swirling currents, and the wormlike larvae of blackflies edging the stones under riffles or where the stream spills over steeply slanting rocks. But now the stream insects were dead,
killed by DDT, and there was nothing for a young salmon to eat.
Rachel Carson,
Silent Spring
The first part of Carsons topic sentence —
Soon after the spraying had ended
— is a transitional clause that looks back to the previous topic: DDT spraying. Topic sentences
often begin with such transitional clauses referring to the previous paragraph. The second part of the topic sentence
—
there were unmistaka ble signs that all was not well
— shapes and controls what follows. This kind of bridging helps the reader follow Carsons
argument. Notice, too, how Carson further helps the reader follow her argument by providing a more focused version of the topic sentence later in the paragraph
—
All the life of the stream wa s stilled.
This sentence tells us exactly what Carson meant by
all was not well.
2.3.2 Supporting Sentence
A paragraph is a unit of information untitled by controlling idea. A paragraph is a good one only if the reader completely understands the unit of the information contains,
and if is the controlling idea that is complet ely developed. Related to this D‘angelo
1980:331 say that supporting sentence. Is fact or examples that make the idea clear. Giving definitions, reason, examples, facts, analogy and causes and effects to the topic
sentence can develop supporting sentence. Example 3
Malin Kundang
Once upon a time, there was a woman and her son Malin Kundang who was living in west Sumatra. They was very poor. Malin Kundang didn‘t have father. His father was
dead. One day, Malin Kundang went to a big city. He went to found money for their daily life. His mother was sad. Malin Kundang never send a news for his mother. Finally, his
mother went to the big city to meet Malin Kundang. But Malin Kundang said ― I never have a mother, my mother was dead‖. His mother was very sad and said ― turned into the
stone likes your heart‖. And finally, Malin Kundang turned into a stone.
The details of paragraph above are S1: They was very poor. S2: Malin Kundang didn‘t have father. S3: His father was dead. S4: One day, Malin Kundang went to a big
city. S5: He went to found money for their daily life. S6: His mother was sad. S7: Malin Kundang never send a news for his mother. S8: Finally, his mother went to the big city to
meet Malin Kundang. S9: But Malin Kundang said ― I never have a mother, my mother was dead‖. S10: His mother was very sad and said ― turned into the stone likes your
heart‖. S11: And finally, Malin Kundang turned into a stone. Hence, it can be concluded that the supporting sentence of the paragraph above is satisfactory because all of the
supporting sentences are support to the topic sentence
2.3.3 Concluding Sentence
After finishing writing supporting sentences, generally the paragraph is ended by a concluding sentence. Concluding sentence signals the end of the paragraph and leaves the
reader with important point to remember. Muhyidin 1988:2 says that a concluding sentence is one of the main parts of the paragraph after the topic sentence. A concluding
sentence is not absolutely necessary but its very important and helped to the reader because it signal the end of the paragraph in addition, the characteristic of a paragraph are
coherence and unity.
2.4. Cohesion
