SAMPLE PARAGRAPH
The topic sentence
Americans love their pet dogs, so they do several things for them. First of all, they
treat their pets like human beings. They like to talk to their dogs and treat them like
children. For example, my neighbour Mrs Green talks to her dog Ruffy all the time. Also,
she takes him for a walk twice a day and will not leave him when he is sick. Moreover,
Americans send their dogs to training school to learn to be good and to listen to
commands. Second, Americans spend a lot of money on their pets. They feed them expensive
dog food with flavours that people like such as beef, chicken, liver and cheese. Also,
their pets have brightly coloured balls, rubber bones, and other toys to play with. Some
dogs even wear collars with colourful, sparkling stones that look like diamonds or
rubies. Some owners bathe their dogs in the bathtub, while others take their pets to a
dog beauty shop. First, their toenails are clipped. Then their fur is brushed and
trimmed. Finally, they are given a bath with a special
The concluding sentence
dog shampoo. This beauty treatment costs about forty dollars. In brief, because
Americans love their pet dogs a lot, they are willing to spend both time and money on
them.
Taken from: Introduction to Academic writing by Alice Oshima