A clear topic sentence in each paragraph will assist with essay organization. Consider writing topic sentences early in the process, while you’re working on an outline. You can return later to fill in the rest of the paragraph. Having these single sentences figured out early makes the rest of the essay much easier to write!
Devote each body paragraph of an essay to discussing only the point of its topic sentence. If something is interesting to you, but not directly related to the topic sentence, save it for elsewhere in the essay (or hang on to it for a future writing task!). This will help keep your essay focused and effective.
Ensure that your topic sentence is directly related to your main argument or thesis.
Make sure that your topic sentence offers a “preview” of your paragraph’s discussion. Many beginning writers forget to use the first sentence this way, and end up with sentences that don’t give a clear direction for the paragraph.
For example, compare these two first sentences:
Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743.
Thomas Jefferson, who was born in 1743, became one of the most important people in America by the end of the 18th century.
The first sentence doesn’t give a good direction for the paragraph. It states a fact but leaves the reader clueless about the fact’s relevance. The second sentence contextualizes the fact and lets the reader know what the rest of the paragraph will discuss.