The controlling idea (or ideas) then steer that topic in a certain direction. According to the Rochester Institute of Technology Supporting English Acquisition webpage, " The controlling idea is the point of the paragraph. It guides the ideas that provide support for the paragraph and limits the scope of the paragraph." Examples of topic
In the topic sentences provided in the other examples on the previous page, the controlling ideas are: The subjection of children to forced labour through trafficking has age and gender dimensions. The ILO alone cannot respond to all the recommendations of the Commission's report. Matt Ellis Updated on June 2, 2022 Students A topic sentence, usually the first sentence in a paragraph, introduces the main idea of that paragraph and sets its tone. A topic sentence is especially important in essays, where topics change from paragraph to paragraph. The following topic sentences have controlling ideas. Click on the underlined segment of the topic sentence that contains the controlling idea. Tennis racquets have changed greatly in the last ten years. People from many different cultures live in Boston. Cats are better pets than dogs for many reasons. Yesterday was the worst day of my life.
The example topic sentence suggests the paragraph topic is "the economy," and the controlling idea about the economy is how it "plays a role in an increase" in opioid addition. The signal word "also" connects this topic as an additional example or contributing factor to the opioid epidemic, the focus of the paper.
Controlling statement examples like, "Colorado has the most beautiful mountains" is an opinion. Someone may think that Montana or Tennessee has more beautiful mountains. Asking "how do you know?" can help identify the controlling idea of an opinion-based topic sentence. Identifying lists requires a "What are…" question.

For this activity, do the following: Select the word or phrase that reveals the controlling idea of the paragraph. This controlling idea will be part of the topic sentence. Click on the Show Solutions link to check your answers. Example 1.

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    • topic sentence and controlling idea examples