Topic Sentences
Since body paragraphs for an essay should be centered around one main idea that relates the thesis, creating a clear topic sentence is helpful for both the writer and the reader. For the writer, a topic sentence makes it easier to stay on topic and develop the main idea without getting off track. For the reader, topic sentences announce what the paragraph will be about and demonstrate how different paragraphs and ideas are connected to each other.
A topic sentence generally appears early in a body paragraph (often the first or second sentence) and controls the paragraph. A topic sentence is like a mini thesis sentence for each paragraph and serves to unify the contents of the paragraph. Everything that follows in the paragraph needs to relate to the topic sentence. Not all essays call for explicit topic sentences, but most beginning writers should learn how to write effective topic sentences early on in order to achieve paragraph unity.
It is also important that all topic sentences relate to the thesis statement. This allows for the essay to have greater unity and focus.1
Example
Podcast Example Topic Sentence:
"To understand how the zombie came to be associated with a death-like state, a body without a soul, we need to go back to the original zombie in Haitian culture. [...] [H]ow the myth of the living dead was born out of being enslaved."
Problems with Sentence:
The example is too conversational in tone. While you are talking to your audience through your essay, you need to maintain that academic distance throughout your paper; this sentence addresses the audience with "we" in an inclusive nature with the presenter (writer). The problem with the above statement derives from the medium’s argumentation structure. Now, if you were writing a conference paper or the written draft for a presentation, the topic sentence could and would work. You need a different type of distancing for an oral argument than for a written one. I would however still caution you about using pronouns in either type of presentation; it's not totally against the rules, but it is best to avoid if you are not 100% sure how you should include them. When in doubt, tell the audience who these placeholders are.
Revised Sentence:
The original zombie from Haitian culture – a death-like state or a body without a soul – demonstrates the destructive nature of the institution of slavery, which lead to the creation of the myth of the living dead.
Additional Resources
Topic Sentences and Signposting
Paragraphs & Topic Sentences
How to Write Topic Sentences
Using Topic Sentences
- "Topic Sentences." Aims Writing Center, Aims Community College, https://www.aims.edu/student/online-writing-lab/process/topic-sentences.php. Accessed 14 May 2020.