Question: Where do
contemporary professional writers place topic sentences in paragraphs?
Answer: The author of
this study discovered that contemporary professional writers do not always
place topic sentences in the beginning of paragraphs. Still, wherever they are
placed, he asserts, they need to be clearly expressed.
Quote: “This sample
of contemporary professional writing did not support the claims of textbook
writers about the frequency and location of topic sentences in professional
writing…. Moreover, it does not all mean that composition teachers should stop
showing their students how to develop paragraphs from clear topic sentences.
Far from it. In my opinion, often the writing in the 25 essays would have been
clearer and more comfortable to read if the paragraphs had presented more
explicit topic sentences.” P. 301.
Comment: In fact, if the paragraphs are extended because of
size and reader comfort, the paragraphs might not even have topic sentences. But the original paragraph
does have a clear topic sentence. The author of this study says that professional
writers do not always place topic sentences in the beginning, but they still
benefit, wherever they are placed, from clear expression.
On the value of
topic sentences: my nephew, a PhD engineering student, carefully constructed
his dissertation with clear topic sentences. When it came time for his defense,
he found that by simply reading his topic sentences, he was completely prepared
for the questions of the examiners. RayS.
Title: “The Frequency
and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose.” Richard Braddock. Research in the Teaching of English (Winter 1974), 287-302.
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