Created by Yang Ying

The biggest change in job-hunting these days is the use of the Internet. A

job seeker can reply to a “Help Wanted” notice on a company’s Website.

This person can also post his or her resume (page with information about

education and work experience) on one – or many – of the online job

boards. If a company is interested, the person still has to take the next

step the old-fashioned way – actually go to the job interview and perhaps

take a skills test. However, even this might soon change. In the near

future, companies will be able to give the person a skills test and check

his or her background (job history and education) online. But what about

the interview? Companies will soon be able to interview the person by

video link, so people can interview for jobs in other cities – or even other

countries – without leaving home. Clearly, job hunting is not what it used

to be.

Topic sentence

Support

Concluding sentence (optional)

What is a topic sentence?

The main idea sentence

The most general and most important sentence of the paragraph

What does a topic sentence contain?

the topic: what the paragraph is about

the controlling idea: the writer’s attitude or idea about the topic

Why is a topic sentence important?

The recent improvement in the American

economy can be seen in the revival of the

housing industries.

One way to cope with stress is to engage

yourself in new activities.

After a large star cools and collapses,

a black hole is formed in space.

Shows an opinion rather than a fact

You can get a McDonald’s Cheeseburger

for only S$2. (This is a fact)

One factor that contributes to the

success of McDonald’s is low price.

Indicates the focus of the body paragraph

Dogs are better than cats. (Too broad)

Dogs make better pets than cats.

Better: Dogs make better pets than cats

because of their well-known quality of

loyalty to their owners.

Gives one main idea

Successful entrepreneurs are passionate

and resourceful. (Two ideas)

Successful entrepreneurs are passionate.

Successful entrepreneurs are

resourceful.

States the writer’s opinion in an objective way

I think smoking causes cancer. (“I

think”/ “I like” is difficult to develop)

Smoking should be banned because it is

hazardous to human health.

Identify the topic and controlling ideas in the

following topic sentences

1) Parents can help their children be

successful in school by encouraging them.

2) The Internet is a very useful tool for

college students.

3) Using a cell phone while driving is

dangerous.

4) Watching TV is a good way to learn spoken

English.

The importance of using support

Types of support

Personal experiences

Examples

Facts & details

Research results

Quotations

Numbers and figures

Going to college can be expensive. Everyone knows that tuition and room and

board can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 per term, but there are other

expenses that make going to college even more expensive. For instance, books

typically cost between $200 and $400 each term. Supplies, too, are not cheap,

for as any student knows, paper, notebooks, writing utensils, and the many other

supplies needed usually cost more at the college bookstore than at a local

discount department store. For instance, a package of notepaper costing $1 at a

discount store might cost $2 at a college bookstore. In addition, there are all

kinds of special fees tacked onto the bill at registration time. A student might

have to pay a $30 insurance fee, a $15 activity fee, a $10 fee to the student

government association, and anywhere from $20 to $100 for parking. If a

student decides to add or drop a course after registration, this is yet another

fee. The fees never seem to end.

Taken from: Ruetten, M.K. (2003). Developing Composition Skills: Rhetoric and Grammar (2nd

Ed.)Thomson & Heinle.

The Internet is a very useful tool for college students. For example, students can learn about different cultures. They can have a friend in China and compare cultures using email. As a result, they can understand and appreciate other cultures better. If they have a math problem, they can easily find a tutor or help on the Internet. Students who want to learn a different language can find websites where they can listen to tapes to simulate a teacher. If they have to do a research paper on a specific topic, all they have to do is go to the Internet and they will find the information instantly. The Internet is useful to college students in many ways.

Adapted from Ruetten, M.K. (2003). Developing Composition Skills: Rhetoric and Grammar (2nd

Ed.)Thomson & Heinle.

Write two-three sentences of possible

support for each of the following topic

sentences:

1) Parents can help their children be

successful in school by encouraging them.

2) The most obvious reason to recycle waste

is to save resources.

3) Using a cell phone while driving is

dangerous.

4) Watching TV is a good way to learn spoken

English.

(1) Parents can help their children be

successful in school by encouraging them.

Support:

Parents can encourage them to study by buying

them story books with pictures…

Parents can encourage children to study

efficiently by rewarding them when they

get an “A”…

Parents can … by asking their children to teach

them what they have learned.

(2) The most obvious reason to recycle waste

is to save resources.

Support:

a. save trees by collecting and recycling old

paper

b. save aluminum, a limited mineral resource

from the earth by recycling aluminum cans

(3) Using a cell phone while driving is

dangerous.

Support:

a. Drivers with one hand on the wheel may not

be able to control it.

b. Drivers may not hear sounds of other

vehicles immediately

c. Drivers may not react quickly in an

emergency when attention is distracted

(4) Watching TV is a good way to learn

spoken English.

Support:

a. News use current vocabulary and show

pictures

b. Soap operas and talk shows include

conversations

c. TV shows and commercials often show

speakers’ faces up close.

(1) T: The biggest change in job-hunting

these days is the use of the Internet.

C: Clearly, job hunting is not what it

used to be.

(2) T: Going to college can be expensive.

C: The fees never seem to end.

(3) T: The Internet is a very useful tool for

college students.

C: The Internet is useful to college students

in many ways.

Topic sentence is not written or not

effectively written.

Support is not concrete, just restatements of

the same idea

Support is only partly relevant or not

relevant at all

Too many ideas are covered in a paragraph.

Concluding sentence is on a new point not

mentioned in the support.

Adapted from:

Rooks, G. M. (1999). Paragraph power:

communicating ideas through paragraphs.

Ruetten, M.K. (2003). Developing

Composition Skills: Rhetoric and Grammar

(2nd Ed.)Thomson & Heinle.

Course notes from ES1000 & ES5000

The following links contain more explanations

for paragraph writing and examples of

paragraphs:

http://www2.actden.com/Writ_Den/Tips/pa

ragrap/index.htm

http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/pa

ra.html

http://howtowriteaparagraph.com/