The topic sentence is the most important sentence in a paragraph. It has two parts: a topic and a controlling idea. The topic names the subject of the paragraph. In the writing model on page 52, the topic is leisure time. The controlling idea tells the main idea about the topic. It is called the controlling idea because it controls, or limits, the Circle around the topic and underline the controlling idea of. these following topic sentences. 1. There are many reasons why pollution in Beijing is the worst in the world. 2. To be an effective CEO requires certain characteristics. 3. There are many possible contributing factors to global warming. 4. The topic is what the paragraph is about and the controlling idea is the directions the writer wants to go with the topic. For example, the topic of a paragraph that a student chooses to write could be video games. However, this is not a topic sentence. This paragraph could go in many directions, such the cost, types, graphics, controllers What is the CONTROLLING IDEA of the passage? a) The families in USA went through a lot of divorces in the 1950s. b) The families in USA faced many problems in the 1950s. c) The 1950s were the golden age for families in USA. 3) Which supporting detail best supports this topic sentence? Dora the Explorer is an educational show for kids. .

topic sentence controlling idea