A topic sentence at the beginning states the unifying idea of the paragraph as the first sentence and follows

this statement with support. EXAMPLE: The West Texas wolverillo has peculiar eating habits. Although its usual meals include old abandoned bathtubs and plumbing, it has been known to gnaw on horseshoes still on the horse, even with the horse in full gallop. For purposes of dental hygiene, it chews on porcelain and china either as an appetizer or for dessert, during and after which it makes growling noises. A topic sentence in the middle enables writers to build up to a point and then expand their ideas. EXAMPLE: The Texas plains have provided a unique habitat for various desert creatures. These animals have worked together in a constant struggle to create a sturdier stock. The most ingenious of these Darwinian attempts is the West Texas wolverillo, a cross between a wolverine and an armadillo. There has been much speculation over the years about the origins of this creature. Most agree that the initial breed occurred as a result of the accidental isolation of two parent animals by some geological upheaval. A topic sentence at the end of a paragraph enables writers to present a welldeveloped argument followed by a convincing conclusion. EXAMPLE: Many wolverillo ranchers have tried to tame the wandering nature of this creature. Many tragedies occurred when ranchers left the plumbing underneath their homes unprotected. An electrical fence can tantalize the creature's taste buds as if it were metal spaghetti. Isolating the creature in cages led only to the commercial exploitation of its unusual appearance by various circus owners. The only humane way of corralling the creature was to form a wide continuous ditch of corrugated iron cattle guards around the ranch. At times a writer wants to avoid a direct statement that seems forced or artificial. In such situations the topic sentence is implied. EXAMPLE: Sometimes in the evenings, we would sit out in front of the ranch house near the cattle guards and play music. The young wolverillos would gather across the ditch and listen attentively. They especially liked to hear songs by Hank Williams, to which they would attempt to sing along by making little gurgling sounds deep in their throats. Occasionally, they would click their teeth if we played something with a beat to it.

Implied topic sentence: Young wolverillos are fond of music.

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topic sentence in the medial position:

When a camera flash is used in a low-light environment, the subject's eyes may appear red in the finished photograph. What is known as "red-eye" is the result of light from the flash reflecting off the pupils of the eyes. The phenomenon of red-eye can be lessened by using the red-eye reduction feature found on many SLR cameras. This feature activates a lamp which shines a small light directly into the subject's eyes. When this happens, the diameter of the pupil is reduced, thus tightening the opening in the iris. Since a smaller pupil means a smaller host for the reflection, the chances of red-eye occurring are greatly reduced.

http://www.rit.edu/ntid/rate/sea/processes/paragraph/process/placement