topic sentence

Question

Hi, teachers.I’ve trouble finding out the topic sentence following two paragraphs. In my opinion, the bold underlined sentences are topic sentences. Am I right?Let’s think about flipping a coin. If you get ten heads in a row, what is the likelihood that the next flip will be heads? Don’t be fooled—it’s 50 percent, the same as it is on any single coin flip. Most people think the chances of getting heads will actually be lower than 50 percent—the opposite of momentum. They know they should see roughly the same number of heads as tails (50-50), so they feel that if they have seen ten heads in a row, they are due for a tails. A tails has to emerge to balance things out. But it doesn’t. There is no law of averages. If the process is random, there is no predictability. This is also what drives the “gambler’s fallacy.” Gamblers on losing streaks erroneously believe they are due for a win and keep gambling, thinking that their luck has to balance out. But if the whole thing is random, you aren’t due for anything. Your chances haven’t changed at all.The essence of science is to uncover patterns and regularities in nature by finding algorithmic compressions of observations. But the raw data of observation rarely exhibit explicit regularities. Instead we find that nature’s order is hidden from us, it is written in code. To make progress in science we need to crack the cosmic code, to dig beneath the raw data and uncover the hidden order. I often liken fundamental science to doing a crossword puzzle. Experiment and observation provide us with clues, but the clues are cryptic, and require some considerable ingenuity to solve. With each new solution, we glimpse a bit more of the overall pattern of nature. As with a crossword, so with the physical universe, we find that the solutions to independent clues link together in a consistent and supportive way to form a coherent unity, so that the more clues we solve, the easier we find it to fill in the missing features.Thanks in advance.

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Let’s think about flipping a coin. If you get ten heads in a row, what is the likelihood that the next flip will be heads? Don’t be fooled—it’s 50 percent, the same as it is on any single coin flip. Most people think the chances of getting heads will actually be lower than 50 percent—the opposite of momentum. They know they should see roughly the same number of heads as tails (50-50), so they feel that if they have seen ten heads in a row, they are due for a tails. A tails has to emerge to balance things out. But it doesn’t. There is no law of averages. If the process is random, there is no predictability. This is also what drives the “gambler’s fallacy.” Gamblers on losing streaks erroneously believe they are due for a win and keep gambling, thinking that their luck has to balance out. But if the whole thing is random, you aren’t due for anything. Your chances haven’t changed at all.

The essence of science is to uncover patterns and regularities in nature by finding algorithmic compressions of observations. But the raw data of observation rarely exhibit explicit regularities. Instead we find that nature’s order is hidden from us, it is written in code. To make progress in science we need to crack the cosmic code, to dig beneath the raw data and uncover the hidden order. I often liken fundamental science to doing a crossword puzzle. Experiment and observation provide us with clues, but the clues are cryptic, and require some considerable ingenuity to solve. With each new solution, we glimpse a bit more of the overall pattern of nature. As with a crossword, so with the physical universe, we find that the solutions to independent clues link together in a consistent and supportive way to form a coherent unity, so that the more clues we solve, the easier we find it to fill in the missing features..

I would choose the sentences in bold as the topic sentences.

Jasnkid · Answer

Dear BarbaraPA,
May I ask you some questions regarding the topic sentence?

One of the most important factors that influences an organization’s response to its external environment is its culture. Organization culture is the set of important assumptions about the organization and its goals and practice that members of the company share. In this way, company’s culture provides a framework that organizes and directs people’s behavior on the job. Thus, the culture of an organization shows variety depending on the workplace. For example, the way people dress and behave, the way they interact with each other and with customers, and the qualities that are likely to be valued by their managers are usually quite different at a bank than they are at a rock-music company, and different again at a law firm or an advertising agency.
Is the topic sentence is in beginning and within the paragraph?

Researchers asked college student volunteers to think through a fantasy version of an experience (looking attractive in a pair of high-heeled shoes, winning an essay contest, or getting an A on a test) and then evaluated the fantasy’s effect on the subjects and on how things unfolded in reality. When participants envisioned the most positive outcome, their energy levels, as measured by blood pressure, dropped, and they reported having a worse experience with the actual event than those who had conjured more realistic or even negative visions. To assess subjects’ real life experiences, the researchers compared lists of goals that subjects had set for themselves against what they had actually accomplished and also relied on self-reports. “When we fantasize about it—especially when you fantasize something very positive—it’s almost like you are actually living it,” says one of the study’s co-authors. That tricks the mind into thinking the goal has been achieved, draining the incentive to “get energized to go and get it,” she explains. Subjects may be better off imagining how to surmount obstacles instead of ignoring them.
Which one is the topic sentence? In my opinion the former is the topic sentence (or main idea) and the latter is supporting detail.

So often, we get caught up in the minutiae of our jobs—tedious annoyances and struggles that may be temporary roadblocks but feel more like concrete mountains. While there’s plenty of research that shows that people who work with the muscles above their neck create all kinds of stresses for themselves, it’s the people who focus on the why of their jobs (as opposed to the what and the how) who can manage the day-to-day problems more easily. That is, if you can define the purpose of your career or feel passionate about the mission of your company, you can much more easily handle the occasional server maintenance that disrupts your in-box. The flip side is that if you’re working in any area (or company) that doesn’t align with your own value, all the little stuff snowballs into a big ball of daily disasters.
Is the topic sentence in beginning and end of the paragraph?

Thanks in advance

BarbaraPA · Answer

I would say the topic sentence of the first one is the first sentence and the topic sentence of the third one is the one that begins "That is, if you can define..."

The second one describes a process. It doesn't present a new idea or argue a point. I don't see that it has a topic sentence. It would need something like "A recent experiment explored how imagining an excellent outcome versus a realistic outcome affected actual performance." (I am at a loss as to how "looking attracting in a pair of high-heeled shoes" is something one would imagine as a "fantasy outcome" and how I would look uglier to observers if I thought I looked good. There is no mental effort required. This one is totally bizarre.)

Jasnkid · Answer

Dear BarbaraPA,

People knowingly or unknowingly will take too much, even though it is not for anyone’s collective or long-term good. As Hardin put it, “Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” Consider a traffic jam on a main road going into any big city. Each person picks that particular road for the logical reason that it’s the fastest route. In the beginning, each additional car does not slow the traffic down, as there is enough room on the road for the additional drivers. At some point, however, each car reduces the average speed, and eventually there are so many drivers that the traffic slows to a crawl. All the people seeking to minimize their own driving time add up to a longer commute for everyone. Doing what’s rational results in a negative outcome to the collective interest of all drivers, including you. On a global scale, the same thing can befall environmental issues such as overfished seas and rivers, air pollution, and water scarcity.

In my opinion, the topic sentence is in beginning and end of the paragraph. But I am not sure whether the latter sentence(beginning Doing what's rational .....) is just supporting detail.

Many thanks in advance

Clive · Answer

Generally, the topic sentence should be at or near the beginning of the paragraph. You need to tell the reader why you want him to read the paragraph.

Look here for a more detailed discussion.. http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/paragraphs.shtml

Clive

topic sentence

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions