TOPICS

Topic is another word for subject. It answers the

question, “Who or what is the paragraph (or
article) about?”. It describes the idea of the
author.

The topic is stated as a single word or phrase—

not a complete sentence.

A good paragraph is a group of sentences that

are all about the same thing or the same topic.
 Why is identifying the topic
important?

• Identifying the topic is key to control

your comprehension in reading and get
the full meaning of the text.
• Once you identify the topic, you can
more easily determine the author’s or
writer’s main idea.
 How to identify the topic?
• Briefly understand the title or heading.
• Preview your text before you begin.
• Ask yourself, “Who or what is the paragraph (or
article) about?”
• Preview further by reading subtitles and headings.
• Look for words in special print, such as bold, italics,
or colored
• Look at pictures, diagrams and/or visual aids (if
provided).
• Read the introductory material, opening paragraph,
final paragraph.
• Read the first and last sentences.
 Example
In the group of words below, one of the words is
the topic for all the other words:

birds amphibians reptiles animals

mammals insects

The topic is animals. All of the other words are

example of the topic.
 Example in paragraph
There are so many species of animals in the world. The
entire animal world may be classified into five types.
They are amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and
insects.
The animals that live both on land and in water have
moist skin and no scales on body are called
amphibians. The toad and the frog are the two good
examples of amphibians.
The animals having cold blood, scaly body and needing
to be in the sun for a long period of time are called
reptiles. The two most common examples of reptiles
are the snake and the crocodile.
The mammal is an animal that has warm blood and
hairy body. It breast-feeds its young. The cow, the lion
and man are some of the good examples of this type.

Birds have wings, beaks, and can fly. The parrot and the
crow are some examples of birds.

Bees and mosquitoes are called insects. The body of an

insect has three parts – the head, the thorax and the
abdomen. It has six legs, but no backbone. It can also
fly like the bird.
What is the paragraph about?
A. Animals in the world
B. Types of animals
C. The snake and the crocodile are reptiles

Explanation: The best topic is B. types of animals. It

tells the best what the paragraph is about. Choice C,
is too specific. This idea is only a part of the
paragraph. Choice A, is too general. It includes
many possible ideas that are not in the paragraph.