Additional Ways Authors Introduce Topic 
          Additional Ways Authors Introduce Topic 
                               Sentences
                               Sentences
     • Chapter 3 introduced three common locations for 
        topic sentences. 
     • This chapter tells you about more about other 
        locations and other patterns for introducing topic 
        sentences.
         • 1. That was Then, This is Now
         • 2. Moving toward the Middle
         • 3. Doubling Up on Topic Sentences
         • 4. Introductory Questions followed by Topic Sentence  
                 Answers
              © Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.
        Paragraph Pattern 1: That was Then, This 
        Paragraph Pattern 1: That was Then, This 
                                 is Now
                                 is Now
     This explanatory pattern is characterized by 
     1. an introductory sentence (or sentences) that say how things 
         have been done or what has been assumed or thought for a 
         long time.
     2. a topic sentence that challenges previous thinking and 
         suggests that there is a new way of doing things.
     3. supporting details that match up with the new way of 
         thinking rather than the old.
         Based on that description, where is the topic sentence in this 
         paragraph?
              © Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.
                That Was Then, This is Now
                That Was Then, This is Now
      1
         For centuries, frogs have seemed to be  Earth’s ultimate survivors, 
      creatures capable of surviving  any form of natural disaster. 2But 
      now frogs are under attack. 3If something is not done fast, frogs 
      may become extinct. 4Already, almost one-third of all frog species 
                       5
      have vanished.  In addition to the human invasion of frog habitats 
      and the ills brought on by air pollution, frogs are being plagued by 
      a mysterious fungus, which plugs their pores and leaves them to 
      suffocate. 6Amphibian experts all over the world are trying to find 
      a cure for the fungus before frogs disappear from the face of the 
      earth. 7In parts of Central America, some frogs have been 
      completely removed from their natural habitat and transported to 
      new locations. 8The goal is keep the healthy frogs safe from the 
      fast-traveling chytrid fungus that has already destroyed entire 
      species of frogs.
              © Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.
         Paragraph Pattern 2:  Moving Toward the Middle
         Paragraph Pattern 2:  Moving Toward the Middle
   This explanatory pattern is characterized by
   1.  paragraphs that start off with a number of specific details, which 
      provide background, pose questions, or offer illustrations.
   2.  A shape that balloons in the middle when the topic sentence 
      arrives, only to slim down again following the topic sentence. 
   3.  several introductory sentences that push the topic sentence to the 
      middle of the paragraph.
      Based on that description where is the topic sentence in this 
      paragraph?
              © Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.
                   Moving Toward the Middle
                   Moving Toward the Middle
        1
           Are you one of those people who think professional athletes 
       should quit their sport by age thirty? 2Should they abandon their 
       sport before physical decline sets in?  3What’s the point, after all, of 
                                                                     4
       aging athletes trying to beat opponents ten years younger?  Isn’t it 
                                5
       hopeless and pathetic?  If you are one of those people inclined to 
       scoff at older athletes, you need to consider what some of them 
                                         6
       have achieved despite their age.  In 1991 baseball great Nolan Ryan 
                                                          7
       pitched a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays.  At the time, he 
                       8
       was forty-one.  In 2003, at the ripe old age of forty-six, tennis 
       player Martina Navratilova won two mixed-doubles crowns, one at 
                                                          9
       Wimbledon and another at the Australian Open.  In the 2008 
       Olympics, no one expected much from forty-one-year-old swimmer 
       Dara Torres, but to everyone’s shock, she became the oldest 
       woman to ever medal at the Olympics.
               © Laraine Flemming. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.