TOUR OF THE TOPIC SENTENCE

THE PARAGRAPH:

HE WAS NOT FAT. TRUTH TO TELL, HE WAS NOT

REALLY EVEN CHUBBY.... BUT THE NAME FAT
CHARLIE CLUNG TO HIM, LIKE CHEWING GUM TO
THE SOLE OF A TENNIS SHOE. HE WOULD
INTRODUCE HIMSELF AS CHARLES OR, IN HIS EARLY
TWENTIES, CHAZ... BUT IT WAS NO USE; THE NAME
WOULD CREEP IN...--HE WOULD BE FAT CHARLIE
AGAIN. IT WAS, HE KNEW IRRATIONALLY, BECAUSE
HIS FATHER HAD GIVEN HIM THE NICKNAME, AND
WHEN HIS FATHER GAVE THINGS NAMES, THEY
STUCK. 
 RAW INGREDIENTS FOR THE TOPIC
SENTENCE
IDEA TECHNIQUE

• Characterization • Simile
• Identity • Powerful Verbs
• External Conflict with
Authority Figure of
the Father
SUGGESTED TOPIC
SENTENCE
Through the use of simile and a set of
powerful verbs, Neil Gaiman has
effectively communicated Charlie’s
conflict with his father, resulting in
his identity crisis.
PARAGRAPH FOR YOU-1:
I gazed through the window and for the first time in my life saw
white schoolchildren. I scrutinized them for any differences from
black school children, aside from colour. They were like little
mannequins. The boys were neatly dressed in show-white shirts,
blazers with badges, preppy caps with badges, ties matching the
badges, shiny black and brown shoes, worsted knee-high socks.
The girls wore pleated gym dresses with badges, show-white
shirts, caps with badges, blazers with badges, ties matching
badges, shining black and brown shoes. A few of the girls had
pigtails.
-Mark Mathabane’s The Kaffir Boy
PARAGRAPH FOR YOU-2:
I bit my lip and said nothing. The year was 1987, and yuppie
assholes like Scott seemed to rule the world. Wall Street
was in the midst of a raging bull market, and freshly
minted millionaires were being spit out a dime a dozen.
Money was cheap, and a guy named Michael Milken had
invented something called "junk bonds," which had
changed the way corporate America went about its
business. It was a time of unbridled greed, a time of wanton
excess. It was the era of the yuppie.
-Jordan Belfort’s The Wolf of Wall Street
PARAGRAPH FOR YOU-3:
• “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones
who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved,
desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who
never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn,
burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles
exploding like spiders across the stars.”

-Jack Kerouc- On the Road

CRITERIA FOR A GOOD
TOPIC SENTENCE
Band 1-Idea and Technique are both
incorporated. No grammatical or spelling errors.
Use of literary diction.

Band 2- Either Idea or Technique is incorporated.

Sentence construction is fairly clear despite
grammatical/spell errors. Language is formal if
not literary in nature.

Band 3- Idea not clear. Not incorporated

Technique. Meaning is unclear due to errors in
expression and/or grammar/spellings. Language is
more casual/informal/colloquial.