How to Write a Good Topic Sentence

Perfecting the skill of writing topic sentences is essential to successful essay writing. Make sure your topic sentences are up to par, and the rest of your writing will feel like a breeze.

Edit Steps

Part 1: Writing a Successful Topic Sentence

State your main idea clearly. Because your topic sentence is likely the first sentence in the paragraph, it needs to clearly state the subject matter of your paragraph without being wordy or difficult to understand.. It must include your topic and an opinion, or your controlling idea. ^[1]
- Keep in mind that this is not an invitation to simply announce your topic. "Today I'm going to discuss the benefits of gardening" is not an effective topic sentence. You should be able to make your intentions clear without stating them explicitly.^[2]

Hook your reader. One of the many important roles of a topic sentence is to draw the reader in.^[3] Bring up questions in their mind that you intend to answer. An effective way to do this is to drop them straight into the action. This is possible whether your paper is fiction or nonfiction, and can be done in a number of ways:^[4]
- Describe a character. This can be a physical or emotional description.
- Use dialogue. If there is a relevant conversation that will attract your reader's attention, consider using part of it to start your paragraph.
- Portray an emotion. Use the opening sentence to portray an emotion to your reader.
- Use detail. While you don't want to write a run on sentence by creating too much detail, it's a good idea to create interest using sensory language in your topic sentence.
- Avoid rhetorical questions. While you want your reader to formulate questions in his or her mind, you do not want to formulate the questions yourself.

Keep it short and sweet. The topic sentence should put forward your intention without forcing your reader to hunt it down; keeping it short will help keep your intention clear. The topic sentence should act as a middle ground in your paragraph: it should be slightly more specific than your thesis, but it should not encompass the information from your entire paragraph.^[5] Keeping the sentence short will also help the flow of your paragraph.

Give a reasonable opinion. The body of your paragraph is meant to prove your topic sentence. Therefore, your topic sentence should state something that you think or believe that can be supported by concrete evidence. You can choose to state on opinion in your topic sentence, but do so only if you are able to back it up in the following paragraph. ^[6] Take, for example, the topic sentence "Growing herbs will further your appreciation for fresh cooking." The phrase "further your appreciation" states something that you believe, and you can now spend the rest of the paragraph explaining why you believe what you believe.
- Always avoid solid facts in your topic sentence. While facts may be interesting, they do not introduce the reader to your paragraph nor do they draw the reader in. If you wish to include a fact, also include your own input. For example, instead of writing "All dogs need food," try "All dogs need regular care, including healthy food, and children are the best ones to do it." Alternatively, save your facts to use as evidence in the body of your paragraph.

Part 2: Avoiding Common Problems

Avoid introducing yourself. Although topic sentences vary in structure and content from person to person, at least two things can be assumed about your paper: 1) that you have a title and entire paper to introduce a topic, and 2) your personal information is present somewhere on your essay. Therefore, never use statements such as “I am going to tell you…” or “My paper is about…” or “I studied [this] which is important because of [this]”. The paragraphs/essay should tell me that information without an awkward topic sentence presentation.
- Unless it is an opinion piece, avoid using ‘I’ in your topic sentence.

Make sure your wording is clear. Although it may sound appealing to fill up your topic sentence with big, formidable vocabulary words, if your topic sentence isn’t clear your effort will simply sound forced and confused. Your reader should be able to tell right away what your paragraph is going to be about; don’t muddle this by using vague opinions or confusing vocabulary. Keep your sentence clear and clean.^[7]

Don’t list off information. Although you want to give the reader a taste of what they can expect in your upcoming paragraph, you don’t want to show all your cards right at the beginning. Don’t make a list of what you’re going to talk about, but instead give a small taste of what is to follow in your paragraph. You don’t need to explain everything in your topic sentence, just mention it so the reader knows what to expect.
- Rather than stating something like “In the story, Amelia did many good things such as help out her friends, talk to her parents, and support her team at school” say something like “As a result of the many activities Amelia accomplished, she was recognized for her positive influence on the community.”

Avoid starting with a quote. You may have a fantastic quote in mind that perfectly introduces your topic. The problem is...they’re not your words. The topic sentence should introduce the paragraph and hopefully include your opinion, not someone else’s. If the quote is opinion based, substitute it for your own opinion. If the quote is fact based, save it and introduce it later in your paragraph.^[8]

Don't mention something you don't intend on examining further. If you make a statement in your topic sentence, you should be doing so because your paragraph will explain it. Whether you give facts, opinions, or both, you should be clearly analyzing them in the paragraph attached to the topic sentence. Don't fill up your topic sentence with filler material that you don't intend on explaining further.

Sample Topic Sentences

Sample Persuasive Topic Sentences

Sample Analytical Topic Sentences

Sample Personal Topic Sentences

Edit Tips

It's better for you not to use possessive forms or use me or I.

Don't write too vague or general an idea or you will never be able to discuss it in a single paragraph. This is too general: "The United States suffered a lot during the Civil War."

Don't write too narrow of a statement. There's nothing much to talk about then, because it's probably a fact. This is too narrow: "Christmas trees are either cedars or firs."