FROM THE TOPIC OUTLINE ,SENTENCE OUTLINE TO

THE PARAGRAPH

Writing topic and subtopic sentences

I,II,III,… represent the major sections in the paper. Each division has its own

topic sentence.

A,B,C … represent subordinate ideas within the major divisions. They are

separate paragraphs and are introduced by topic sentences.

1,2,3 …& a,b,c … supporting details, examples and other evidence from source

material.

The outline is used to prepare topic and subtopic sentences. Each division in the

outline can be transformed into a grammatically correct and complete sentence.

The topic sentence describes the paragraph as a whole and makes a claim that is

supported in the paragraph by giving explanations and details. Therefore, all the

ensuing sentences are connected and controlled by the topic sentence.

Subtopic sentences are written for the purpose of organizing the supporting

details and presenting the research findings.

*To ensure clarity and set up a connection between all the topic sentences of the

paper, writers should use similar grammatical structures.

*You should also use use different transitional signals for topic and subtopic

sentences.
The topic sentences and subtopic sentences introducing all the ideas should

begin with appropriate transition signals:

To begin with, /To start with/ Above all/ One of the/ First and foremost…

Secondly/Another/ As well as/ A further…

In addition to…/ Apart from…/Aside from…/ Besides/ Not only..but also

Subdivisions for 1,2,3..a,b,c…

Primarily/For example/ Most importantly/ One of the ways/One reason for that../

(1)

Furthermore,/Another example/ Furthermore/Another reason is/Another

way/Moreover/ In addition (2,3)

Finally
Example for transitional signals linking ideas

I. One of the…

A. Above all,

1. Primarily…

a. For instance…

b. ….is another example.

2. Furthermore…

B. As well as ..(the topic in A..)is also

1. To begin with,..

2. Additionally,…

3. Finally…

II. Another…

A. Firstly, ….

1. To give an example…

2. What is more,…

B. Secondly,..

.....

Please note that this is just an example. Please do not try to copy the

same words/ phrases in your outline as they appear here!

I. A significant characteristic of body language is that it has differences.
A. To start with, cultural differences can be expressed as one of the important differences
in body language.
1. One of these differences is the sharing of the same body language and common
sense in different cultures.
a.parts of body and meaning (Sun,2017,p.709 )
2. Another difference is the different expressions of the same body language in
different cultures.
a. Eye contack rule ( Ren, 2014, para. 1-3)
B. Another branch of important differences in body language is gender-based differences.

1. For example, the differences found for women and men. ( Frontiers in Psychology,
2011,p.4)