Starting the paragraph
Kate sat dejectedly in the airport lounge and stared
around her. Two teenagers were chattering excitedly
about their proposed holiday. A mother was tearfully
bidding good-bye to her daughter while her husband stood
beside her. A small boy was zooming around making loud
aeroplane noises. All of them seemed to have purpose in
their lives except her.
The topic sentence which starts the paragraph sets the scene
and we are then told more detail in the following sentences.
The last one leads naturally on to the following paragraph
which will explain why Kate is depressed.
Ending the paragraph
She should have been so happy. A man walked by and she
looked up, startled. For a moment she had thought it was
Mark. She wondered what he was doing now. Was he
thinking of her? Tears flooded her eyes.Tomorrow should
have been her wedding day.
In the above paragraph the sentence leads up to the topic
sentence at the end. It sums up the previous sentences and
suggests that the following paragraph will give reasons for
the cancelled wedding. Sometimes the topic sentence will be
in the middle with the opening sentences preparing the
groundwork and the following ones continuing to expand it.
Inserting the topic sentence
She should have known something was wrong when he so
often worked late. He had frequently made excuses for
not meeting her. However, she was unprepared for the
IMPPROVING YOUR STYLE / 129