Subtopic Sentences
Supporting Opinions
Paragraphs with Subtopic
Sentences
• My sister—nine years older than I am now and
married—is one of the kindest people I have
ever known. During her spare time, Laurie
does something thoughtful for other people.
Even when Laurie has something to do, she
goes out of her way to be kind. Because of the
kindness and love I felt from my sister Laurie,
I look back on my childhood as a happy time.
Outline
• Laurie is kind
– She is kind when she has spare time
– She is kind when she is busy
• Laurie is a kind person
• What is missing?
• The only supports provided are opinions
Paragraphs with Subtopic
Sentences
• My sister—nine years older than I am now and married—is
one of the kindest people I have ever known. During her
spare time, Laurie does something thoughtful for other
One year when I was hospitalized
during my birthday, she spent a week making
me a beautifully decorated card filled with her
imagination and love. Countless times she has
baked a batch of fudge-brownies for a new
neighbor, for one of the elderly people nearby,
or just for us.
people.
Paragraphs with Subtopic
Sentences
• Even when Laurie has something to do, she goes out of her
I remember when I was only eight
years old and had been excited about New
Mexico State Fair for days. Mom had to work,
so nobody could take me. However, Laurie
broke her date to go swimming with her boy
friend and, despite ninety-eight-degree heat
and huge crowds, spent the afternoon with me.
way to be kind.
Because of the kindness and love I felt from my sister Laurie, I
look back on my childhood as a happy time.
Paragraphs with Subtopic
Sentences
• Although she must have regretted giving up
her date, she was laughing and cheerful the
whole time. Because of the kindness and love I felt from
my sister Laurie, I look back on my childhood as a happy
time.
Outline
• Laurie is kind
– She is kind when she has spare time
– Birthday card
– Baking brownies
– She is kind when she is busy
– Taking me to the fair
• Laurie is a kind person
General Model
• Topic Sentence
– Subtopic Sentence
– Specific Support
– Specific Support
– Subtopic Sentence
– Specific Support
– Specific Support
– Subtopic Sentence
– Specific Support
– Specific Support
• Reworded Topic Sentence
Let’s Try to Model
• Although apparently just an assortment of
oddities from the National Museum of
American History, a 1980 special exhibit
called “The Nation’s Attic” struck me as a
tribute to American ingenuity.
• Any Questions????
Let’s Continue to Model
• Some every day items were ingenious.
• Some items made just for the challenge were
imaginative.
• Some bizarre failures were ingenious.
• Show Me!!!
Where’s the Beef??
• Some every day items were ingenious.
– There was a large collection of sewing items.
• Some items made just for the challenge were
imaginative.
– There was a capitol from glass rods, the Lord’s
Prayer on a grain of rice, and a silk purse from a
sow’s ear.
• Some bizarre failures were ingenious.
– There was an attempt to create an electric razor.
All Right! So Let’s Put This
Together
• Although apparently just an assortment of oddities
from the National Museum of American History, a
1980 special exhibit called “The Nation’s Attic”
struck me as a tribute to American ingenuity. Some
every day items were ingenious. There was a large
collection of sewing items. Some items made just for
the challenge were imaginative. There was a capitol
from glass rods, the Lord’s Prayer on a grain of rice,
and a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Some bizarre
failures were ingenious. There was an attempt to
create an electric razor.
Now Let’s Fix This Up
• Although apparently just an assortment of oddities from
the National Museum of American History, a 1980 special
exhibit called “The Nation’s Attic” struck me as a tribute
to American ingenuity. Some every day items were
ingenious. One part of the exhibit demonstrated the
ingenious ways Americans have found to shape every day
items. There was a large collection of sewing items. For
instance, a large collection of hand sewing accessories—
hundreds of thimbles, needle cases, sewing cases, and
pincushions—showed how simple things could be made
more useful, more beautiful, or more entertaining.
• Some items made just for the challenge were
imaginative. More imaginative, though, were the
things made apparently just because Americans
wanted to accept the challenge of making them.
There was a capitol from glass rods, the Lord’s Prayer
on a grain of rice, and a silk purse from a sow’s ear.
There was an intricate model of the U. S. Capitol
constructed entirely of glass rods. Someone else had
engraved the Lord’s Prayer on a single grain of rice.
Moreover, a group of chemical engineers had even
managed to do the proverbial “undoable”: they had
actually created a silk purse from a sow’s ear—
simply to prove that this was “doable.”
• Some bizarre failures were ingenious. The most
interesting part of the exhibit to me, however, was some
of the bizarre but ingenious failures among the models
submitted for approval to the U. S. Patent Office. There
was an attempt to create an electric razor. I haven’t been
able to forget an early attempt at creating an electric razor.
The inventor had mounted some razor blades on a
rotating wheel suggesting the paddle wheel of a riverboat.
This wheel was attached to a small handheld electric
motor. There were no guards to control the depth at
which the blades cut, so anyone foolish enough to use the
razor would no doubt have lost much more than a few
whiskers from his face. This invention, like the other
unusual items in “The Nation’s Attic,” showed the mark
of American ingenuity.