Glossary

topic sentence

Subject: 

  • English First Additional Language
  • English Home Language

the sentence that defines a paragraph. A topic sentence should be able to stand alone without the rest of the paragraph. A topic sentence is not necessarily the first sentence of a paragraph. E.g. The discovery of the coelacanth put Rhodes Universityâ??s ichthyologists on the global map (topic sentence). Ever since, students have been flooding to the small Eastern Cape town, eager to follow in the footsteps of the pioneers who found Old Foor Legs deep in the ocean. The university now has more than one research institute given over to fish and the depths of the ocean, and students are sent on exchanges with foreign universities every year. Papers are presented by Rhodes professors at international conferences almost every year, and funding is attracted on this basis.