The topical sentence is one that talks about the main idea of a paragraph. It can be found anywhere in the paragraph (beginning, middle or end). For example, in a paragraph that talks about the diversity of cultures and ethnicities in Mexico, the topical sentence could be "Mexico is a multicultural and multiethnic country."
However, it is usually used at the beginning, since it will determine how the rest of the paragraph will be structured. It can also be called a topic sentence (Gregorich, 1980).
This sentence is the one in charge of informing the reader of what the text is going to be about, without the reader having to read it completely. In this way, the topical sentence has the duty to hook the reader and make him passionate about what he is reading.
Despite its strength and ability to attract the reader, the paragraph where the topical sentence is located must be previously structured, and the topical sentence must be used only to give clarity to the reader and emphasize what you want to show. For this reason, the topical sentence is usually at the beginning of each paragraph (Brizee, 2009).
The topical sentence should help not only the reader, but also the writer to define the topic that is being worked on. For this reason, it should be easy to see and the organization of the text should be derived from it.
The rest of the structure of a paragraph tends to be general, so the topical sentence must be specific and emphatic on the subject. In most academic essays, the topical sentence is placed at the beginning of a paragraph, with the aim of giving clarity to the reader about the topic they are about to address (Vineski, 2017).
Topical prayer concept
In the case of the topical sentence, it is defined by its structure and according to the attitude of the speaker. This type of prayer can be classified into the following categories:
- Enunciative: when it communicates specific facts or ideas.
- Interrogative: when it demands an explanation directly or indirectly.
- Exclamative: when it denotes an emphasis on an emotion or shows astonishment.
- Exhortative: when a prohibition is manifested.
- Desiderative: when a wish is expressed.
- Doubtful: when a fact is doubted or classified as uncertain.
On the other hand, all types of sentences (including topical ones), may or may not have the presence of the subject within its structure. In this way, the subject can be explicit or implicit. When the subject is explicit it is said that the sentence is personal, on the other hand, when the subject is implicit it is said that the sentence is impersonal.
In the case of topical sentences, it is common to see how the subject is explicit and who performs the action. In this way, the verbs ser or estar are present, followed by an attribute or element of great importance.
However, it is also common to find in this type of sentences with impersonal structures, where the verb refers to external phenomena (Kelly, 2017).
Some examples of topical sentences
The best way to write a topical sentence is to summarize in one sentence everything that is meant in a paragraph (KLAZEMA, 2014). Here are some examples:
In the office there was a stressful climate.
Inflation has the economic world on its head.
The girls on the team are the best.
What I am about to tell is difficult to believe.
Their stories were always incredible.
The whole team was made up of stars.
He was a genius of cinematographic innovation.
Mexico is a multicultural country.
New York City never sleeps.
A couple's argument ended in tragedy.
The effects of communism affected the entire continent.
The concert of this band was spectacular.
The best city in the world is Buenos Aires.
In Barcelona you can breathe art and culture.
Sometimes words turn against you.
Drug use is life-threatening.
Man always dreamed of reaching the moon.
Julio Cortázar is one of the most emblematic authors of his time.
Pablo Neruda is the most iconic writer in Chile.
Teachers' salaries will not be increased.
The economic crisis has hit all economies.
Scientists discover a new vaccine against cancer.
Animated films have particular characteristics.
An increase in tobacco consumption has been evidenced.
The crusades caused the death of millions of people.
Sport contributes to improving the quality of life.
Let us proceed to talk about the current advances in medicine.
Women should enjoy the same rights as men.
Unemployment rates have increased dramatically.
No matter how hard he studied, he couldn't understand.
Love is the force that moves the world.
Structure of a sentence
To better understand the concept of topical sentences, it is important to know how sentences are structured in general.
Etymologically speaking, the word prayer comes from the Latin term “oratio”, which means “discourse”: In this way, it is understood that the sentence is a syntactic unit or a set of words that, when joined, acquire a specific meaning.
Any type of sentence is structured in the same way, since to make sense it must have a verb, a predicate and a subject (which can be explicit or tacit). This subject is the one who gives meaning to the verb or the action that takes place within the sentence, since it is the entity that is being talked about.
On the other hand, the predicate is the part of the sentence that is responsible for supplying the necessary and specific information about the action that the subject is performing. In this way, the verb is always included in the predicate.
In the sentence "The dog eats the ball", the subject is "the dog" and the predicate is "eat the ball", where the verb that gives meaning to the sentence is "eat" (Dictionary, 2017).
References
- Brizee, A. (August 7, 2009). Purdue Owl Engagement. Retrieved from 1.1: Topic Sentences: owl.english.purdue.edu.
- Dictionary, Y. (May 5, 2017). Your Dictionary. Retrieved from Examples of Topic Sentences: examples.yourdictionary.com.
- Gregorich, B. (1980). Paragraph and topic sentence. EDC Pub.
- Kelly, M. (February 21, 2017). Thoughtco. Obtained from Topic Sentence Examples: thoughtco.com.
- KLAZEMA, A. (March 5, 2014). Udemy. Retrieved from Examples of Topic Sentences and How to Write Them: blog.udemy.com.
- Vineski, P. (2017). com. Obtained from What is a Topic Sentence? - Examples & Definition: study.com.