Essay Writing: Using Topic Sentences to Engage Readers

When you describe the topic sentences of your essay in the special way that I will teach you, the idea level of your essay will not only be clearly organized, but it will also attract readers to read the body paragraphs of your essay.

Here’s the deal — The key ingredients for topic sentences are keywords, and there are two types:

1. ESSENTIAL KEY WORDS, which are the main ideas of your thesis

2. Novelty Keywords, which link your stories, examples, and reasoning support to your MAIN KEYWORDS

Identify MAIN KEYWORDS

For example, suppose you are writing an essay about salads.

You start by saying that most people love salads, and so do you. And, like most people, he likes all kinds of salads, even fruit ones. But you are different in the sense that you can’t stand fruit salads with apples, bananas or pears.

So here is his thesis (MAIN KEYWORDS are IN CAPS):

Like most people, I love salads, even FRUIT SALADS, but I CANNOT STAND FRUIT SALADS with APPLES, BANANAS, or PEARS.

Here’s a topic sentence for the first body paragraph accompanying that thesis:

I just CAN’T STAND APPLES in FRUIT SALADS.

Although the topic sentence relates to the thesis with TOP KEYWORDS, that’s a pretty boring topic sentence, isn’t it? Can you see why? Think about it for a moment. something is boring and boring whennnnnnn—You can think of when?

Okay, here it is—something is boring, boring and uninteresting when there is nothing new on it (you knew that, right?). There is nothing new in that main sentence, it has already been said in the thesis. It has no novelty keywords to pique readers’ curiosity about what’s next.

Create general novelty keywords

To generate interest in the TOP KEYWORDS and the main idea of ​​your thesis, add Novelty Keywords.

Novelty keywords are generalities, meaning they are slightly more general than the details of the stories, examples, or reasoning they introduce into your paragraph, and they generally summarize the paragraph. The next two sentences are preferred alternatives to the deathly boring main sentence above, and illustrate some general keywords of novelty (on italic):

************

I can’t stand apples in fruit salads—not the reds, anyway.

I can’t stand apples in fruit salads. because of some very bad experiences I had with apples in different foods.

************

You can see that by adding general information as Novelty Keywords, you are telling your reader what kind of details appear in the paragraph. The first example indicates that the paragraph will say something about “non-reds”; It may seem specific, but it’s not overly specific, since we don’t know what “reds” you mean or why.

The second example suggests that you will reveal those “bad experiences” that have caused you to dislike apples in fruit salads. But again, we don’t know what specific “bad experiences” are, so it’s a generality. Those novelty keywords make those topic sentences more interesting because they entice readers to want to keep reading and find out the specific details, the interesting details.

Novelty keywords are the secret sauce that engages your reader’s curiosity.

Combine CORE and Newness keywords in topic sentences

When you combine novelty keywords with MAJOR KEYWORDS in a topic sentence, you connect to the main idea of ​​the thesis and suggest interesting details that will come in the next paragraph, as you’ll see in the next three examples.

Example 1. Here is a thesis supported with a topic sentence outline. The schematic shows the use of specific TOP KEYWORDS (IN CAPS) and general Novelty Keywords (on italic):

************

Thesis

After my parents’ DIVORCE, I actually GROWN CLOSER TO MY ABSENT FATHER in EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, and FINANCIAL WAYS.

Topic Sentence Outline That Engages Readers

Despite the DIVORCE, I HAVE GROWN EMOTIONALLY CLOSER TO MY FATHER because now he lets me talk to him about important things, like boys.

Although he is not here every day, my father does SOCIAL things with me nowadays, like going on “dates”.

Best of all, MY DAD’S FINANCIAL WAYS they are better, now, and he buys me lots of fun things and gives me more money than before the divorce.

************

You’ve heard that “a picture is worth a thousand words” — well, a good example is, too, and I think the above example says a lot. So I’ll just show you those topic sentences without their Novelty. Keywords and allows you to compare and see how much those Novelty Keywords helped add compelling interest:

************

Despite the divorce, I have become emotionally close to my father.

In comparison with—

Despite the divorce, I have become emotionally close to my father. because now he lets me talk to him about important things, like boys.

************

Although he is not around every day, my father does social things with me nowadays.

In comparison with—

Although he is not around every day, my father does social things with me nowadays, like going on “dates”.

************

Best of all, my dad’s financial ways are better now.

In comparison with—

Best of all, my dad’s financial ways are better now,and he buys me lots of fun things and gives me more money than before the divorce.

************

Pretty interesting differences, right?

Without novelty keywords, readers won’t have much interest in reading further. But with added General Novelty Keywords, readers are encouraged to discover—

• that “important things” she talks about with her dad, especially since there’s a hint that one of those things is “boys”; Whether you’re a guy or a girl, you’re probably thinking: Hmm… can be something juicy, although this is a test… you never know… I will check this….
• what kind of “dates” that she will talk about; it could be some fancy restaurants she’s heard of, or some concerts probably only a parent could afford, or maybe going to see the Grand Canyon or Disneyland or the Cayman Islands, many possibilities… it might be worth reading on to find out…
• that Is your dad buying you “fun stuff” now? and he is giving more money What before the divorce? I don’t know about you, but Am interested in hearing the specific details, especially if those they really are “fun stuff” and just the more money is giving it now…

See what I mean?

Example #2. This student example with MAIN KEYWORDS and novelty keywords gives another good illustration of how to entice readers to keep reading the interesting details:

************

Thesis

I never would have imagined that TRAVELING IN A DIRTY AND NOISY BUS WOULD TEACH ME TO RELAX, GET BETTER GRADES AND APPRECIATE THE HUMOR IN PEOPLE.

Topic Sentence Outline That Engages Readers

That NOISY DIRTY CITY BUS taught me to RELAX because I finally realized that no amount of cursing could speed it up.

After learning how to RELAX on the BUS, I started studying French regularly while riding which introduced me to my French angel and GOT ME a lot BETTER GRADES in French.

TAKING THE BUS INTO CITY TAUGHT ME TO APPRECIATE HUMOR IN PEOPLE showing me a lot of silly personal dramas.

************

Of course, learning to relax on a bus is a yawn, but the first topic sentence suggests that there’s an interesting story about cursing that goes along with it, which could provide some interesting sentences… could be a bit shocking and fun to read…

In the second topic sentence, the familiar, old-fashioned view that you get nothing but irritation riding the bus might have some expected positives, but better grades that’s why…?! And what is that angel thing about?! Hmmm… you might have some tips that could be interesting and maybe even useful…

The novelty keywords in the third topic sentence also seem appealing, with the suggestion of “lots of silly personal dramas.” Looks like some funny stories are going to be told in the next paragraph or two…

Example #2 once again shows the usefulness of novelty keywords and the clarity and interest they can bring to your topic sentences while at the same time keeping the focus on the main ideas of the thesis.

Example #3. Here is another example of using topic sentences to outline the support of your thesis and get the reader’s curiosity flowing:

************

Thesis

Due to UNPLEASED CRITICISM FROM MY TYPING TEACHER in my sophomore year, I found UNEXPECTED MOTIVATION TO BECOME A SECRETARY, as evidenced by MY PRACTICE, MY SECRETARIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL, and MY FIRST JOB.

Topic Sentence Outline That Engages Readers

For her, more than two years I PRACTICED so much so that I developed wrists almost as strong as my athletic brother’s.

Ever since MY WRITING TEACHER NASTY graduated from a local business school, I got my own education there just to show it off, and I did!

Finally, I got MY FIRST SECRETARY JOB, making about twice what she does — and cleverly let her figure it out.

************

In the first topic sentence just above, “Because of HER” summarizes “Because of my typing teacher’s nasty criticism” of the thesis. One of the reasons this works is that the first topic sentence follows right after the thesis in the essay, as usual, so we can easily see the connection. This may not have worked with any of the other topic sentences because they would be too far removed from the thesis.

The novelty keywords in the first topic sentence make us want to know just how strong her wrists really got… could he hit his brother, now…he seems to be leaning a bit in that direction…i wonder if that’s the case…i think i’ll find out…

The novelty keywords in the second topic sentence also arouse our curiosity. …how much he managed to show that nasty typing teacher… ‘supporting the little one’….

The third topic sentence uses keywords of novelty to let us know there’s a final blow to the writer’s long-developed revenge plan… I can’t wait to read about how smartly he let her know, how he reacted, I bet that’s great…

As you can see in these three example topic sentence outlines that I’ve shared with you, any essay writer can write Novelty Keywords in such a way that they’ll pique their readers’ curiosity and want to keep reading.

Wouldn’t that be a nice change in the state of student essay writing, especially yours?