Oxford University Press _ Headway Plus ELEMENTARY Writing Guide 2011-12 TOPIC SENTENCES Worksheet 1: What is a topic sentence? Exercise 1: What isa topic sentence? Read the paragraph. Look at the ungerined sentence, | Mivfavoutite drink is tea and | drink a lot fit. | always have This isthe topic sentence. ‘tea in the moming for breakfast. I make a pot of tea and then I drink it all myself. Sometimes | have another pot before lunch. At four o'clock, I make a cup of mint tea. Mint tea is good for waking up and studying Tick (¥) the correct information about topic sentences. ‘Atopic sentence is: at or near the start of the paragraph. at the end of the paragraph. the main idea of the paragraph. 2 small detail from the paragraph. fone or two words. a complete sentence, oooooo Exercise 2: Read the paragraphs. Underline the topic sentences. | would like to tell you about my unele. His name is Juma and he Is thirty-nine years ald. He is my father’s youngest brother. | really lke Uncle Juma because he is very kind and very funny. He also tells us interesting stories about the places he visits. ove football! | loved football when | was a smal boy, and | love it now. My favourite team is Manchester United. | go to see our local club team every weekend, and now t play for the college three times a week. My brothers all have jobs. My oldest brother, Edward, is a doctor at the hospital in the centre of the city, and the second oldest, Daniel, san accountant in an office near our home. My youngest brother is @ policeman. | am the only brother who is still at schoo! ike most types of books. However, the books | enjoy the most are travel books. Ilike reading, about different countries and the famous places there. When | go on holiday, | always buy lots of bbooks about the place | am visiting. Travel books help you to understand a place.Oxford University Press _ Headway Plus ELEMENTARY Writing Guide 2011-12 Exercise 3: Read the paragraphs. Write the number of the topic sentence next to the correct paragraph. Write TS where the sentence goes in the paragraph. Topic sentences {Lived in a small town when | was a child 2. When | have my own children, ! want to move to @ small town. 3. The town I live in is very small 4. There are two main advantages of living in a small town. Paragraph A: Topic sentence. First, you know everyone and everyone knows you. This helps you to feel safe, and its friendlier. ‘Secondly, itis quiet and there are fewer cars. This means there is less pollution than in a big town or ety Paragraph B: Topic sentence twas a very nice place to live then. Now itis much bigger than before. More people live there and some big businesses opened offices there. My parents still ive there but they say it was better in the past. Paragraph C: Topic sentence | don’t want my children to live ina big city because a big city s not as. ndly or as safe as a village. | want to move to the village where my grandparents live. The children can play in the street there and everyone knows each other. Paragraph D: Topic sentence. ‘There are only a few food shops and one school here. Most people go to the big city to go shopping for clothes and gifts, There is a doctor’s but there isn’t a hospital. Again, you need to go to the city if you need the hospital. Howaver, our town is very nice and it has a beautiful park.Oxford University Press Headway Plus ELEMENTARY Writing Guide 2011-12 TOPIC SENTENCES Worksheet 2: Choosing and using topic sentences Exercise 1: Read the paragraph and tick () the best topic sentence. Topic sentences: Paragraph: aH It produces. 1 A:sapanis a very beoutiful country. 1 8: Japan, for exemple, makes computers. CF C:Japanisa very important country 1D: Japan makes cars. l ‘many cars, such as Toyotas and Nissans, which it sells allover the world. it also produces electrical goods such as televisions and DVDs. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the biggest and most modern cities in the world. ‘What is wrong with the other topic sentences? Match them to the problems. Problems: fis an example, Itisa smaller idea, not the main idea. Itis about something different from the other sentences. ‘Topic sentence: Exercise 2: Read the two topic sentences. Write the other sentences in order below the correct topic sentences. Den 1. Computers are very useful for learning English. 1. Ineed to buy a new computer. Tam going to give my old computer to my, younger sister. You can do your homework on them. You can use them indifferent ways. TYou can also use online dictionaries and play games in English. | need a faster one for my college work. My computers vety slow. Exercise 3: Read the topic sentence and write the rest of the paragraph. Mobile phone are very important to many people now...