Topic sentence exercises for ESL students

Here are some worksheets that my ESL students need to print for the English writing class.

PRINT WORKSHEETS

POEM

In class, I wrote two lines from a poem on the board. I asked you to think about that poem. I changed a couple of words (to make it a little easier to understand) but the meaning was the same.

Here is the poem.

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939)

“He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven”

1. What do you think is the meaning of the poem?

2. In our ESL writing class (which is about writing sentences and paragraphs), what can we learn from this poem?

COMMENTS ON ESL STUDENT WRITING

TOPIC SENTENCE

There are many kinds of topic sentences.

Here are two examples:

1. I like pizza.
2. Traveling around the word is fun.

These are simple sentences. But, we are learning to write something different. We are learning to write a thesis sentence as the first sentence.

Here is an example:

1. Three things that would make me happy are a dream job, a good husband and a teaching job.

This sentence is good because it has the idea plus three reasons or examples.

PHRASES

Many people said “trip around the world.”

Should be “travel around the world.”

FORMAT

Please do this:

1. use a CAPITAL letter to start each sentence
2. Indent the first sentence of each paragraph.

PARALLEL STRUCTURE

This is very important when you write a sentence. Parallel structure is really important for the topic sentence.

Parallel means equal or the same kind.

Parallel structure is useful when you write a sentence with a list of things. You need to make sure these things have the same grammar style.

Here are two examples of poor bad parallel structure.

Three things that would make me happy are flying in the sky without any devices, a trip around the whole world and helping many poor people.

Three things that would make me happy are a life with my parents, have a job and a trip to Latin America.

How can we fix these sentences to make them beautiful with parallel structure?

Here is a writing worksheet to help my ESL students learn English parallel structure.

While and During

Part 1 Key Words

“While” is used with a subject and a verb.

• While I was playing with my dog, my sister was doing her homework.

“During” is used with a noun/pronoun

• I am really busy during the week.

Part 2 Fill in the Blanks

1. She fell asleep __________ the class.
2. We stayed at home _________ the typhoon.
3. Someone stole my Smartphone _________ we were buying some food at the spicy rice cake cart.
4. The student club members were singing _______________ I was teaching.
5. Brown bears sleep _________________ the winter.
6. _______________ the break, I was talking with my friends.
7. The high school girls were talking _______________ my cousin was matching the movie.
8. I ate my sandwich ___________ I was playing at break time.
9. I ate an apple ____________ the break.
10. ____________ we ate dinner, the radio played.

Part B Book Pictures

1. While I was playing with my dog, my sister was doing her homework.
2. While I played with my dog, my sister did her homework.
3. While we were eating dinner, the radio was playing.
4. During dinner, my brother watched.

THESIS SENTENCE PROMPTS

This writing worksheet helps ESL students learn how to write thesis sentences.

This ESL writing exercise gives presents students with several paragraphs, each of which is missing a topic sentence. The students must read the paragraphs, then come up with a suitable topic sentence for each one.

Download lesson as pdf

 Topic Sentences: Practice

Read the paragraphs below. They are missing a topic sentence. Write a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of each paragraph.

*Note: You do not have to use a simile or metaphor, but sometimes these are good ways to write interesting topic sentences.

__________________________________________________________. Who takes care of you? Who supports you? Who sees you grow up? Family is very important. My family has six people: my grandma, my parents, myself, and my two brothers. My grandma loves me very much. When the weather is cold, she always tells me to wear more clothes. Although I often argue with my brothers, they will give me support when I need it. My parents have taken care of me since I was born. My definition of family is an organization which is full of love.

__________________________________________________________. When you travel to Europe, you can visit many different countries, such as England, Spain, Germany, and Greece. Many different languages are spoken in Europe, and the cultures of the countries are all unique. Also, the weather in Europe varies a lot. Countries in the north are very cold, and you can go skiing. In the south, there are beautiful beaches, and these are popular places for vacations. As you can see, Europe is a very interesting place with different kinds of people and many possibilities.

__________________________________________________________. Her name is Mrs. Graham, and she not only teaches music in my school, but she is also a friend to all of her students. In class, she teaches us to love music, and she introduces us to different songs and styles of music. She taught me to play the piano and violin, and I am sure that I will enjoy playing these instruments for the rest of my life. Mrs. Graham often tells interesting stories in class, and she always helps us or gives us advice when we have problems. Mrs. Graham is more than just a music teacher, she is like a star in the sky.