八、段落写作练习
(一)段落的展开
PRACTICE WITH TOPIC SENTENCES
The topic sentence states the topic and a controlling idea concerning that topic. Look at the following example.
People give many reasons for owning a car.
The topic of the sentence is “owning a car.” The controlling idea is “reasons.” All the supporting ideas in the paragraph should be “reasons for owning a car.”
The following phrases or ones similar to these can be used in your topic sentence to express the controlling idea:
the reasons for
the causes of (the effects of)
the steps for (the procedure for)
the advantages of (the disadvantages of)
the ways to (the methods of)
the different sections (parts, kinds, types) of
the characteristics (traits, qualities) of
the problems of
the precautions for
the changes to
Exercise W1
Looking at topic sentences
Write a topic sentence for each of the following topics. Use one of the phrases above or one of your own for your controlling idea.
Example catching colds
People can avoid catching a cold by taking certain precautions.
This topic sentence includes the topic “catching colds” and the controlling idea “taking precautions.”
1. owning a car
2. living in a remote area
3. studying abroad
4. accidents
5. airports
6. absenteeism
7. taking exams
8. computers
9. rice
10. camping
Exercise W2
Checking topic sentences
Your topic sentence should tell the person who is reading your paragraph what the paragraph is about. Read the following paragraph and decide whether the topic sentence is strong or weak. (The topic sentence is underlined.)
Baseball is a popular sport in the United States. There are two teams of nine players each. Players on one team take turns batting, and the other team tries to put the batters out. The batter hits the ball and then tries to run around the bases and get “home” safely. The other team tries to put the batter out by catching the ball before it hits the ground, throwing the ball to the base before the batter gets there or by tagging the batter with the ball. The batter can stop at any one of the three bases if it is impossible to make it “home.”
The topic sentence in the paragraph is weak because it tells us that “baseball is a popular sport”, but the rest of the paragraph tells us how baseball is played. A stronger topic sentence would tell us, the readers that the paragraph is going to describe how baseball is played. Here is a stronger topic sentence.
Baseball, a popular game in the United States, is played in the following way. Now the reader knows that the paragraph will describe how baseball is played instead of where it is played or who plays it, or why it is popular.
Read the following paragraphs. The topic sentences are underlined. If the topic sentence is weak, rewrite it in the space provided.
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