Welcome to the Woodchuck Writing Workshop!
This site is an educational resource to sharpen students' understanding of writing expository text. With Common Core here to stay, it's time to build more interest in writing on nonfiction topics.
TOPIC SENTENCE
What does a Topic Sentence
have?
T.S. = Subject + Verb + Details
The topic sentence tells what the paragraph is
about.
The topic sentence is usually written first in
the paragraph.
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MAIN IDEA
In some paragraphs, the topic sentence appears in
the middle or end of the paragraph.
A topic sentence is the MAIN IDEA of an
expository paragraph.
Topic Sentence Example
Weak: A woodchuck lives.
Good: A woodchuck lives below the ground.
Best: During winter, a woodchuck lives in a burrow below ground.
Example 1
Weak: A woodchuck lives.
*This example has a subject and a verb, but it doesn't tell the reader exactly where a
woodchuck lives or how it lives.
Example 2
GOOD: A woodchuck lives below the ground.
*This example tells where a woodchuck lives, but doesn't tell when it does live there.
The reader wonders: “Is that all the paragraph is about?”
A bit more detail helps the reader understand more about the topic of the paragraph.
Example 3
BEST: During winter, a woodchuck lives in a burrow below ground.
This sentence has enough detail to develop a good expository paragraph. It tells the reader
where the woodchuck lives in winter.
+The phrase “a burrow below ground” is very specific. +“During winter” provides context for the period of hibernation.