IXL | Choose topic sentences for expository paragraphs

Read the paragraph. Then, add the better topic sentence.

FixedLengthPlaceholder

He was the president from 1889 to 1893. But his grandfather, William Henry Harrison, had been the president for a short time in 1841. Benjamin and William are the only grandparent-grandchild pair to have both been presidents. In addition, Benjamin Harrison's father was a member of Congress in the 1850s.

President Benjamin Harrison was given some very unusual nicknames.

President Benjamin Harrison was not the first in his family to become a U.S. leader.

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

Read the paragraph. Then, add the better topic sentence.

FixedLengthPlaceholder

Washington especially enjoyed owning hunting dogs. However, throughout his life, he owned many different types of dogs. He liked to give them amusing names, such as Madame Moose and Ragman. Washington made sure to spend time with his dogs every day. He found great joy in the way his dogs behaved.

George Washington had lots of different pets.

George Washington loved dogs.

key idea

Many paragraphs begin with a topic sentence. A topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about.

For example, maybe your paragraph is about how big sharks can be. This would be a good topic sentence:

green checkmark, Sharks are some of the largest animals in the sea.

Your topic sentence should not be too broad. "Too broad" means that the sentence doesn't tell you exactly what the paragraph is about. It doesn't give enough detail.

red X symbol, There are many different kinds of sharks.

Your topic sentence should not be too narrow. "Too narrow" means that the sentence tells only about a detail.

red X symbol, The basking shark can be over thirty feet long.

Your topic sentence should not be off topic. "Off topic" means that the sentence doesn't match the paragraph well. It tells about something else.

red X symbol, Sharks can be dangerous.

solution

The paragraph is about how George Washington loved dogs. So, this is the better topic sentence:

green checkmark, George Washington loved dogs.

This sentence is too broad:

red X symbol, George Washington had lots of different pets.

The paragraph only talks about how George Washington had lots of dogs.

Looking for more? Try this:

$Confetti$

Excellent!

Now entering the Challenge Zone—are you ready?

Questions
answeredQuestions

Time
elapsedTime

hr	min	sec
00	00	06

SmartScore
out of 100
IXL's SmartScore is a dynamic measure of progress towards mastery, rather than a percentage grade. It tracks your skill level as you tackle progressively more difficult questions. Consistently answer questions correctly to reach excellence (90), or conquer the Challenge Zone to achieve mastery (100)! Learn more

Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

X.2Choose topic sentences for narrative paragraphs

FF.3Choose topic sentences for expository paragraphs

Excellent! You got that right!

Jumping to level 1 of 1

Excellent!