Ex. 2. Here is a list of topic sentences. State the controlling idea of each sentence.

 

1 The house on Hominy Ridge was haunted (visited).

2 The unresolved hostility (враждебность) between Israel and its Arab neighbors raises a dangerous threat (угроза) to international peace.

3 A program of space travel involves specialized training of human astronauts.

4 Save me.

5 First-aid measures taken in the first four minutes after a heart attack occurs can be critically important.

6 Sarasota, according to statistics, is the fastest growing winter resort on Florida’s west coast.

7 Spelunking (изучение пещер) is a dangerous hobby.

8 While Boston and little Concord were moving forward, Salem, like most of other sea ports stricken by the War of 1812, had lapsed (впадать) into quietude (покой) and decay (разрушение).

9 The slogan of Maxwell House coffee, “Good to the last drop”, appeals to the inveterate (заядлый) coffee drinker.

10 Our hopes of winning the championship depend upon whether our versatile star quarterback (нападающий), Joe Smith, will be eligible (быть избранным) to play.

11 What is jazz? (When a topic sentence is expressed in the form of a question, the writer is probably thinking of the idea of the sentence in its declarative form. For instance, may be thought of as I can tell you what jazz is, or I intend to discuss what jazz is).

Ex. 3. Write several sentences of your own that illustrate topic sentences with definite controlling ideas. Underline each controlling ideas.

Ex. 4. a) Answer the questions and discuss your ideas in pairs or groups.

 

1 Where in the structure of a sentence does the controlling idea usually come?

2 Where else may it come?

 

b) Write several sentences illustrating the various positions in a sentence in which a controlling idea may be used.

 

ü A topic sentence, if the subject matter requires it, may have a compound controlling idea. That is, the central thought of the paragraph may have two (or more) parts, each of which must be developed. For example:

American scientists have developed methods of firing missiles from land bases and from submarines at sea.

A man owes it to himself to have a modest checking account, a few friends, and integrity.

 

ü The topic sentence with its controlling idea must be fully developed, or explained. The explanation takes form of the supporting statements (major and minor supporting statements).

Ex. 5. Read the paragraph and define

a) the topic sentence and its controlling idea;

b) major supporting statements;

c) minor supporting statements if any.

 

Storms with high winds that upset the equilibrium of other birds do not upset chickadees. People out in the rain see the acrobatic chickadee always headed into the wind to prevent rain or snow from being blown under his feathers from behind. In winter, when other birds have taken refuge, he comes out of his nesting hole in the trunk and frolics in a snowstorm. He will zip over a dripping icicle and, without any support except the sensitive mechanism of wings and tail, catch the drops as they fall off the end of the icicle more neatly than you and I can drink from a fountain.

equilibrium – равновесие, баланс

chickadee – гаичка (вид синицы)

take refuge – находить убежище

trunk – ствол дерева

frolic – резвиться, проказничать

icicle – сосулька

zip - пролетать

 

Ex. 6. Read the paragraph and under the heading “major support”, list the numbers of those sentences that serve as major supporting statements, and under “minor support”, list the numbers of those used as minor supporting statements.

The treaty of Versailles had three outstanding effects. 1 First, a League of Nations was formed. 2 By uniting, the member nations would keep peace among themselves and would help one another if an attack came from an outside enemy. 3 Submitting their own disputes to the League Council for arbitration would reduce the possibility of armed conflict. 4 Second, the reduction of German military strength relieved the whole world of the threat of German aggression. 5 Commissions of control, appointed by the Allies, entered Germany and supervised the execution of the disarmed clauses of the treaty. 6 The Allies destroyed great stores of armaments, munitions, and war supplies and sent investigating teams into areas suspected of hiding or manufacturing such materials. 7 The Allies also dismantled Germany’s navy with the exception of a few ships and set about reducing naval personnel to 15,000 men. 8 Third, Germany’s colonies became the spoils of various nations. 9 Her African holdings went to France and Great Britain. 10 Shantung, China, which Germany had seized, became a prize of Japan.

treaty - договор

submit – представить на рассмотрение

arbitration – суд

reduction –сокращение

commissions – ответственные чины

ally – союзник

execution – выполнение

disarm – разоружать

spoils - добыча

 

Major support:                                     Minor support:

____________________                      _______________________

____________________                          _______________________

 

ü One characteristic of good writing is unity. When a paragraph has unity, all of the sentences in it relate to the topic and develop the controlling idea.