what is topic sentence

A topic sentence is a sentence that summarizes the main idea of a paragraph. It is usually the first sentence in a paragraph and introduces the topic of the paragraph. The topic sentence acts as a kind of summary, and offers the reader an insightful view of the writer’s main ideas for the following paragraph. It should be specific enough to give a clear sense of what to expect from the paragraph, but general enough that it doesn’t give everything away. A good topic sentence is well-focused and guides the entire paragraph. It should be general enough to express the paragraph’s overall subject, but specific enough that the reader can understand the paragraph’s main subject and point. In academic writing, the topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. The rest of the paragraph then supports that topic. The topic sentence adds cohesion to a paper and helps organize ideas both within the paragraph and the whole body of work at large.