Topic sentence
HERE ARE THE DIRECTIONS:
IF THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH HAS A TOPIC SENTENCE, TELL WHAT IT IS. IF THERE IS NOT A TOPIC SENTENCE IN THE PARAGRAPH, SUMMARIZE THE MAIN IDEA OF THE PARAGRAPH. IT ALSO STATES THAT THE TOPIC SENTENCE COULD BE THE FIRST SENTENCE OR THE LAST SENTENCE OR ANYWHERE IN BETWEEN--BUT THAT IF IT IS A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH, IT USUALLY WILL HAVE NOT HAVE A TOPIC SENTENCE AND YOU HAVE TO DETERMINE THE MAIN IDEA ON YOUR OWN.
HERE IS THE PARAGRAPH I NEED HELP WITH:
THERE WERE ALWAYS DOGS ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE. SOME OF THEM WERE NAMELESS AND LIVED A LIFE OF THEIR OWN. THEY BELONGED THERE IN A SENSE THAT THE WORD "OWNERSHIP" DOES NOT INCLUDE. THE OLD PEOPLE PAID THEM SCARELY ANY ATTENTION, BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SAD, I THINK, TO SEE THEM GO.
N. SCOTT MOMADAY, THE WAY TO RAINY MOUNTAIN
https://brainmass.com/english-language-and-literature/grammar-essay-writing-techniques/topic-sentence-9666
Solution Preview
Yes, the first sentence is the topic sentence indeed because it summarizes the main idea of the whole paragraph. "There were always dogs..." ...
Solution Summary
Help with locating the topic sentence is provided.