Point first, particulars later. When you state the point, it is the new information that the next section will develop. Once you have stated it, it becomes old information that helps readers understand the meaning of the particulars that follow. (i.e. city & gate announcement by flight attendant on airplane) If you withhold the point until later, the reader is overwhelmed with remembering particulars until you reveal the point.

Beginning of paragraph Second sentence of paragraph Third sentence of paragraph Last sentence of paragraph ?

Placing a topic sentence at the beginning of a paragraph sets up your idea and allows you to develop your point. Helps avoid getting anyone lost. (Including both writer and readers.)

Whenever I’m doing homework, I always find myself on FML or MLIA. You don’t understand how random these sites are, but it’s because they are random that make them so addicting. The foolishness of all the stories are hilarious and the more I read, the more I forget about my homework, my priorities, and my time management. The combination of these sites can melt away time quickly and quietly. You won’t even notice the time spent once you are on the sites. These sites naturally encourage wasted time and procrastination. Example

FML and MLIA are sites that naturally encourage wasted time and procrastination. Whenever I’m doing homework, I always find myself on FML or MLIA. You don’t understand how random these sites are, but it’s because they are random that make them so addicting. The foolishness of all the stories are hilarious and the more I read, the more I forget about my homework, my priorities, and my time management. The combination of these sites can melt away time quickly and quietly. You won’t even notice the time spent once you are on the sites. The Problem It isn’t clear what the author is trying to prove until the end. Revised:

Even if the topic sentence is great, if the rest of the paragraph does not connect with the topic sentence, then the paragraph will not make sense. Be sure that either the supporting sentences match with the topic sentence or the topic sentence matches with the rest of the paragraph. The Meat of the Paragraph

Violence has become a staple of modern society due to its grand exposure in the media. Almost every movie, TV show, and video game have incorporated violence and action. Even if it isn’t a explicit amount of violence, it is still present in each of these media aspects. This has led people to believe that action and violence are the primary causes of the rise in crime and brutality in teenagers. Researchers have conducted studies on the relation between the media and violent crimes to see whether they are connected and the end results have begun to slightly show some connection between them.. Example

Halfway into the paragraph, the focus shifts to a connection between violence and crime which is not what the topic sentence addressed. Solution: Change the topic sentence or revise the paragraph.. The Problem Violence and its influence on crime have become a staple of modern society due to its grand debate in the media. Almost every movie, TV show, and video game have incorporated violence and action. Even if it isn’t a explicit amount of violence, it is still present in each of these media aspects. This has led people to believe that action and violence are the primary causes of the rise in crime and brutality in teenagers. Researchers have conducted studies on the relation between the media and violent crimes to see whether they are connected and the end results have begun to slightly show some connection between them.

Revise your paragraphs for unity. Paragraphs have unity when all their sentences develop the point stated in the topic sentence. The key is to make sure that all the sentences in the paragraph fulfill the reader’s expectation based on the topic sentence.

Adding particulars (such as facts, statistics, quotations, research summaries, examples, or further subpoints) strengthen a paper. Instead of just “we have plenty of forest from which lumber can be taken from...”, a specific statistic such as “We have over 1 million acres of forest reserved for lumber...”

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