For each sub-question, read all the quotes that will be used to answer it and formulate a single sentence answer to the question. 

These single-sentence answers will then become the topic sentences or Points in a PEEL paragraph. 

The best topic sentences use a cause and effect sentence structure.

What is a 'Topic Sentence'?

A topic sentence is a single sentence which appears as the first sentence of a body paragraph that states the main argument of that paragraph.

A good Topic Sentence answers one of your sub-questions.

Steps in creating a Topic Sentence

After you have sorted all of your notes and quotes according to the sub-questions they answer, you can start answering each sub-questions.

Your answer to each of your sub-questions will become your Topic Sentences.

Step 1: 

• Read your first sub-question again, in order to remind yourself what the question was asking.

Step 2:

• Read all of the notes and quotes that you said helped answer sub-question1.

Step 3:

• Using the information from those notes and quotes, write a single sentence answer to the question. This single-sentence answer will then become your first Topic Sentence.

Step 4:

• Repeat the process above for the other two sub-questions until you have a Topic Sentence for each of your sub-questions.

For example:

Sub-question 1: 

• What caused medieval castles to fall into disuse? 

Notes and quotes from Step 4 that help answer sub-question 1:

• Castles became obsolete with the invention and improvement of gunpowder-based artillery (Hull, 2004, 33)

• "Castles took years to build and, when new canon technology could destroy a fortification in a matter of days, they were no longer feasible" (Alchin, 2017, n.p.)

• The development of modern artillery meant that attackers could destroy castles from a distance, which removed any advantage that defenders gained from their stone walls (Norris, 2007, 249)

Your answer to this sub-question (will become Topic Sentence 1):

Castles fell into disuse as a result of the development of gunpowder artillery because the new technology took away the advantages the defenders had enjoyed. 

• CAUSE - development of gunpowder artillery eroded the advantages provided to those in a defence position.

• EFFECT - castles fell into disuse.