Download Topic Sentences

Topic Sentences
● The goal is to offer a little more specificity about your
evidence while tying it back into the causal assertion you
made in your thesis. (This sounds more difficult than it is.)
● To do this, we have a topic sentence structure similar to the
thesis structure.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Topic
Direction
Claim
Universal Idea
Topic Sentences
PART 1:
● Topic = your evidence
PART 2:
● Direction = the specific element of your evidence that relates
directly to your main assertion(s).
EXAMPLE:
● To Kill a Mockingbird, particularly Lee’s examination of the
brutality of the Jim Crow south...
Topic Sentences
EXAMPLES:
● Abraham Lincoln’s second inauguration speech, especially
the calls for healing as the nation moves on from civil war…
● Technological innovations, including the telephone and
personal computer…
● My own experience as a student, most notably in math
classes...
Topic Sentences
PART 3:
● Claim = a strong verb that illustrates the relationship between
your evidence and your essay’s main Universal Idea.
● The “Verbs for Academic Discourse” sheet I gave you
the other day should be helpful here.
PART 4.
● Universal Idea = the concept most central to your argument.
(Should be carried from your thesis throughout your essay.)
Topic Sentences
Thesis: Although some situations may be too difficult to endure,
perseverance often provides us the surest path to lasting
achievement, as illustrated by David Sedaris’ “Me Talk Pretty
One Day”, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and The
Odyssey.
Topic Sentence #1
● David Sedaris’ short narrative “Me Talk Pretty One Day”,
which details his experiences under a tyrannical French
instructor, demonstrates the value of perseverance in the face
of even the most oppressive conditions.
Topic Sentences
Topic Sentence #2
● The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, especially the
Greensboro sit-ins and the peaceful protests against
segregation in Birmingham, highlight the hard-won rewards
made possible through perseverance.
Topic Sentence #3
● Homer’s Odyssey, which traces one man’s long, painful
journey towards his home in Ithaca, reveals the commitment
and determination it often takes to reach our goals.