Module 1 — Effective
writing: Strategies
and principles
| Course Guide | Module 1 | Module 2a | Module 2b |
Topic sentences
A topic sentence contains the main idea or theme of the paragraph. If you had time only to read one sentence in a paragraph the topic sentence would give you the essence or main thrust of that paragraph. Skilled readers look for topic sentences to grasp general meaning quickly. A clear and well-placed topic sentence in each paragraph helps to make your work more accessible.
For workplace writing the best position is usually right at the beginning of the paragraph. This position helps your reader the most and enables those who are too busy to read the whole document to skim through it and capture the main ideas.
Examples
Have a look at the following topic sentences in two simple examples:
This new system causes problems for our staff members in several ways. Many are operating on computing equipment unable to cope with such large programs. Using the system requires training that many ILO staff members are currently unable to access…. Donors require timely and consistent reports. Reports that miss deadlines may seriously impact on donors' capacity to continue funding. Reports that do not follow donors' requirements in content and layout may have the same impact….
Now take a look at the following topic sentences. By reading these sentences, you should be able to guess what the rest of the paragraph will include. After you read the topic sentence, write down what you expect the paragraph to cover in the text area to the right (jotting down just words in point form is fine). Then reveal the rest of the paragraph to see if your assumptions about the paragraph were correct.
The subjection of children to forced labour through trafficking has age and gender dimensions. |
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The ILO alone cannot respond to all the recommendations of the Commission's report. |
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Another impact of ICTs on journalists is the fact that for 20 years, technology has been one of the most popular subjects for publishing. |
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For the ILO to play its full role in building a social dimension of globalization, a policy of strategic alliance building is needed. |
As a reader, you immediately have a set of expectations built into these topic sentences about the kind of information the paragraph will contain. It is your job as a writer to fulfil the reader's expectations. If you set up reader expectations that you do not fulfil, your reader will have difficulty understanding your message and is unlikely to give you your desired response.