topic sentence
noun
: a sentence that states the main thought of a paragraph or of a larger unit of discourse and is usually placed at or near the beginning
Examples of topic sentence in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In my class, each body paragraph of their paper should start with a topic sentence that presents the argument for that paragraph, followed by the evidence to support it.
—
Nicole Donawho, JSTOR Daily, 6 May 2024
Credit is possible without introductions, conclusions, topic sentences, or meaningful transitions between thoughts.
—Aaron R. Hanlon, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2023
That could be the topic sentence for the European Union’s increasingly open-data grid standards and open-access grid forecasts and models.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 June 2023
What a topic sentence is?
—Elissa Strauss, CNN, 7 July 2020
Your daughter should think about defending her thesis with a series of sub-arguments, each expressed as a topic sentence for her body paragraphs.
—Brian Platzer, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2021
While Fowler will occasionally work with small groups of students on discrete skills—like coming up with the topic sentence of a paragraph—students no longer routinely work in reading groups.
—Natalie Wexler, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2020
For emails and other short things, the old college favorite of a topic sentence followed by supporting paragraphs and a conclusion is hard to get wrong.
—Harry Guinness, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2020
Oracle has a different metaphor: Declarations are like topic sentences while implementing code is akin to the body of paragraphs.
—Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2020
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Nicole Donawho, JSTOR Daily, 6 May 2024
Credit is possible without introductions, conclusions, topic sentences, or meaningful transitions between thoughts.
—Aaron R. Hanlon, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2023
That could be the topic sentence for the European Union’s increasingly open-data grid standards and open-access grid forecasts and models.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 June 2023
What a topic sentence is?
—Elissa Strauss, CNN, 7 July 2020
Your daughter should think about defending her thesis with a series of sub-arguments, each expressed as a topic sentence for her body paragraphs.
—Brian Platzer, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2021
While Fowler will occasionally work with small groups of students on discrete skills—like coming up with the topic sentence of a paragraph—students no longer routinely work in reading groups.
—Natalie Wexler, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2020
For emails and other short things, the old college favorite of a topic sentence followed by supporting paragraphs and a conclusion is hard to get wrong.
—Harry Guinness, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2020
Oracle has a different metaphor: Declarations are like topic sentences while implementing code is akin to the body of paragraphs.
—Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Topic sentence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/topic%20sentence. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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