Paragraph Structure - Identifying Topic

Guided Practice

Each of the paragraphs below contains three underlined sentences. Read each paragraph and then click on the sentence (or sentences) that you think is the topic sentence of that paragraph.

  1. Carpeting may initially be less expensive than installing hardwood floors. While carpeting may look fantastic when it is first laid, in a relatively short period of time, it can become badly soiled. If the carpet is not cleaned regularly, these stains can permanently mar its beauty. Once this happens, the only recourse is to replace the stained carpet with a new one. In the end, then, hardwood flooring is a better buy than carpeting.

    INCORRECT. Try again

    INCORRECT. Try again

    CORRECT! Your choice is the topic sentence of the paragraph.

  2. Herbal remedies are gaining the respect of the medical profession. Teas, poultices, and rubs, made from various parts of plants have been used for generations by many cultures in the world. Such remedies, however, have been shunned by many medical professionals in the industrial world who have focused instead on chemicals for cures, sometimes re-inventing the wheel. With the more recent interest in the survival of the rainforests, however, there has been increasing attention paid to the plants which serve as remedies for a host of ailments.

    CORRECT! Your choice is the topic sentence of the paragraph.

    INCORRECT. Try again

    INCORRECT. Try again

  3. Can the common cold be cured? For centuries humans have sought ways to alleviate the discomfort associated with this minor illness, trying everything from special baths to special healing stones. Today, thanks to a focused research effort, science is beginning to make headway in finding a cure. Doctors are able to replicate the cold and small steps have been made in producing medicine which can at least reduce the time people must endure the effects of this disease.

    CORRECT! Your choice is the topic sentence of the paragraph.

    INCORRECT. Try again

    INCORRECT. Try again

  4. The technique for eating a steamed lobster is relatively simple. The most obvious place to begin the culinary journey is with the claws. Once the claws have been devoured, one is ready to tackle the tail. To obtain meat here, open the tail by making a slice down the center and popping out the entire section. Last but not least is the delicate meat to be found in the smaller limbs just behind the claws. This part of the lobster offers a relatively large amount of easily obtainable meat with relatively little effort. How to eat a lobster, then, is fairly simple.

    CORRECT! Your choice is the topic sentence of the paragraph.

    INCORRECT. Try again

    CORRECT! Your choice is the second of two topic sentences in this paragraph.

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