feel good.

2.The Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is a sentence that contains a topic and a controlling idea.For example,“My father is a kind man”, this sentence is a topic sentence because it contains a topic “my father” and a controlling idea “kind”.A controlling idea is a writer’s attitudes or feelings towards a topic and is a word or a group of words that state the central idea of a paragraph,specifying what the paragraph is about.A well-chosen controlling idea directs the writer in his writing by suggesting an outline for him to follow.A well-chosen controlling idea guides the reader in his reading by telling what the main thought of the paragraph will be.

A controlling idea is often contained in the topic sentence of a paragraph.Take for example this topic sentence: The diagram drawn by our teacher shows a series of mechanical steps that finally lead to the solution to our problem.In the example, “a series of mechanical steps” is the controlling idea, which is what the writer has chosen to say about a science topic.With this controlling idea, the writer is reminded to keep to the main idea as he writes the paragraph, and the reader is prepared to hear the series of mechanical steps described one by one in the paragraph.

A controlling idea should be specific instead of being general, able to suggest some different aspect(s) that can be and must be fully developed or explained so that all the possible question(s) the reader may ask about the subject can be satisfactorily answered.Take another topic sentence: Reading a book is like driving an automobile along a highway.In this topic sentence, “like driving an automobile along a highway” is the controlling idea.This proposes a different point of view toward the subject matter, and is likely to prompt the question “Why?” from the reader, which the writer is supposed to answer in the sentences that follow in the paragraph.

A controlling idea must be fully developed and explained to the extent that no question is left unanswered about the subject matter.Read the following paragraph:

There are three reasons why John is not going to university.In the first place, his father is dead and if John went to university, his mother would be left all alone.She has a few friends, but they do not live very near, and she would probably have to spend more evenings alone.Consequently, although John wants to go to university very much, he is going to get a job near home instead.

The above paragraph has a clear controlling idea: three reasons (why John is not going to university).Naturally, the reader expects to know about the three reasons.However, only one reason can be found in the example paragraph.This can hardly make a good paragraph because its controlling idea is not completely developed.Now study the revised paragraph below:

There are three reasons why John is not going to university.In the first place, his family is quite poor and, since he has four younger brothers and sisters still at school, he feels that he should help his family financially as soon as possible.Secondly, if he went to university, his mother would be left all alone to look after the young children.Finally, he has been offered a good job with excellent chances of promotion.Consequently, although John wants to go to university very much, he is going to get a job near home instead.

A good paragraph, therefore, has a definite controlling idea, and each sentence in a paragraph must add a piece of information until the controlling idea is fully explained.

Underline the controlling ideas in the following topic sentences.

1.Spring is my favorite season.

2.My brother easily angered.

3.Smoking is harmful to our health.

4.I like autumn much better than any other.

5.He is my best friend rather than my best servant.

6.There is one thing which you may be surprised to know.

7.Electricity has become an essential part of our modern life.

8.People should first of all conform to some social rules.

9.However, some critics see a fallacy in this argument.

10.The summer holidays are the best part of the year for most students.

11.The best place for a summer holiday is the seaside.

12.There are two reasons for this trend.

13.Redwood Highway is a lovely but dangerous drive.

14.All three–lane highways in California should be abolished.

15.All drivers should know what to do in case of a flat.

16.Going to college requires much more self-reliance than going to high school.

17.Television is rightly called an “idiot box”.

18.Lincoln had many personal qualities that made him dear to the hearts of his countrymen.

19.Thomas Jefferson was a man of many talents.

20.Jane and her sister have little in common.

The following topic sentences are lack of controlling ideas.Please add the controlling idea to each of them.

1.Autumn is a season.

4.Sentence length and structure are needed in composition.

5.If a student wants to pass a course, he must work.

6.Blue jeans are popular.

7.Star Wars and Close Encounters of a Third Kind are movies.

8.Students often go to school.

9.Helping others is an experience.

10.Planning time is an aid.

11.I have made visits to New York.

13.Despite their obvious differences in length, the paragraph and the essay are similar.

14.To read aloud in the morning, one needs to get up.

15.Increasing your vocabulary can help you.

16.Television presents a world in front of us.

18.To play a drum requires a sense.

19.Jim is a person I know.

20.There was an accident in the chemistry lab last week.

In the following list, circle the letter of the sentence that does not develop the controlling idea which appears in the topic sentence.

1.TOPIC SENTENCE: I enjoy weekends.

a.I can sleep late on Saturday mornings.

b.My friends and I can visit and run around.

c.I can do all kinds of shopping.

d.School assignments are due on Monday.

e.We usually go for a ride on Sunday afternoons.

2.TOPIC SENTENCE: Carols is very interested in cars.

a.He knows all the details about all the manufacturers’ models.

b.His parents allow him $ 5.50 a week for gas.

c.He spends a lot of time each week making improvements on his old Ford.

d.If there is a new-car exhibit in town, you will find him there.

3.TOPIC SENTENCE: The weather has been changeable.

a.On Sunday we had a high wind that blew down some trees.

b.Monday was so cold that we had to turn on the heat and wear our winter coats.

c.On Tuesday we formed a group to go roller skating.

d.By Wednesday the weather cleared and the sun came out.

e.Thursday was as hot and humid as an August day.

f.Friday morning it began to rain, and it looks as if we’ll have a cold, steady wind for a few days.

4.TOPIC SENTENCE: We had a hard time getting Peter out of the hole he had fallen into.

a.First, we made a rope by linking our belts together.

b.Then we lowered it to Peter, telling him to grasp the end.

c.After he had hold of the belt-rope, we began to pull him slowly out of the hole.

d.As he came up, no one dared to speak a word.

e.The sides of the hole were covered with moss.

f.Finally, we could grasp his arms, and, with a sigh of relief, we pulled him out onto the grassy bank.

5.TOPIC SENTENCE: I easily give up doing my homework.

a.I always start to feel hungry and go into the kitchen for a snack.

b.I’ll leave my studying to investigate any noise I hear.

c.While study, I try to listen to the radio with one ear.

d.For me, physics is the hardest subject.

e.I often leave my desk to go to the mirror to comb my hair.

f.Often, in the middle of an assignment, I decided that my shoes need polishing and do that instead of an assignment in front me.

6.TOPIC SENTENCE: All people on our block give us trouble.

a.Mrs.Brown calls the police whenever we want to play ball on the street.

b.Mrs.Conxales invites us in for lemonade every day.

c.If we happen to stray into Mr.Hardy’s yard, he yells at us.

d.Mrs.Johnson complains that skateboarding makes too much noise.

e.Yesterday Mr.Chan kept the frisbee when it landed on his front porch.

7.TOPIC SENTENCE: You should not trust advertisement.

a.Read advertisements.

b.Look at the products themselves to see if they really are what the advertisers claim them to be.

c.Talk to your friends to find out if they have had success with the products.

d.Switch channels if a television program is interrupted by too many commercials.

e.Read about product research in Consumer Reports.

f.Above all, don’t buy a product because an advertisement says that a famous football player or a movie star likes it.

8.TOPIC SENTENCE: Smoking cigarettes can be an expensive habit.

a.Cigarettes cost about 75 cents.

b.It is very annoying to watch someone blow smoke rings.

c.The average smoker smokes two packs a day.

d.The annual expense for this smoker is $ 547.50.

e.The smoker must also pay for extra cleaning of carpets, furniture, and clothes.

9.TOPIC SENTENCE: It is hard to travel to work by bus during the rush hour.

a.You have to wait in long lines at the bus stop.

b.When the bus arrives, someone always tries to push past you to get in first.

c.After you pay your fare, you are shoved down aside by the rest of the boarding passengers.

d.Sometimes you can read the morning newspaper during the ride.

e.A passenger standing next to you might shove his or her elbow in your ribs, step on your toes, or even drop cigarette ashes on you.

f.It certainly is a relief when you finally reach your stop.

3.Supporting Sentences

What do supporting sentences do? They back up and explain the main idea—providing the reader with specific evidence and reasons.They present facts, figures, thoughts,observations, examples and personal experiences.The supporting sentences help to illustrate your point and help the reader understand what you mean.When you provide specific and adequate information, the central idea of your paragraph becomes clear and meaningful.

Although your paragraph may begin with a general statement, you should go into exact details in your supporting sentences.

Compare the two paragraphs below:

The cafeteria at City College is one of the most overworked places on the campus.(Topic sentence underlined) The lack of space is apparent.It does not have enough room for the students.The building is ugly and dirty and makes the students lose appetite.It fails to create a friendly atmosphere and does not meet the basic requirements of a proper eating place.

The cafeteria at City College is one of the most overworked places on the campus.(Topic sentence underlined) The service line is frequently so lone that a student gives up the idea of eating altogether.If she is patient enough to wait for food, she is lucky if she can find a place to eat.If she is particularly agile, she may work her way through the masses to a spot where she can eat before it is cold.Once seated, however, she is likely to find the atmosphere so chocked with other bodies, noise, and dead air, that she looses her appetite.She can not easily slip away at the point, either.Wedging her way out of the cafeteria, she discovers, is as miserable a matter as working her way in.

Although Sample 1 gives some details in the supporting sentences, they are not specific enough.They all remain on the surface level and give an overall view only.The paragraph leaves nothing more than the words “crowed”, “ugly”, and “unfriendly” on the mind of the reader.The central idea remains vague.

Sample 2 is better developed because the supporting sentences provide specific details such as the “long waiting line”, and “working her way through the masses”.The details present a clear picture of a crowded and undesirable eating place.

Similarly, the paragraph below offers supporting reasons, but no specific examples or details to support those reasons:

Living with my ex-roommate was unbearable.First, she thought everything she owned was the best.Secondly, she possessed numerous filthy habits.Finally, she constantly exhibited immature behavior.

In order to make the paragraph more vivid and specific, you should better add some details to support these three reasons.

According to the supporting sentences of each paragraph, write a topic sentence for them.

Choosing a right gift does not have to be a problem.Knowing the purpose of the gift is very important.You don’t want to buy food for someone’s graduation or wedding.Knowing the persons well helps, too.What does your friend or relative like best? Don’t worry about the price.Remember, “it’s the thought that counts”.A simple, practical gift is more appreciated than an expensive but useless one.Keeping the above advice in mind will make shopping for your next gift much easier.

Many people try to lose weight, but they usually fail.There are two main reasons to explain this.People often tell themselves that they can lose a lot of weight in a short time.Actually, losing weight takes a long time if you want to stay lighter.Eating strange foods does not help, either.People will lose interest in their diet and go back to their old ways.Eating less gradually is the best way to lose weight.

Everyone knows that learning English is very important today.In our city, however,English is not used very much.How can a student learn English well in such an environment?Besides reading, students can listen to English radio programs every day.They can join an English club at school to practice listening and speaking.They can also practice speaking with classmates, relatives, or others who know some English.Making English a habit is a sure way to succeed at learning it.

Write supporting sentences for the following topic sentences.

Topic Sentence: There are many advantages of using computers in our daily life.

Supporting Sentences:

Concluding sentence: These are the advantages which computers bring to our everyday life.

Topic Sentence: First-time travelers often wonder how to prepare for their long-distance trips.Here are some tips.

Supporting Sentences:

Concluding Sentence: What could be worse than forgetting your ticket or passport?Those who follow these four pieces of advice are much more likely to enjoy their trip than those who do not.

Topic Sentence: Reading books has many advantages.

Supporting Sentences:

Topic Sentence: Cooperation plays a very important role in our life.

Supporting Sentences:

Decide which paragraph is better and why.

If you could have only three books, what would they be? I would first choose a dictionary.A dictionary is not very expensive and has a lot of information in it.There are dictionaries for every language.Maybe I would buy a Chinese-English dictionary.Then I would want a history book.I have been always interested in history.I love to watch movies on TV about our country’s history.Their lives were difficult but interesting.The last book I would want would be medical book.I hope to become a doctor someday, and I would have plenty of time to read about health in that book.Doctors make a lot of money, and then I could buy more books, if there were any more.What books would you buy?

Our teacher asked us, “If you could have only three books, what would they be?” I thought about this question a long time.The first book I would want is a dictionary.A dictionary has a lot of information in it and is the most important book about one’s language.The next book is a history book.Everyone should know his country’s and his people’s history.If we do not know our own history, we cannot know who we are.Finally, I would want a book about health.We all know that “Health is wealth”, and a book about our bodies is very important.I hope we always have many of our good friends, books, with us, buy if we have to choose three books, I would choose a dictionary, a history book, and a book about health.