Topic Sentence
and Conclusion
--exercises to
help students practice these skills--
Posted here for writing teachers, by Michael Krigline, MA
(2009); www.krigline.com.cn
(Teachers: I
squeeze these onto B5 sheets of paper, with page breaks shown below. You are
welcome to copy and adapt this exercise as you wish. The essays and sample
answers are based on essays written by my students, while preparing for the
TEM-4 exam--i.e., Sophomore writing)
(click "Writing Notes" to see my
comments concerning the "notes" section of the
TEM-4 test; click "Writing Essays" to see my
comments concerning the "essay" section of the test)
Click here to see
sample TEM-4 essays
Page one--topic
sentence practice
English Name_____________________________
Instructions: With your partner, look at the support outline, and
then write a topic sentence (TS) for each paragraph. (I suggest
that each of you write the TS for one paragraph, and then help each
other to make corrections.) Your one-sentence introduction should
mention the key ideas and/or hint at the support points, but not give much
detail. The topic sentence must be grammatically correct.
1. Topic: First Birthday Celebrations in China
Key ideas: future/predict, party/celebrate
Support points:
a. on 1st birthday, relatives & friends gather
b. things on a table have symbolic meanings (e.g., a pen relates
to “studying”)
c. a child’s choice predicts the future
d. red eggs bring good luck
TS: _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Topic: Four parts of a Chinese wedding
Key ideas: wedding/marriage, joy/laughter, multiple (four)
things/steps involved
Support points:
a. parents choose a good day
b. groom (with friends) joyfully goes to the bride’s home
c. celebrate at a restaurant (good food, lots of toasts)
d. teasing the newlyweds at the bridal chamber
TS: _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Page
two--conclusion practice (given one or two weeks after the "topic
sentence" sheet)
English Name_____________________________
Instructions: Now look at the actual body of each paragraph and
write a one-sentence conclusion. Your conclusion must repeat the
topic and summarize most of the main points. If you wish, add an
implication or consequence (this is not easy to do!). Things to avoid:
vague exclamations, rhetorical questions, and pronouns (unless what they
refer to is in the conclusion).
1. Possible Topic Sentences:
A Chinese baby’s first birthday party is
important because the child’s choices and the parents’ gifts may predict
the future.
Many Chinese parents look to the future as
they celebrate their child’s first birthday.
Many Chinese people pay close attention to
a child’s first birthday celebration because the activities of that day
may predict or influence the baby’s future.
[Topic sentence… ] A
baby’s first birthday brings relatives and friends together to celebrate.
During the party, people put many symbolic things on the table. For
example, a pen stands for being good at studying. Then they let the child
grasp one thing to predict what will happen to him/her in the future. The
parents also send out eggs painted red in order to bring good luck.
[Conclusion… ]
Conclusion: ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Possible Topic Sentences:
A Chinese marriage starts after a wedding
day filled with laughter and loved ones.
In China, four steps help make weddings a
joyous occasion.
Choices, a party, and joyful visits help
make a wedding day fun in China.
[Topic sentence… ]
First, the bride’s parents choose a good day for the wedding based on the
Chinese lunar calendar. When the day comes, the groom and his friends
joyously go to pick up the bride at her home. At noon, the bride and groom
celebrate at a restaurant with their relatives and friends, offering good
food in exchange for lots of toasts with “double-happiness” wine.
Afterwards, the party continues at the bridal chamber, as young guests go
along to tease the newlyweds. [Conclusion… ]
Conclusion: __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Page
three--sample answers (I give this out when I return the homework)
1. Possible Topic Sentences:
A Chinese baby’s first birthday party is
important because the child’s choices and the parents’ gifts may predict
the future.
Many Chinese parents look to the future as
they celebrate their child’s first birthday.
Many Chinese people pay close attention to
a child’s first birthday celebration because the activities of that day
may predict or influence the baby’s future.
During first birthday celebrations in
China, parents traditionally predict their children’s future by watching
their choices and wishing others good luck.
To celebrate a baby’s first birthday in
China, relatives and friends gather to predict his future and bless him in
several ways.
Chinese people like to hold a First
Birthday Celebration because things with symbolic meanings may predict
luck or a bright future. (notice that I’ve made the event a proper noun
here)
1. Possible conclusions:
In China, “good luck” eggs and a child’s
predictive choice provide a reason for relatives and friends to gather and
celebrate a baby’s first birthday.
Because a child’s choices and the parents’
gifts to neighbors may predict or influence the child’s future, a baby’s
first birthday has traditionally been highly valued in China.
Lucky eggs and children’s choices that may
influence the future bring many Chinese families and friends together for
first birthday celebrations.
In China, many parents uphold the tradition
of letting a one-year-old baby “reach out” to reveal the future on his/her
birthday, while parents, friends and relatives exchange wishes for the
child’s bright and happy future.
The family’s participation, a child
grasping symbolic things, and eating lucky eggs will make a Chinese baby’s
first birthday party a happy time.
Relatives’ blessings, parents’ hopes, and
a traditional ceremony that predicts the future make First Birthday
Celebrations in China meaningful.
A symbolic party game, family and friends’
participation, and parents’ hope combine to make a Chinese baby’s first
birthday memorable.
In China, many people believe that a
child’s future may be influenced by his/her choice and by the parents’
gifts to others at a first birthday celebration.
2. Possible Topic Sentences:
A Chinese marriage starts after a wedding
day filled with laughter and loved ones.
In China, four steps help make weddings a
joyous occasion.
Choices, a party, and joyful visits help
make a wedding day fun in China.
In China, the journey of marriage begins
with four interesting and joyful steps.
A Chinese wedding often involves four
steps that make the celebration full of joy.
A joyful Chinese wedding often involves
four steps.
A wedding celebration in China is not just
a cheerful party, but a whole family’s work that involves four steps.
(body—parents do this, brothers do that, nephews/nieces do that)
In China, a traditional four-step
celebration is held to make a wedding full of joy.
A joyful Chinese wedding normally involves
four steps that include parents, friends, a party, and fun afterward.
(This sentence is a “fixed” version of the next one.)
A joyful Chinese wedding normally involves
four steps: choosing the day, going to the bride’s home, celebrating with
guests, and teasing the newlyweds. (This sentence may be too detailed for
a TS; if you choose this one, you’ll have to be extra creative in writing
a conclusion.)
2. Possible conclusions:
(very basic) In China, choosing a good
day, picking up the bride, celebrating, and teasing the newlyweds make
weddings a joyous occasion.
The choice of a propitious day, a joyous
morning visit to the bride’s home, a food-filled wedding celebration, and
light-hearted teasing from friends are four important parts of a Chinese
wedding.
A Chinese wedding is interesting and
enjoyable because it includes participation from parents, morning fun at
the bride’s home, a festive wedding party with relatives and friends, and
even teasing from young guests on the wedding day.
The four steps that work together to make a
Chinese wedding memorable are the parents’ choice of an auspicious day, a
morning visit to the bride’s home, a lively wedding celebration and
teasing from young friends on the wedding night.
In modern China, a couple often has their
marriage license before the day chosen by parents arrives; but only after
a traditional wedding—complete with an early visit to the bride, a big
meal and the teasing of friends—are two people publicly acknowledged as a
married couple.
Page four--how I
grade this exercise
Grading for TS:
one point for having all key ideas
+one point for whole topic
+three for no corrections AND a good TS;
two for minor corrections, but a good TS; one if the TS is not very good
or for trying
I did give half points on occasion, like
when it was weak, but had few errors (1.5), or 2.5 if “almost perfect”
=five for each
EXPECT LOTS OF ZEROS for the format
portion.
Grading for Con:
A.
+3 -- one half for each of these: China,
1-year-old/first, BD/celebration, gifts/choices/symbolic things, eggs,
friends/neighbors and/or relatives (preferably both)
+2 for a good conclusion, including an
implication and “future/predict”
+1 for a so-so conclusion, perhaps
missing one of the paragraph’s key ideas (but can’t be missing the
“predict/future” idea)
+0 otherwise
ONLY COUNT THINGS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST
SENTENCE and cross out any later sentences. If they use comma splices,
mark the content but give at most “1” for the format portion.
B.
+3 -- one half for each of these: China,
wedding/marriage, parents/choice of day, visit the bride,
celebration/party, teasing = three
+2 for a good conclusion, including an
implication
+1 for a so-so conclusion, perhaps
missing one of the paragraph’s key ideas
+0 otherwise
This resource was created for teachers under my
understanding of "fair use" for educational resources.
© 2009 Michael Krigline, all
rights reserved. As far as I am concerned, people are allowed to print/copy
it for personal or classroom use.
(see Website Standards and Use Policy)
