I. What is a Topic Sentence? A topic sentence in a paragraph is like the GPS in a car. It shows you (and others) where you are going and explains the point of the paragraph. Everything else is used as supporting details. The topic sentence contains two parts: the topic and a controlling idea. Every topic sentence has two parts: a topic (what the paragraph is about) and a controlling idea (the direction the paragraph will take). Take a look at these topic sentence examples in which the topic is bold and the controlling idea is in italics. The topic sentence is typically the first sentence of a paragraph, and it introduces the subject of a paragraph by laying out a controlling idea or particular point of view on the topic. The rest of the paragraph will include supporting sentences with examples and evidence to support the main point. Controlling statement examples like, "Colorado has the most beautiful mountains" is an opinion. Someone may think that Montana or Tennessee has more beautiful mountains. Asking "how do you know?" can help identify the controlling idea of an opinion-based topic sentence. Identifying lists requires a "What are…" question. Examples of topic sentences. Here are examples of topic sentences with a main idea listed to help you see how the topic sentence supports the main point of a piece of writing: Example 1: Main idea: President James Polk expanded the physical land of the United States during his presidency. The example topic sentence suggests the paragraph topic is "the economy," and the controlling idea about the economy is how it "plays a role in an increase" in opioid addition. The signal word "also" connects this topic as an additional example or contributing factor to the opioid epidemic, the focus of the paper. nU0HO.

topic sentence and controlling idea examples