topic-sentence.ppt

ParagraphWritingParagraphWritingParagraphWriting1.Whatisthestructureofaparagraph?2.The Topic SentenceSupporting sentencesThe concluding sentence3.Thisisthe structureofaparagraph!Generallyspeaking,thesethree different types of sentencesplaydifferentrolesinaparagraph:1.Topicsentence;2.Supportingsentences;3.Concludingsentence.asentencetotellthereaderwhattheparagraphismainlyabout.sentencestogivemoredetailedinformationaboutthetopicsentence.asentencetoendaparagraphortosummarize(总结）theideas.(主主题句句)(扩展句展句/阐述句述句)(结论句句/结尾句尾句)4.The Topic SentenceThe characteristics of a topic sentenceThe positions of a topic sentence5.The Characteristics1)Thetopicsentencemustbeacompletesentence.2)Thetopicsentenceshouldalwayscontainbothatopicandacontrollingidea.The Topic Sentence=Topic+Controlling Idea3)Thetopicsentenceshouldbeneithertoogeneralnortoospecific.6.Examples:1)Theimportanceofreadingwidely.Reading widely is very important in improving ones reading comprehension.2)Fireaccidentsinbigcities.Recently years have witnessed a marked growth of fire accidents in big cities in our country.3)Tomakeallthedecisionsforchildren.Parents in China tend to make all the decisions for their children.7.The topic tellsthereaderwhattheparagraphisabout.The controlling idea isakeywordorphrasethatexpressesthebasicpointofaparagraph.Note:acontrollingideacommitstheparagraphtoaspecificaspectofthetopic.e.g.1)Conveniencefoodsareeasy to prepare.2)Alcoholicbeveragesshould bebanned from college campuses for two reasons.3)Therearequiteafewunusualsuperstitionsin China about marriage.(general)(specific)8.Read the following topic sentences and then identify the topic and the controlling idea in each sentencePeoplecanavoidburglariesbytakingcertainprecautions.Thereareseveraladvantagestogrowingupinasmalltown.MostUSuniversitiesrequirea550pointTOEFLscoreforanumberofreasons.AirpollutioninMexicoCityistheworstintheworldforanumberofreasons.Fixingaflattireonabicycleiseasyifyoufollowthesesteps.Ridingabicyclegivespleasure.9.ThereareseveralenjoyablewaystotravelbetweentheUSandQueretaro.Animalsindangerofbecomingextinctcomefromawiderangeofcountries.Effectiveleadershiprequiresspecificqualitiesthatanyonecandevelop.IndustrialwastepouredintoLakeMichiganhasledtodramaticchangesinitsabilitytosupportmarinelife.InordertofullyexplorethewreckoftheTitanic,scientistsmustaddressseveralproblems.10.Discussion:which of the following statement is general,specific or suitable?Group 11)Americanfoodisterrible.2)AmericanfoodistastelessandgreasybecauseAmericansusetoomanycanned,frozen,andpackagedfoodsandbecauseeverythingisfriedinoilorbutter.3)Americanfoodistastelessandgreasy.(toogeneral)(toospecific)(suitable)11.Group 21)Manyvoterssupportedthecandidate.2)Manyvoterspassivelysupportedthecandidate.Group 31)Toplayanykindofmusicalinstrument,oneneedstoknowsomethingabouttheinstrument.2)Toplayanykindofdrumrequiresagoodsenseofrhythm.(toogeneral)(toogeneral)(suitable)(suitable)12.Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic sentences.Can you figure out why they are inappropriate?1)MyhometownisfamousbecauseitislocatedbyWheatonRiver,whichisverywide,andbecauseitisbuiltnearanunusuallysteephillcalledWheatonHill.Analysis:Theproblemwiththissentenceisthatitcontainstoomanydetails.Topicsentencesaregeneral,anddetailsshouldappearlaterintheparagraph.Revised:Myhometownisfamousforseveralamazinggeographicalfeatures.13.2)Therearetworeasonswhysomepeopleliketobuycarswithautomatictransmissionandtworeasonswhyotherslikecarswithmanualtransmission.Analysis:This sentence is not appropriate as a topic sentence because it mentions two topics,not just one.Paragraphs are usually about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be about only one main thing.Revised:a)Therearetworeasonswhysomepeopleliketobuycarswithautomatictransmission.OR(in a different paragraph):b)Therearetworeasonswhysomepeoplelikecarswithmanualtransmission.14.3)Cloudsarewhite.AnalysisThe problem with this sentence is that it is too general.It is also very boring!Would you like to read a paragraph with this topic sentence?Most people would not.RevisedTheshapesofcloudsaredeterminedbyvariousfactors.15.DifferentPositionsOfaTopicSentencetypeThepositionsofthetopicsentenceAtthebeginningofaparagraphAttheendofaparagraphInthemiddleofaparagraphNocleartopicsentence16.Workingroupsoffourandfindthe topic sentenceofeachparagraph!17.1Smokingcigarettesisharmfultoyourhealth.Experimentsshowthatcigarettesmokingcancausecancer.Besidesthemostseriousandterribledisease(illness)-cancer,cigarettesmokingcanalsocauseotherhealthproblems.Forexample,itcangiveonea“smokerscough”.Finally,studieshaveshownitiseasyforcigarettesmokerstocatchcolds.Whetheryougetanunimportantcoldorterriblekiller,cancer,smokingisharmful.Isitworthit?18.2Oftennoonelooksmoreguiltythantheinnocent.Ontheotherhand,nobodymaylookmoreinnocentthanaprofessionalcriminal.Andthemanwhoknows“everything”mayreallyonlybetryingtohidehisownweakness.So,itisfoolishtotrytojudgeapersononlybyhisappearance.19.3Everybridewantsherweddingtobethemostwonderfuldayofherlife.Butperfectweddingsrequirecarefulplanning,whetherthebrideandbridegroomareplanningatraditionalweddingorjustaregistryofficeceremony.Payingforthewedding,whichisalwaysaproblem,willpartlydecidethechoice.20.TomstudiedforfouryearsattheUniversityofParisanddecidedtoleavebeforehisgraduation.HetransferredtotheUniversityofBerlinandgraduatedwithhonors.HarvardLawSchooland,later,BostonCollegeprovidedhimwithanexcellentlegalbackground.HeispresentlyacorporationlawyerinMiami,Florida.Themainideaofthisparagraphisthat_.A.Tom,whohadstudiedatParisUniversitiesforfouryears,movedtoanotheruniversity.B.TombecamealawyersincehisgraduationfromHarvardLawSchoolandlaterfromBostonCollege.C.TomwasanexcellentstudentwhenhestudiedatBerlinuniversity.D.Tomreceivedanexcellenteducation.detaildetaildetail21.Conclusion1：Howcanwegetthemainideaofaparagraph？(1)We can get the main idea of a paragraph by finding_，which may appear at the beginning of、in the middle of or at the end of a paragraph;(2)If we cant find a topic sentence from the paragraph,well have tothemainideafromthewholeparagraphourselvesthetopicsentencegeneralize(归纳）22.Read the following paragraphs carefully and write a topic sentence for each paragraph in the space provided.FamousinventorThomasEdison,forinstance,didsopoorlyinhisfirstyearsofschoolthathisteacherwarnedhisparentsthathewouldneverbeasuccessatanything.Similarly,HenryFord,thefatheroftheautoindustry,hadtroubleinschoolwithbothreadingandwriting.ButperhapsthebestexampleisAlbertEinstein,whoseparentsandteacherssuspectedthathewasretardedbecauseherespondedtoquestionssoslowlyandinastutteringvoice.Einsteinshighschoolrecordwaspoorineverythingbutmath,andhefailedhiscollegeentranceexamsthefirsttime.Evenoutofschoolthemanhadtroubleholdingajob-untilheannouncedthetheoryofrelativity.Manyscientistshadverybadproficiencyrecordsintheirschooldays23.Asanindustry,TVprovidesjobsforhundredsofthousandswhomakeTVsetsandbroadcastingequipment.Italsoprovidesworkforactors,technicians,andotherswhoputonprograms.Asanart,televisionbringsthetheaterandotherculturaleventsintothehome.ItsinfluenceonthelifeofaverageAmericansisincalculable:itcaninfluencetheirthoughts,theirlikesanddislikes,theirspeech,andeventheirdress.Itcanalsoaddtotheirstoreofknowledge.Throughadvertising,televisionhelpsbusinessesandmanufacturersselltheirproductstomillionsofpeople.Televisionhasbroughtpoliticalcampaignsclosertothevotersthaninformerdays.EducationalTVstationsofferteachinginvarioussubjectsrangingfromhomenursingtoartappreciation.Manylargeschoolsanduniversitieshave“closed-circuit”televisionequipmentthatwilltelecastlecturesanddemonstrationstohundredsofstudentsindifferentclassrooms;andthelecturecanbeputonvideotapetobekeptforlateruse.SomehospitalsuseTVtoallowmedicalstudentstogetclose-upviewsofoperations.TVplaysanimportantroleinourdailylife.24.Americansrelaxingathome,forexample,mayputonkimonos,whichisaJapaneseword.Americanswholiveinawarmclimatemaytakeanafternoonsiestaonanoutdoorpatio withoutevenrealizingthattheseareSpanishwords.Intheirgardens,theymayenjoythefragranceofjasmineflowers,awordthatcameintoEnglishfromPersian.Theymayevenrelaxonachalse longuewhilesippingadrinkwithvodka,wordsofFrenchandRussianorigin,respectively.ManyloanwordshaveenteredAmericansdailylife.25.Weareawakenedbyelectricalarmclocksandmusicpouringfromourradio;weoperateourtoaster,brushourteethwithanelectrictoothbrush,andshavewithanelectricrazor.Wereadthedaysheadlinesfromnewspapersprintedonhugeelectricpresses,andwewritealetteronourelectrictypewriterbeforeleavingforworktooperateacomputerandwordprocessor.Electricityhasfilledalmosteverypartofourlife.26.AssignmentQuotethreeparagraphswithcleartopicsentencesinyourreadingmaterialsThetopicsentencesinthesethreeparagraphsshouldbepositionedindifferentplaces.Thetopicsentencesshouldbeunderlinedoritalicized.Theassignmentcaneitherbehandwrittenorbeprinted.TheassignmentistobehandedinNextThursday.27.Thank you!Thank you!28.Assignment Group WorkDesign a quiz paper concerning the topic sentencefourmembersinagroupeachpaperconsistsoffiveproblemsthefiveproblemscanbeindifferentkinds(eithersubjectiveorobjective)Thetopicsentencesshouldbepositionedindifferentplaces.thekeysshouldbeincludedonanotherpieceofpaper.thenamesofthegroupmembersshouldbeprintedatthebottomofthequizpaper29.