大學指考英文作文必看：為什麼要寫主題句？ Why topic sentence?

寫英文作文時，每段的主題句是很重要的，最好第一句就是主題句，使讀者一目了然，知道這一段的主旨。不妨比較以下兩個小段落：

題目要求學生在這段落中敘述早餐對於個人的影響。

1.

If I don't have breakfast, I will be so hungry that I can't concentrate in class. What's worse, I will feel too dizzy to move. Therefore, I always have breakfast before going to school.

2.

A morning without breakfast will be a disaster for me. If I don't have breakfast, I will be so hungry that I can't concentrate in class. What's worse, I will feel too dizzy to move. Therefore, I always have breakfast before going to school.

第二個例子的主題句使這一段落產生了凝聚力。第一例缺少主題句，顯得零散。這一段的主題句也可寫成A good breakfast sustains me all morning.

再舉兩個例子：

題目：請寫一篇文章，第一段敘述如果你能夠精通一種外語(例如English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Arabian, Russian, German等等），你會作何選擇，並請你說明原因。第一段主題句為If I can master one foreign language, it will be...。第二段描述你會怎麼運用這樣的語言能力來改變你的生活或這個世界。（96學年度第二學期第三次北模)

這裡僅舉某位同學的第二段為例（因為第一段主題句已由題目限定了）。第二個例子是這位同學寫的，第一個例子只是用來作為參照：

1

...

Since English is a basic requirement when one applies for almost every job, I can have more job opportunities than others. In addition, I can understand the instructions written on imported products and use them in a proper and safe way. Most important of all, I can travel all around the world without language barriers. To sum up, mastering English will surely make my life smoother.

2.

...

With a good command of English, I can remove many obstacles in my life. To begin with, since English is a basic requirement when one applies for almost eveyr job, I can have more opportunities than others. In addition, I can understand the instructions written on imported products and use them in a proper and safe way. Most important of all, I can travel all around the world without language barriers. To sum up, mastering English will surely make my life smoother. (316謝羽書)

有了主題句，架構是否變清楚了？讀者一看就知道這段的主旨。有了主題句，馬上增加一、兩分。

BTW, 這位同學的結論句(...make my life smoother)呼應主題句(...remove many obstacles in my life.)，非常好。而且用來說明主題句的文章主體利用了To begin with, in addition, most important of all這些連貫詞讓文章的論點環環相扣，可以說是組織嚴謹的一個段落，值得參考。

P.S. I love blog. With it, I can still present something to my students even though I couldn't go to school today due to a bad cold.