1. A topic sentence is a complete sentence that summarizes the entire paragraph. It is debatable.
The topic + how/why
- It is a complete sentence (never a question or sentence fragment).
- It should be specific (never use there are many, some, a lot, etc.)
- It should be placed near the beginning of a paragraph.
- It should not be an announcement (never
say I will prove, In the following paragraph,
etc.)

2. Minimum of 2-3 claims, evidence, warrants
Claim – proves the topic sentence (more specific); usually answers a question about the topic sentence; Inference of the evidence
Evidence - examples, statistics, quotes, reasons, etc.; straight from research, life, book.
Warrant – explains the significance of the claim and details; shows the connection between the claim and details; explains how you got to the inference (claim)