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1、topic-sentencetopic-sentenceWhatisthestructureofaparagraph?The Topic SentenceSupporting sentencesThe concluding sentenceThisisthe structureofaparagraph!Generallyspeaking,thesethree different types of sentencesplaydifferentrolesinaparagraph:1.Topicsentence;2.Supportingsentences;3.Concludingsentence.a
2、sentencetotellthereaderwhattheparagraphismainlyabout.sentencestogivemoredetailedinformationaboutthetopicsentence.asentencetoendaparagraphortosummarize(总结）总结）theideas.(主题句主题句)(扩展句扩展句/阐述句阐述句)(结论句结论句/结尾句结尾句)The Topic SentenceThe characteristics of a topic sentenceThe positions of a topic sentenceThe Ch
3、aracteristics1)Thetopicsentencemustbeacompletesentence.2)Thetopicsentenceshouldalwayscontainbothatopicandacontrollingidea. The Topic Sentence = Topic + Controlling Idea3)Thetopicsentenceshouldbeneithertoogeneralnortoospecific.Examples:1)Theimportanceofreadingwidely.Reading widely is very important i
4、n improving ones reading comprehension.2)Fireaccidentsinbigcities.Recently years have witnessed a marked growth of fire accidents in big cities in our country.3)Tomakeallthedecisionsforchildren.Parents in China tend to make all the decisions for their children.The topic tellsthereaderwhattheparagrap
5、hisabout.The controlling idea isakeywordorphrasethatexpressesthebasicpointofaparagraph.Note: acontrollingideacommitstheparagraphtoaspecificaspectofthetopic.e.g.1)Conveniencefoodsareeasy to prepare.2)Alcoholicbeveragesshould bebanned from college campuses for two reasons.3)Therearequiteafewunusualsup
6、erstitionsin China about marriage.(general)(specific)Read the following topic sentences and then identify the topic and the controlling idea in each sentencePeoplecanavoidburglariesbytakingcertainprecautions.Thereareseveraladvantagestogrowingupinasmalltown.MostUSuniversitiesrequirea550pointTOEFLscor
7、eforanumberofreasons.AirpollutioninMexicoCityistheworstintheworldforanumberofreasons.Fixingaflattireonabicycleiseasyifyoufollowthesesteps.Ridingabicyclegivespleasure.ThereareseveralenjoyablewaystotravelbetweentheUSandQueretaro.Animalsindangerofbecomingextinctcomefromawiderangeofcountries.Effectivele
8、adershiprequiresspecificqualitiesthatanyonecandevelop.IndustrialwastepouredintoLakeMichiganhasledtodramaticchangesinitsabilitytosupportmarinelife.InordertofullyexplorethewreckoftheTitanic,scientistsmustaddressseveralproblems.Discussion: which of the following statement is general, specific or suitab
9、le?Group 11)Americanfoodisterrible.2)AmericanfoodistastelessandgreasybecauseAmericansusetoomanycanned,frozen,andpackagedfoodsandbecauseeverythingisfriedinoilorbutter.3)Americanfoodistastelessandgreasy.(toogeneral)(toospecific)(suitable)Group 21)Manyvoterssupportedthecandidate.2)Manyvoterspassivelysu
10、pportedthecandidate.Group 31)Toplayanykindofmusicalinstrument,oneneedstoknowsomethingabouttheinstrument.2)Toplayanykindofdrumrequiresagoodsenseofrhythm.(toogeneral)(toogeneral)(suitable)(suitable)Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic sentences. Can you figure out why they
11、are inappropriate?1)MyhometownisfamousbecauseitislocatedbyWheatonRiver,whichisverywide,andbecauseitisbuiltnearanunusuallysteephillcalledWheatonHill.Analysis:Theproblemwiththissentenceisthatitcontainstoomanydetails.Topicsentencesaregeneral,anddetailsshouldappearlaterintheparagraph.Revised: Myhometown
12、isfamousforseveralamazinggeographicalfeatures.2)Therearetworeasonswhysomepeopleliketobuycarswithautomatictransmissionandtworeasonswhyotherslikecarswithmanualtransmission.Analysis:This sentence is not appropriate as a topic sentence because it mentions two topics, not just one. Paragraphs are usually
13、 about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be about only one main thing.Revised:a)Therearetworeasonswhysomepeopleliketobuycarswithautomatictransmission.OR (in a different paragraph):b)Therearetworeasonswhysomepeoplelikecarswithmanualtransmission.3)Cloudsarewhite.AnalysisThe probl
14、em with this sentence is that it is too general. It is also very boring! Would you like to read a paragraph with this topic sentence? Most people would not. RevisedTheshapesofcloudsaredeterminedbyvariousfactors.DifferentPositionsOfaTopicSentencetypeThepositionsofthetopicsentenceAtthebeginningofapara
15、graphAttheendofaparagraphInthemiddleofaparagraphNocleartopicsentenceWorkingroupsoffourandfindthe topic sentenceofeachparagraph!1Smokingcigarettesisharmfultoyourhealth.Experimentsshowthatcigarettesmokingcancausecancer.Besidesthemostseriousandterribledisease(illness)-cancer,cigarettesmokingcanalsocaus
16、eotherhealthproblems.Forexample,itcangiveonea“smokerscough”.Finally,studieshaveshownitiseasyforcigarettesmokerstocatchcolds.Whetheryougetanunimportantcoldorterriblekiller,cancer,smokingisharmful.Isitworthit?2Oftennoonelooksmoreguiltythantheinnocent.Ontheotherhand,nobodymaylookmoreinnocentthanaprofes
17、sionalcriminal.Andthemanwhoknows“everything”mayreallyonlybetryingtohidehisownweakness.So,itisfoolishtotrytojudgeapersononlybyhisappearance.3Everybridewantsherweddingtobethemostwonderfuldayofherlife.Butperfectweddingsrequirecarefulplanning,whetherthebrideandbridegroomareplanningatraditionalweddingorj
18、ustaregistryofficeceremony.Payingforthewedding,whichisalwaysaproblem,willpartlydecidethechoice.TomstudiedforfouryearsattheUniversityofParisanddecidedtoleavebeforehisgraduation.HetransferredtotheUniversityofBerlinandgraduatedwithhonors.HarvardLawSchooland,later,BostonCollegeprovidedhimwithanexcellent
19、legalbackground.HeispresentlyacorporationlawyerinMiami,Florida.Themainideaofthisparagraphisthat_.A.Tom,whohadstudiedatParisUniversitiesforfouryears,movedtoanotheruniversity.B.TombecamealawyersincehisgraduationfromHarvardLawSchoolandlaterfromBostonCollege.C.TomwasanexcellentstudentwhenhestudiedatBerl
20、inuniversity.D.Tomreceivedanexcellenteducation.detaildetaildetailConclusion1：Howcanwegetthemainideaofaparagraph？ (1) We can get the main idea of a paragraph by finding_，which may appear at the beginning of 、in the middle of or at the end of a paragraph ; (2) If we cant find a topic sentence from the
21、 paragraph, well have tothemainideafromthewholeparagraphourselvesthetopicsentencegeneralize(归纳）归纳）Read the following paragraphs carefully and write a topic sentence for each paragraph in the space provided.FamousinventorThomasEdison,forinstance,didsopoorlyinhisfirstyearsofschoolthathisteacherwarnedh
22、isparentsthathewouldneverbeasuccessatanything.Similarly,HenryFord,thefatheroftheautoindustry,hadtroubleinschoolwithbothreadingandwriting.ButperhapsthebestexampleisAlbertEinstein,whoseparentsandteacherssuspectedthathewasretardedbecauseherespondedtoquestionssoslowlyandinastutteringvoice.Einsteinshighs
23、choolrecordwaspoorineverythingbutmath,andhefailedhiscollegeentranceexamsthefirsttime.Evenoutofschoolthemanhadtroubleholdingajob-untilheannouncedthetheoryofrelativity.ManyscientistshadverybadproficiencyrecordsintheirschooldaysAsanindustry,TVprovidesjobsforhundredsofthousandswhomakeTVsetsandbroadcasti
24、ngequipment.Italsoprovidesworkforactors,technicians,andotherswhoputonprograms.Asanart,televisionbringsthetheaterandotherculturaleventsintothehome.ItsinfluenceonthelifeofaverageAmericansisincalculable:itcaninfluencetheirthoughts,theirlikesanddislikes,theirspeech,andeventheirdress.Itcanalsoaddtotheirs
25、toreofknowledge.Throughadvertising,televisionhelpsbusinessesandmanufacturersselltheirproductstomillionsofpeople.Televisionhasbroughtpoliticalcampaignsclosertothevotersthaninformerdays.EducationalTVstationsofferteachinginvarioussubjectsrangingfromhomenursingtoartappreciation.Manylargeschoolsanduniver
26、sitieshave“closed-circuit”televisionequipmentthatwilltelecastlecturesanddemonstrationstohundredsofstudentsindifferentclassrooms;andthelecturecanbeputonvideotapetobekeptforlateruse.SomehospitalsuseTVtoallowmedicalstudentstogetclose-upviewsofoperations.TVplaysanimportantroleinourdailylife.Americansrel
27、axingathome,forexample,mayputonkimonos,whichisaJapaneseword.Americanswholiveinawarmclimatemaytakeanafternoonsiestaonanoutdoorpatio withoutevenrealizingthattheseareSpanishwords.Intheirgardens,theymayenjoythefragranceofjasmineflowers,awordthatcameintoEnglishfromPersian.Theymayevenrelaxonachalse longue
28、whilesippingadrinkwithvodka,wordsofFrenchandRussianorigin,respectively.ManyloanwordshaveenteredAmericansdailylife.Weareawakenedbyelectricalarmclocksandmusicpouringfromourradio;weoperateourtoaster,brushourteethwithanelectrictoothbrush,andshavewithanelectricrazor.Wereadthedaysheadlinesfromnewspaperspr
29、intedonhugeelectricpresses,andwewritealetteronourelectrictypewriterbeforeleavingforworktooperateacomputerandwordprocessor.Electricityhasfilledalmosteverypartofourlife.AssignmentQuotethreeparagraphswithcleartopicsentencesinyourreadingmaterialsThetopicsentencesinthesethreeparagraphsshouldbepositionedi
30、ndifferentplaces.Thetopicsentencesshouldbeunderlinedoritalicized.Theassignmentcaneitherbehandwrittenorbeprinted.TheassignmentistobehandedinNextThursday.Thank you !Assignment Group WorkDesign a quiz paper concerning the topic sentencefourmembersinagroupeachpaperconsistsoffiveproblemsthefiveproblemscanbeindifferentkinds(eithersubjectiveorobjective)Thetopicsentencesshouldbepositionedindifferentplaces.thekeysshouldbeincludedonanotherpieceofpaper.thenamesofthegroupmembersshouldbeprintedatthebottomofthequizpaper结束结束
