5 methods of creating an excellent essay topic sentence

Writing topic sentences in an essay takes a lot of practice and skill and their main aim is to show up at the start of a paragraph and explain to the readers what to expect from that section. This is the reason why you should ensure that your topic sentences maintain a fixed standard and are written in an effective manner to provide the readers with a clear idea. Once you have perfected this method, you will find that writing the rest of your paper will seem like a piece of cake.

Importance of planning

  • You should first compose an outline and ensure that every paragraph follows a distinct structure.
  • The topic sentence will identify the core idea and to write an effective one, you must understand the content for your paragraph. An outline will allow you to do just that.
  • You should bear in mind that topic sentences do not present an argument. Since it is the starting sentence of the paragraph, the topic sentence needs to accurately reveal the subject matter of your paragraph in a clear and concise manner.
  • You should balance the topic sentence using general ideas and specifics. The statement must not be too narrow and you should find the right balance.

Grabbing the right kind of attention

Your job is to attract the attention of your readers and a topic sentence will allow you to do just that. It should raise questions in their minds that you have the answers to in your paper. One of the most effective means of doing so is to bring them right into the action. You may use detail, dialogue and descriptions in your paper to hold the interest of the audience. However, it is best if you avoid the use of rhetorical questions.

Be precise

It is necessary to keep your topic sentences short and sweet. It should explain your intention rather than forcing readers to hunt it down. This should seem like the middle ground of your paragraph and should not give away details of your whole paper. Yet at the same time, it must provide sufficient information for the whole paragraph.

Nature of opinions

Your topic sentences should contain reasonable opinions which should be proven in the body of your paragraph. Thus, your topic sentence needs to state ideas and concepts that can be supported with evidence.

Use topic sentences effectively

Refrain from including just facts in your paper. You should try using the topic sentence for transition instead. Show the relationship between different ideas.