1. Creating a Topic Sentence IN 3 EASY STEPS Created by Mr. Scott Gibbons 1

2. Step One: Question  What question is the information in the body paragraph answering?  Example: Why teach high school classes instead of other levels? Created by Mr. Scott Gibbons 2

3. Step Two: Answer  What is the most concise and simple way to answer the question?  Example: A high school teacher can make better connections with students, do more interesting projects, and teach a variety of units. Created by Mr. Scott Gibbons 3

4. Step Three: Spice it Up  Now that you have a simplistic and basic statement (Step Two) that answers a research question (Step One) it is time to add variety and detail to the sentence.  Step Two Example: A high school teacher can make better connections with students, do more interesting projects, and teach a variety of units.  Example: Though high school teachers face many obstacles in today’s technology and test-driven society, there are still myriad reasons why a person should consider the profession; the main reasons being the strong connection that can be formed with high school-aged students, the vast array of creative projects that can be done, and the freedom to teach a variety of complex units instead of being limited to a single topic. Created by Mr. Scott Gibbons 4

5. More Tips  Avoid making all topic sentences sound the same or have the same structure. Create variety among all topic sentences while still maintaining each sentence’s purpose.  Do not create a simple list as a topic sentence. Mention the information in the body paragraph without listing it.  Feel free to make the topic sentence more than one sentence. It is called a topic “sentence” only by title, that doesn’t mean that it must be limited to a single sentence.  Avoid using quotes and discussing researched sources in the topic sentence. Save those for the body of the paragraph.  From reading your topic sentence, your reader should have a general idea of what he will learn in the body of the paragraph. Created by Mr. Scott Gibbons 5