Using a topic sentence is one of the best ways to enhance the experience your readers have when they interact with your writing. Are you writing posts for casual Web readers or are you offering SEO-copywriting services, topic sentences will help you in the process of establishing the readability of your writing and the logical flow of your ideas. Placed at the beginning of your paper, these sentences help your readers build the harmonious flow of your ideas from one sentence to another.
However, these sentences will not be of much use to you if you only know their benefits without knowing how to write them. With the above in mind, we’re going to share insights that will help you improve your ability to write engaging and captivating topic sentences.
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Use clear words
Since these sentences are meant to increase clarity in the flow of your argument, make them use clear words that will help the reader understand your writing. If you use complex and ambiguous words, you will confuse the reader by obscuring the rest of the sentence with ambiguity and confusion.
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Keep it concise and brief
Before constructing your sentence, you must understand that the topic sentence should not replace the remaining sentences in the paragraph. Instead, it should set the stage for them to play their part. That’s why you don’t need to include all the details here or else you lose your role as a guide. If you intend to cover a number of matters, there is no need to list them here. Take for example this sentence:
The passage of this law will benefit mothers, children and fathers in many ways.
This sentence contains excess information. You can reorder to read like this:
The enactment of this law will benefit all members of the family in many ways.
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Draft it using your own words
It’s true that quoting other people increases the credibility and authority of your writing. However, avoid using quotes in your topic sentence. The reason is that the topic sentence introduces your thoughts, and using other people’s thoughts only undermines your authority and originality.
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Keep the promise
Remember, one of the functions of your topic sentence is to introduce your reader to what you want to discuss in your paragraph. If you don’t intend to cover a thought in a paragraph, don’t promise it in a sentence because that will tease your readers and ultimately disappoint them when they fail to find it.
Doing so is like naming your article, “20 facts you need to know about fish farming” and then you cover only 14 of them. You can be sure that your readers will feel cheated and they will see you as another eager, novice writer who wasted their time without fulfilling their promises.
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Let it show What And Why from your discussion
Another way to make these sentences stronger is to introduce the reader to Why behind What you will discuss. But when doing so, you must keep it short and clear at the back of your mind.
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Avoid unnecessary introductions
You need to avoid introductions like, “I’ll talk to you about this and that…” Instead, introduce your ideas right away.
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Don’t make it too broad
Another way make the topic sentence more impactful limit it to what you want to discuss and throw it away in your paragraphs. For example, don’t say, “Physical exercise has mental benefits” if you can only discuss one benefit, for example, increased mental alertness. If you know your paragraph will allow you to cover just one use of metal, it’s better to state that at the start of your paragraph.
In our case, you could introduce the paragraph by saying something like, “The increased mental alertness that comes from regular physical exercise benefits many different areas of your life.” In the remaining sentences, you could mention areas of your life that practice could benefit from, for example, how exercise can help you improve your memory for better performance at school.
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Remember the principle of introductions
Most importantly, you need to remember that your topic sentence is an introductory device. This awareness needs to remind you to include all materials that will allow it to capture the reader’s attention and interest. Just as you work to introduce your piece in a compelling way, you must apply the same principles to hook your reader with the particular paragraph you introduce.
The topic sentence is powerful introductory tool to facilitate smooth transitions from one paragraph to another. They allow your readers to transition seamlessly without losing their interest in the previous paragraph they read. When writing it, you need to be specific and concise, while giving yourself enough space to discuss everything you’ve promised your readers.
