I. Identify the Topic Sentence. Read each paragraph and select the sentence which best expresses the main idea.
1. Online Exercise:
http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/parag/paragex3.htm
2. Birds eat with their beaks. Different kinds of birds eat different foods. Some birds open their beaks and eat food from the air. Some birds have long beaks to cut holes in trees and dig out food. Some birds have strong hooks on their beaks so that they can tear their food. Birds have different kinds of beaks because they eat different foods.
The topic sentence of this paragraph is:
(a) Birds eat with their beaks.
(b) Birds have different kinds of beaks because they eat different foods.
(c) Some birds open their beaks and eat food from the air .
(d) Some birds have strong beaks to cut holes in trees and dig out food.
3. For many years people have wished they could fly through the air like birds. Skydivers have found a way to fly without a machine. They jump from an airplane and fall at the rate of 120 miles an hour. The fall is so smooth that they don't feel like they're moving at all. When they pull the ripcord on their parachute they float the rest of the way to the ground.
The topic sentence of this paragraph is:
(a) Skydivers have found a way to fly without a machine.
(b) The fall is so smooth that they don't feel like they're moving at all.
(c) For many years people have wished they could fly through the air like birds.
(d) They jump from an airplane and fall at the rate of 120 miles an hour.
4. Wilma Rudolph was very sick when she was four. She could not move her left leg. Her mother rubbed her leg for a long time every night. When Wilma was six she would hop a little. Wilma worked hard to learn to walk and run. When she went to high school she ran on the girls' track team and won. Then she ran track in college. Wilma was so good that she went to the Olympics and won two gold medals. The little girl who could not walk grew up to be a winner through hard work.
The topic sentence of this paragraph is:
(a) She could not move her left leg.
(b) Wilma Rudolph was very sick when she was four.
(c) Then she ran track in college.
(d) The little girl who could not walk grew up to be a winner through hard work.
5. Today, boys try to prove they are men in many different ways. Long ago, it was not hard for some boys to know they had become men. American Indians had ceremonies and tests for boys to prove they were men. In one tribe, boys were given drugs which made them see visions of the gods. Having a vision was the first step toward being a man. In another tribe, boys had to prove that they could stand pain. They had to lie still on ground covered with ants and let the ants bite them again and again. When the Indian boys had been through these cermonies and tests, they knew they were men.
The topic sentence of this paragraph is:
(a) Today, boys try to prove they are men in many different ways.
(b) In another tribe, boys had to prove that they could stand pain.
(c) They had to lie still on ground covered with ants and let the ants bite them
again and again.
(d) When the Indian boys had been through the ceremonies and tests, they knew
they were men.
II. Paragraph
Analysis Online Practice:
http://eolf.univ-fcomte.fr/uploads/ressources/academic/paragraph/tutorial_3/support1.htm
III. Supporting Sentences. In each of the following paragraphs, identify any sentences that do not support the topic sentence.
1. How to Prevent Cheating
(1) Teachers should take steps to prevent students from cheating on exams. (2) To begin with, teachers should stop reusing old tests. (3) Even a test that has been used once is soon known on the student grapevine. (4) Students will check with their friends to find out, for example, what was on Dr. Thompson's biology final last term. (5) They may even manage to turn up a copy of the test itself, accidentally" not turned in by a former student of Dr. Thompson's. (6) Teachers should also take some common sense precautions at test time. (7) They should make students separate themselves--by at least one seat—during an exam, and they should watch the class closely. (8) The best place for the teacher to sit is in the rear of the room, so that a student is never sure if the teacher is looking at him or her. (9) Last of all, teachers must make it clear to students that there will be stiff penalties for cheating. (10) One of the problems with our school systems is a lack of discipline. (11) Teachers never used to give in to students' demands or put up with bad behavior, as they so today. (12) Anyone caught cheating should immediately receive a zero for the exam. (13) A person even suspected of cheating should be forced to take an alternative exam in the teacher's office. (14) Because cheating is unfair to honest students, it should not be tolerated.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences are ___ ___
2. A Dangerous Cook
(1) When my friend Tom sets to work in the kitchen, disaster often results. (2) Once he tried to make toasted cheese sandwiches for us by putting slices of cheese in the toaster along with the bread; he ruined the toaster. (3) Unfortunately, the toaster was a fairly new one that I had just bought for him three weeks before, on his birthday. (4) On another occasion, he had cut up some fresh beans and put them in a pot to steam. (5) I was really looking forward to the beans, for I eat nothing but canned vegetables in my dormitory. (6) I, frankly, am not much of a cook either. (7) The water in the Teflon pan steamed away while Tom was on the telephone, and both the beans and the Teflon coating in the pan were ruined. (8) Finally, another time Tom made spaghetti for us, and the noodles stuck so tightly together that we had to cut off slices with a knife and fork. (9) In addition, The meatballs were burned on the outside but almost raw on the inside. (10) The tomato sauce, on the other hand, turned out well. (11) For some reason, Tom is very good at making meat and vegetables sauces. (12) Because of Tom's kitchen mishaps, I never eat at his place without an Alka-Seltzer in my pocket, or without money in case we have to go out to eat.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences are ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
3. Why Adults Visit Amusement Parks
(1) Adults visit amusement parks for several reasons. (2) For one thing, an amusement park is a place where it is acceptable to "pig-out" on junk food. (3) At the park, everyone is drinking soda and eating popcorn, ice-cream, or hot dogs. (4) No one seems to be on a diet, and so buying all the junk food you can eat is a guilt-free experience. (5) Parks should provide stands where healthier food, such as salads or cold chicken, would be sold. (6) Another reason people visit amusement parks is
to prove themselves. (7) They want to visit the park that has the newest, scariest ride in order to say that they went on the Parachute Drop, the seven-story Elevator, the Water Chute, or the Death Slide. (8) Going on a scary ride is a way to feel courageous and adventurous without taking much of a risk. (9) Some rides, however, can be dangerous. (10) Rides that are not properly inspected or maintained have killed people all over the country. (11) A final reason people visit amusement parks is to escape from everyday pressures. (12) When people are poised at the top of a gigantic roller coaster, they are not thinking of bills, work, or personal problems. (13) A scary ride empties the
mind of all worries--except making it to the bottom alive. (14) Adults at an amusement park may claim they have come for their children, but they are there for themselves as well.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences are ___ ___ ___
4. My Color Television
(1) My color television has given me nothing but heartburn. (2) I was able to buy it a little over a year ago because I had my relatives give me money for my birthday instead of clothes that wouldn't fit. (3) My first dose of stomach acid came when I bought the set. (4) I let a salesclerk fool me into buying a discontinued model . (5) I realized this a day later when I saw newspaper advertisements for the set at seventy-five dollars less than I had paid. (6) The set worked so beautifully when I got it
home that I would keep it on until stations signed off for the night. (7) Fortunately, I didn't get any channels showing all-night movies, or I would never have gotten to bed. (8) Then I started developing a problem with the set that involved static noise. (9) For some reason, when certain shows switched into a commercial, a loud buzz would sound for a few seconds. (10) Gradually, this sound began to appear during a show, and to get rid of it, I had to click the dial to another channel and click it back. (11) Sometimes this technique would not work, and I had to pick up the set and shake it to remove the buzzing sound. (12) I actually began to build up my arm muscles shaking my set; I could feel the new muscles working whenever I shot a basketball. (13) When neither of these methods removed the static noise, I would sit popping Tums and wait for the sound to go away. (14)
Eventually I wound up slamming the set with my hand again, and it stopped working altogether. (15) My trip to the repair shop cost me $62. (16) The set is working well now, but I keep expecting
more trouble.
The numbers of the irrelevant sentences are ___ ___ ___ ___
IV. The Process Paragraph: A Lesson: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/Sample/Intermediate/map.htm#2
Good Online Site for Toefl Prep: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/toeflwrite.html