How To Identify the Topic Sentence In the Paragraph ?

 Identifying the Topic Sentence 

A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, or central theme. Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph. 

A writer will state his/her main idea explicitly somewhere in the paragraph. That main idea may be stated at the beginning of the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated is the topic sentence of that paragraph. Read the passage below: For many years people have wished they could fly through the air like birds. Skydivers have found a way to fly without a machine. 

They jump from an airplane and fall at the rate of 120 miles an hour. The fall is so smooth that they don't feel like they're moving at all. When they pull the ripcord on their parachute they float the rest of the way to the ground. Which sentence in the paragraph do you think summarizes the text best? 

a) Skydivers have found a way to fly without a machine. 

b) The fall is so smooth that they don't feel like they're moving at all. 

c) For many years people have wished they could fly through the air like birds. 

d) They jump from an airplane and fall at the rate of 120 miles an hour.

 It is 

(a). The other sentences (b, c, and d) just elaborate what these ways of flying without a machine are. The topic sentence announces the general theme to be dealt with in the paragraph. 

Although the topic sentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first. The last sentence of a paragraph can also contain the topic sentence, it is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used to sum up a discussion, to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic sentence so as to bring the paragraph to a close. 

It can fall in the middle of a paragraph as well, especially when a paragraph begins with an introductory sentence that is meant to grab your attention. In order to find the topic sentence the best thing to do is ask yourself the question, "What is this about?" Keep asking yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until the answer to your question becomes clear.