100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Use topic sentences
Nine ways to save time and energy

A topic sentence contains the thought that is developed throughout the rest of the paragraph. The topic sentence is commonly the first sentence in a paragraph.

Deciding what to put in a paragraph and what to leave out will be easier if you first write a topic sentence. For each paragraph ask, “What do I want to say here? What point do I want to make? What question do I want to present?” Answer with a single general sentence. That is your topic sentence. Chances are that the topic sentence will fall neatly into the paragraph it inspires. But even if you don’t include the topic sentence in your paragraph, it will serve as a guide. When you rewrite your early drafts, ask how each sentence in a paragraph supports the topic sentence of the paragraph. If the answer is “It doesn’t,” then ask what other work the sentence is doing in the paragraph. If the answer is “None,” get rid of the sentence.

Here are two paragraphs from books. Each one is the beginning of a section or a chapter. The first paragraph begins with a topic sentence. The second paragraph ends with a topic sentence. But note that in each one all the sentences support or “prove” the statement made in the topic sentence.

Topic Sentence Begins Paragraph

Robin Phillips had a reputation as a theatrical wunderkind. There was very little in the theatre to which he had not turned his hand at some time or another, including acting, directing, and designing. He had a businessman’s grasp of the financial side of theatre that was rare in an artist.

(from How Full of Briers: The Organizational Structure of the Non-Profit Theatre Corporation)

Topic Sentence Concludes Paragraph

The Gaming Board is in the business of protecting the goose, the industry itself. The individual casinos have to guard the golden eggs, the money generated by gambling. They do this through casino security and casino surveillance, two separate but closely related operations.

(from High Stakes: Inside the New Las Vegas)