PARAGRAPH EXERCISE #4: PLACEMENT OF THE TOPIC SENTENCE

I. Topic Sentence at the Beginning of a Paragraph: Most people believe that a topic sentence belongs at the

beginning of a paragraph. Even if they have not studied paragraph construction, they simply assume

this is the case. More often than not, they are correct, but that is only one of three positions that a

topic sentence typically occupies. For a topic sentence can also conclude a paragraph or, in some exotic

instances, be placed in the middle of a paragraph. Usually, when a topic sentence appears in the first

line of a paragraph, it does so because we are employing deductive reasoning in which a proposition is

offered to us in the topic sentence before it is explained, analyzed, or defended in the rest of the

paragraph. That is how deduction works: an overview statement is formed in the T.S. and the rest of

the paragraph speaks to its veracity. Because the placement of the topic sentence at the beginning of

the paragraph is normative, I will start with an example of this kind of T.S. placement first. Here is an

example, which I already presented to you in another exercise, with a topic sentence at the beginning of

the paragraph.

I. Topic Sentence at the Beginning of a Paragraph (an example): Writing a paragraph used to be easy, but now the

construction of a well developed, well constructed paragraph has become difficult because of the

mathematical preciseness one must bring to the writing process. What is so difficult about writing a

paragraph? When we were ignorant of the rules of paragraph writing, any group of sentences were able

to be haphazardly assembled and effortlessly passed off as a paragraph. But now one is forced to follow

a precise outline for building a paragraph. The naïve construction of a paragraph no longer is sufficient

to an aware writer. Now we must have a strong topic sentence because it is the backbone of the whole

paragraph, and every key element becomes a piece of the backbone’s vertebrae. The topic sentence is

connected to the controlling idea, which acts like the brain of the system with each element under its

command. Every idea and sentence meshes together in the conquest for unity of idea. Each piece of

the puzzle is carefully placed down with an eye to its relation to all of the other components. All of the

elements in the topic sentence work in unison, like the fingers on a hand, to complement all the other

elements of the succeeding or following sentences. What used to be an easy process, however, has now

given way to a complex system of mathematical equations – the set as well-written paragraph.

Paragraph writing has become a “mechanical process” completely at odds with style and grace as one

writes inspiration into syntax. This constriction makes the writing of the paragraph difficult for writers

who have an artistic sensibility.

II. Topic Sentence at the End of a Paragraph: When a topic sentence appears at the end of the paragraph, it

does so as a “wrap.” This means we have followed a step by step line of reasoning which has lead us to

a an overview statement that sums up all of the specific statements that have lead us to the topic

sentence at the end of the paragraph. In other words, from the beginning of the paragraph we follow

specific statement after specific statement (which are linked even as they lead us to another linked

specific statement) until we can arrive at a summation statement at the end of the paragraph. For it is

at the end of the paragraph that we locate the generalization which puts into perspective the series of

specific statements which have lead to the final “overview” statement. This kind of thinking is called

induction, and the model for this kind of thinking is evidence presented in a court of law. The attorney

presents a specific piece of evidence followed by another piece of evidence until s/he builds enough of a

case to arrive at a generalization (this person is guilty of . . . because of the preceding specific

statements/evidence I have placed before you. Inductive reasoning presents reasoning built upon the

logic of specific premise after specific premise building to a crescendo statement which all of these

supporting statements support. The argument, then, is built upon a conclusion reached based upon the

detailing of the premises of the argument before the conclusion is reached. One observation leads to

the next observation to the next observation until a larger observation is risked at the end of the

argument. Here is an example of a student paragraph that does an excellent job of presenting a

sequence specific statements which lead to a conclusion on the student’s part which changes her life in

some way. Notice that the last sentence acts as a topic sentence, which, by definition, must contain the

following elements:

(1) it has a controlling idea

(2) the controlling idea is part of a perceivable topic sentence

(3) the topic sentence contains specific key elements

(4) these elements are important in and of themselves

(5) these key elements interact with each other as the paragraph is developed

(6) there are sectors of development in the paragraph, but they come before the topic sentence, rather than

after it

(7) these sectors form a vertical progression based on the horizontal progression of ideas in the topic sentence

that concludes the paragraph

Here is an example of a topic sentence at the end of the paragraph.

II. Topic Sentence at the End of a Paragraph (an example): Sitting in my Ethics class today, I listened with growing

anger to my professor’s attempt to separate moral from non-moral behavior. He seemed to feel it was

his requirement to give me standards by which I could judge my actions. With my anger clearly intact, I

drifted out of his class and back to a similar experience I had had in an English class in high school. Once

again I found myself becoming furious with another teacher for inhibiting my writing and stifling my

growth by applying artificial standards to my work. These standards coerced me into a trap of believing

that, because I could not express myself as well as Thomas Hardy or William Shakespeare, I had nothing

valuable to say. Even when studying the great writers, my teacher assumed that meanings were black

and white and were interpreted the same by everyone. She approached writing as a biologist would

dissect a frog: dismembering the animal to examine each separate organ and leaving across the table

only scattered parts that held no resemblance to the original being. I can see that same dead frog on

the backboard in my Ethics class, but this time I refuse to condone the killing. I will not allow the

standards of the pseudo-authorities to dissect my thoughts and actions merely to have me conform to

their conventions.

II. Topic Sentence at the End of a Paragraph (an analysis): Here follows the specific statements that add up to

something larger than each one of them as stated in and of itself.

1. anger at professor; anger at the binary division of existence: moral/non-moral behavior.

2. Anger at his giving standards that could judge her actions.

3. Flashback to high school that excites anger: teacher inhibiting her writing, inhibiting her growth

with his “artificial moral standards.”

4. Standards capable of coercing her into a trap

5. The trap of belief: you are not a good enough writer/you have nothing valuable to say

6. Anger over the assumption: meanings were black and white/meanings are neutral/ meanings

are non-interpretable

7. Teacher-as-dissector: teacher dismembers morality/teacher dismembers her writing/her

ability/teacher as analyzer with no respective for ontological being

8. Connection: frog dismembered connected to ethics dismembered into either or thinking as itself

a form of dismembering

9. Anger allows her to not accept the “death” of ontological life-force

10. TOPIC SENTENCE: I will not allow the standards of the pseudo-authorities to dissect my

thoughts and actions merely to have me conform to their conventions.

III. Topic Sentence in the middle of a Paragraph: We have seen how each topic sentence (as ideas-embodied-in-

words) can be placed at the beginning of a paragraph because it furthers “deductive reasoning” (an

argument that starts with a conclusion and then proceeds to explain what components of logic lead to

that conclusion). We have also examined a paragraph that ends with a topic sentence, which presents

the reader with a broad overview statement – a final statement that gives us a “sum total” of more

localized, specific statements that precede it. But there is one other place in the paragraph where we

can find a topic sentence: in the middle of the paragraph. But what logic does a topic sentence in the

middle of a paragraph further? The answer is both induction and deduction. When you use a topic

sentence as a pivot, one of its sectors (which supports it) begins the paragraph with a sequence of

inductive statements that lead to a topic sentence which presents its premise. Then, the rest of the

paragraph develops the premise of the pivot topic sentence. In other words, the rest of the paragraph

presents support in deductive statement after deductive statement that follow from the pivot topic

sentence in the same way that they would have followed from the premise placed in a topic sentence at

the beginning of the paragraph. What’s different, then, about a topic sentence-as-a-pivot is that it does

two things at once: it looks back at the sector which leads to it, and it looks forward to the sector that

succeeds it. Actually, it must do this if it is to be a topic sentence because it must include the interactive

key elements that make up the first sector (before it) as well as the interactive key elements that make

up the second sector (which follow it). Here is an example of this type of paragraph.

III. Topic Sentence in the middle of a Paragraph (an example):

They came up to my car window: a lady with her crooked nose and sensitive smile asked me for a ride

home. She was in pain from walking such a long distance. Her husband spoke not a word, then. I had

been on my way to a lecture on the “community” and “how to be a better person.” Not being able to

resist a person in distress, I naively allowed them to enter my car, my life and my imagination. First,

they sat too close to me: she in the front seat gasping for air, or so it seemed, and he in the back seat

managing to stretch his ostrich-like neck between me and her. He misled us, gave inaccurate commands

to turn, and therefore, the seemingly short ride home turned into an endless maze of fear. By now, my

imagination had taken control of me. They were not ordinary people, but had some unexpressed evil

reason for urging me into their diabolical scheme. Cordially excusing themselves, they asked to be left

Comment [R1]: Element #1: the “I” who getsangry; the “I” who remembers and links thememory of the frog to the present classroomexperience in an Ethic’s class. The “I” who will notcondone the killing. Finally, the “I” who resists the“pseudo-authorities.”

Comment [R2]: Element #2: “the standards ofthe pseudo-authorities” is what is under attack inthe entire paragraph. Go through the paragraphand look for all the different ways she elaboratesthis element.

Comment [R3]: Element #3: “conform to theirconventions.” This is the dangerous element in theparagraph. This is what she must resist. This is acrucial element (the most important element) in theparagraph. This is the point of mediation; it is whatmakes this paragraph important and inspiring. Itscreams: watch out! Or this could happen to you!

Comment [R4]: Element #4: This is the lastelement and in some way it is the closest elementlinked with the dissection-element. The wholeparagraph talks about a process associated withelement #3 (dissection). But the impetus is to getthe student to conform to conventions that allowand celebrate the sadistic treatment of students aslesser beings, those that must give up the humanspark to become mere objects of analysis.

Comment [R5]: Here we have the first part of atopic sentence with very specific elements: I =helper of those who need help. That part of this“Janus-faced” topic sentence is developed in thefirst sector of the paragraph above this sentence.Go back to the development of ideas above thistopic sentence and study how the first sector in theparagraph (above the topic sentence) develops thefirst part of the topic sentence once it appears.

Comment [R6]: Here we have the second part ofthe topic sentence. This part is developed after thePivot T.S. The strangers enter the car, yes. But theparagraph is really about how they “invade” or arebelieved to invade the life and, most importantly,the imagination of the narrator. This second part ofthe horizontal axis of the topic sentence is whatreally gets developed in this paragraph. Notice howmuch more space it gets to develop this “invasion”motif. That is because it is the emotional spur ofthe paragraph.

at the next corner for they could find their way better on foot. A nervous wreck, I realized that in this

society there is so much mistrust that to help someone in distress is considered a risk.

III. Topic Sentence in the middle of a Paragraph (an example 2):

They came up to my car window: a lady with her crooked nose and sensitive smile asked me for a ride

home. She was in pain from walking such a long distance. Her husband spoke not a word, then. I had

been on my way to a lecture on the “community” and “how to be a better person.” Not being able to

resist a person in distress, I naively allowed them to enter my car, my life and my imagination. First,

they sat too close to me: she in the front seat gasping for air, or so it seemed, and he in the back seat

managing to stretch his ostrich-like neck between me and her. He misled us, gave inaccurate commands

to turn, and therefore, the seemingly short ride home turned into an endless maze of fear. By now, my

imagination had taken control of me. They were not ordinary people, but had some unexpressed evil

reason for urging me into their diabolical scheme. Cordially excusing themselves, they asked to be left

at the next corner for they could find their way better on foot. A nervous wreck, I realized that in this

society there is so much mistrust that to help someone in distress is considered a risk.

Comment [R7]: This is the first sector of theparagraph. Notice the development of the keyelements in this “zone” of paragraph progression.The key elements are as follows: they/car;pain/sensitivity/and the foreshadower – thecrooked nose/ husband who doesn’t speak,yet/narrator who is culturally aware, or trying to be.All of this supports the first part of the topicsentence.

Comment [R8]: This is the second sector of theparagraph, the one that gets developed because itcontains the emotional core of the paragraph. Lookat the vivid description that jumps off the page; thisimaginary indicates the “imagination” of thenarrator, which is probably the most important keyelement in the paragraph: “gasping for air,”“stretch his ostrich-like neck,” “seemingly short ridehome turned into an endless maze of fear,”“unexpressed evil reason for urging me into theirdiabolical scheme.” All of these descriptive phrasesare loaded (or overloaded) with emotional freight.They indicate a kind of ambivalence of purpose onthe narrator’s part, an ambivalence that plays out inthe paragraph between the desire to be part of thecommunity and a desire to distance him or herselffrom the unknown element of others who comprisethe community. This ambivalence is displayed inthe reading of the stranger’s traits: “a crooked noseand a sensitive smile.” This entire movementsupports the “naïve” gesture of letting this coupleinto her imagination.