Understanding

&
Determining
Topics
Learning outcomes:
You will be able to:

1) know and understand the elements found in a typical

paragraph

2) identify and formulate topic(s) in given texts/paragraphs

3) identify evidence(from a text) to support your topic

question answer.
Before we continue, let us look at the
structure of a typical paragraph.
Structure of a
Paragraph
A paragraph usually consists the following:

1. TOPIC: the subject of the whole paragraph

2. MAIN IDEA: the point that the whole paragraph makes
3. SUPPORTING DETAILS: the sentences that explain the main
idea
4. TRANSITIONS: words and phrases to connect the ideas

The following slide will show you an example of a paragraph.

 Paragraph Example:

Kuala Lumpur is the most beautiful city in

Malaysia. The city has many buildings and
shopping malls with beautiful and unique
architecture. At night, the city is lit up with light
bulbs of different shapes and colours. Kuala
Lumpur’s beauty is further enhanced by the
different flowers and plants seen everywhere.
Moreover, the city is also noted for its
cleanliness, which adds to its beauty.
Understanding Topic (Subject) of
a Paragraph
• Before trying to understand any reading passage, you must first
understand the topic of the passage/ paragraph.

The TOPIC of the passage/ paragraph:

1) is the subject under discussion
2) is the starting point for discovering the reading’s main idea, or central
thought.
3) is expressed in a single word or a phrase.

4) answers the question: “What person, place, event, or thing is the

passage/ paragraph discussing?”
Using that paragraph as an example, let
us identify its TOPIC.
Example:
1) Topic: ?
Kuala Lumpur is the most beautiful city
in Malaysia. The city has many buildings and
shopping malls with beautiful and unique
architecture. At night, the city is lit up with 2)
light bulbs of different shapes and colours.
Overall, what is
Kuala Lumpur’s beauty is further enhanced by discussed/
the different flowers and plants seen described in the
everywhere. Moreover, the city is also noted paragraph?
for its cleanliness, which adds to its beauty.

Example:
Kuala Lumpur is the most
beautiful city in Malaysia. The city
has many buildings and shopping
malls with beautiful and unique
architecture. At night, the city is lit
up with light bulbs of different
shapes and colours. Kuala
Lumpur’s beauty is further
enhanced by the different flowers
and plants seen everywhere.
Moreover, the city is also noted
for its cleanliness, which adds to
its beauty.
Overall, what is discussed/ described
in the paragraph?
1) The words (underlined in red)
‘Kuala Lumpur’ and ‘the city’ are
mentioned in every sentence in
the paragraph.
2) They are therefore, KEY WORDS
that help you identify the
subject/topic being discussed.
3) Thus, the whole paragraph is
discussing/ describing Kuala
Lumpur.
Topic:
Kuala Lumpur
As mentioned before, a paragraph consists of the following
elements:

1. TOPIC: the subject of the whole paragraph

2. MAIN IDEA: the point that the whole paragraph makes
3. SUPPORTING DETAILS: the sentences that explain the main
idea

The following slide will show you the above elements in the
paragraph about ‘Kuala Lumpur’.
Example:

Topic: Kuala Lumpur Main idea of

the paragraph
Kuala Lumpur is the most beautiful
city in Malaysia. The city has many buildings
and shopping malls with beautiful and
unique architecture. At night, the city is lit
up with light bulbs of different shapes and
colours. Kuala Lumpur’s beauty is further Supporting details:
enhanced by the different flowers and Support the main
plants seen everywhere. Moreover, the city idea by giving
is also noted for its cleanliness, which adds explanation &
to its beauty. examples.
Let’s try one more example…
 Read the following paragraph and identify its
topic.
Are you one of those people who think professional athletes should quit their sport
by age thirty, before physical decline sets in? What’s the point, after all, of aging
athletes trying to beat opponents ten years younger? It’s hopeless and pathetic. If
those are your thoughts, consider the fact that baseball great Nolan Ryan pitched a
no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1991. At the time, Ryan was forty-one. In
2003, at the ripe old age of forty-six, tennis player Martina Navratilova won two
mixed-doubles crowns, one at Wimbledon and another at the Australian Open. In
the 2008 Olympics, no one expected much from forty-one-year-old swimmer Dara
Torres, but to everyone’s shock, she became the oldest woman to ever medal at the
Olympics. In 2009 boxer “Sugar” Shane Mosley was a four-to-one underdog when
he walked into the ring against reigning welterweight Antonio Margarito. Few
thought the thirty-eight old Mosley had a chance. But they changed their tune
when Mosley knocked out Margarito to become the new title-holder.
Don’t proceed till you have tried…!
 So, what is discussed in the
What’s the topic of the following paragraph? paragraph?
Are you one of those people who think professional athletes should
1) The key words
quit their sport by age thirty, before physical decline sets in? What’s
(underlined in blue) are
the point, after all, of aging athletes trying to beat opponents ten about aging professional
years younger? It’s hopeless and pathetic. If those are your thoughts, athletes.
consider the fact that baseball great Nolan Ryan pitched a no-hitter 2) The supporting details
against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1991. At the time, Ryan was forty-one. include specific examples
In 2003, at the ripe old age of forty-six, tennis player Martina of aging professional
Navratilova won two mixed-doubles crowns, one at Wimbledon and athletes like Nolan Ryan,
another at the Australian Open. In the 2008 Olympics, no one Martina Navratilova, Dara
expected much from forty-one-year-old swimmer Dara Torres, but to Torres, and Shane Mosely.
3) Thus, in general, the
everyone’s shock, she became the oldest woman to ever medal at the
whole paragraph is
Olympics. In 2009 boxer “Sugar” Shane Mosley was a four-to-one
discussing aging athletes
underdog when he walked into the ring against reigning welterweight or aging professional
Antonio Margarito. Few thought the thirty-eight old Mosley had a athletes.
chance. But they changed their tune when Mosley knocked out
Topic: Aging Professional
Margarito to become the new title-holder.
athletes
For TOPIC question in the test, you will be
required to provide TWO (2) evidence from
the text to support your answer.

Let’s look at a topic question sample in the

next page.
Below is an example of a topic question you may get:
Example:
So let’s try one more example of
the TOPIC question.
Read the paragraph (in the next page) and
identify its TOPIC. Provide TWO (2) evidence
from the text to support your answer.
To help you identify topic, ask yourself this question as your read the whole text:
→ What is the thing/ subject discussed in this paragraph? (Topic)

One way to recover the past is through music. Popular songs not only
provide insight into attitudes and beliefs, but also quickly convey the
mood and feelings of an era. Through their lyrics, songwriters express
the hopes and fears of a people and the emotional tone of an age.
Consider, for example, the powerful message conveyed in the
Democratic party adoption of “Happy Days Are Here Again” as a
campaign theme during the Great Depression. The decline of pop music
and the rise of rock and roll in the 1950s tells historians a great deal
about the mood of that period. Similarly, the popularity of both folk
music and rock in the 1960s provides another way of following social
change in that turbulent decade.
Gary B. Nash and Julie Roy Jeffrey, The American People, 5th ed., p.976
Do not proceed till
you have tried
answering the topic
and evidence
questions.
 One way to recover the past is through music. Popular songs not only provide insight
into attitudes and beliefs, but also quickly convey the mood and feelings of an era.
Through their lyrics, songwriters express the hopes and fears of a people and the
emotional tone of an age. Consider, for example, the powerful message conveyed in
the Democratic party adoption of “Happy Days Are Here Again” as a campaign theme
during the Great Depression. The decline of pop music and the rise of rock and roll in
the 1950s tells historians a great deal about the mood of that period. Similarly, the
popularity of both folk music and rock in the 1960s provides another way of following
social change in that turbulent decade.
Gary B. Nash and Julie Roy Jeffrey, The American People, 5th ed., p.976

Topic: How music can recover the past/ Recovering the past through music/ Music
Evidence 1: Popular songs not only provide insight into attitudes and beliefs, but also quickly
convey the mood and feelings of an era.
Evidence 2: Through their lyrics, songwriters express the hopes and fears of a people and the
emotional tone of an age.
Note: To provide the two evidence, you should copy sentence/ phrases directly from the passage/ text. Refer to example above.
OR…
 One way to recover the past is through music. Popular songs not only provide insight
into attitudes and beliefs, but also quickly convey the mood and feelings of an era.
Through their lyrics, songwriters express the hopes and fears of a people and the
emotional tone of an age. Consider, for example, the powerful message conveyed in
the Democratic party adoption of “Happy Days Are Here Again” as a campaign theme
during the Great Depression. The decline of pop music and the rise of rock and roll in
the 1950s tells historians a great deal about the mood of that period. Similarly, the
popularity of both folk music and rock in the 1960s provides another way of following
social change in that turbulent decade.
Gary B. Nash and Julie Roy Jeffrey, The American People, 5th ed., p.976

Topic: How music can recover the past/ Recovering the past through music/ Music
Evidence 1: The decline of pop music and the rise of rock and roll in the 1950s tells historians a
great deal about the mood of that period.
Evidence 2: the popularity of both folk music and rock in the 1960s provides another way of
following social change in that decade.
Note: To provide the two evidence, you should copy sentence/ phrases directly from the passage/ text. Refer to example above.
 Yay!
You’ve made it to the end of this lesson!
To sum up…
 Tips for Finding the Topic:
1. Look for a word or phrase that is frequently
repeated or referred to in the
passage/paragraph.

2. Look for the subject of the first sentence.

Subjects are nouns (persons, places, things, or
ideas).

3. Finally, ask: What is discussed in the paragraph?

OR What do ALL the sentences in the paragraph
deal with?
And…
 Tips for providing the two evidence

• To provide the TWO (2) evidence to support your topic

answer, you must copy sentence/ phrase from the original
text.

• There is NO NEED for you to use your own words, or

construct your own sentence.
Ciao Bella!