UNIT 1 
CONTENT COURSE
CONTENT COURSE
1.1 WHAT IS A TOPIC?
1.1.1 IDENTIFYING THE TOPIC SENTENCE
1.1.2 WHAT IS THE TOPIC SENTENCE?
1.2 PREDICTING AND GUESSING
1.3 READING COMPREHENSION
1.4 READING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION
1.5 READING FOR DETAILS
1.6 WHAT ARE SUPPORTING
DETAILS
1.7 INTERPRETING OR
MARKING INFERENCE
1.8 GRAMMAR (MODAL VERBS)
PRACTICE TOPIC 
Finding the Topic
Ask yourself, “Who or what is the paragraph (or article) about?”
Use these clues to help you:
1.Look for a heading or title.
2.Look for pictures and words in special print, such as bold, italics, or color 3.Read the first and last sentences of the paragraph.
4.Look for repeated words in a paragraph. It helps to use a pencil to circle or box repeated words and ideas.
5.Look for something mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph and then referred to throughout the paragraph by pronouns or by other words.
6.Look for ideas that are implied, or suggested, in addition to being named.
Ask yourself, “Who or what is the paragraph (or article) about?” Use these clues to help you:1.Look for a heading or title.
2.Look for pictures and words in special print, such as bold, italics, or color 3.Read the first and last sentences of the paragraph.
4.Look for repeated words in a paragraph. It helps to use a pencil to circle or box repeated words and ideas.
5.Look for something mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph and then referred to throughout the paragraph by pronouns or by other words.
6.Look for ideas that are implied, or suggested, in addition to being named.
This mnemonic (memory trick) will help you recall these strategies for finding topics. FiRST
F is for subject of the First sentence.
R is for a Repeated word or phrase.
ST means that all sentences deal with the Same Thing.
Phrasing the Topic
• Write a single word or phrase. If more than one idea is repeated or referred in a paragraph, the topic needs to be expressed in a phrase rather than a single word.
F is for subject of the First sentence.
R is for a Repeated word or phrase.
ST means that all sentences deal with the Same Thing.
Phrasing the Topic
• Write a single word or phrase. If more than one idea is repeated or referred in a paragraph, the topic needs to be expressed in a phrase rather than a single word.
• Strike a balance. Be general enough to include everything discussed but specific enough to exclude what isn’t. The word “tests,” for example, does not tell whether the paragraph is about taking tests, creating them, or cheating on them. Compare the general and specific topics listed below:
General tests taking essay tests in college broadcasting telecommunications policy in China
Identifying the topic of a paragraph helps readers to understand what it is about.
You already know that the topic is the general subject of an entire paragraph. Every sentence in a paragraph in some way discusses or explains this topic. To find the topic of a paragraph, ask yourself: What is the one idea the author is discussing throughout the paragraph? Read the following paragraph with that question in mind:
General tests taking essay tests in college broadcasting telecommunications policy in China
Identifying the topic of a paragraph helps readers to understand what it is about.
You already know that the topic is the general subject of an entire paragraph. Every sentence in a paragraph in some way discusses or explains this topic. To find the topic of a paragraph, ask yourself: What is the one idea the author is discussing throughout the paragraph? Read the following paragraph with that question in mind:
Example:
The topic of the movie Titanic is this : a love story of two lovers on the Titanic. The main idea would be what the author says about the topic, a complete sentence: The film describes the story of Jack and Rose, two lovers from radically different circumstances, who fall in love during the maiden voyage of the ship Titanic and who tragically sink with the ship.
According to the reading which will be an appropriate title.
1. You’ve probably heard that older men die before older women virtually everywhere in the world. In the United States, women are expected to live an average of 80.4 years, while men live only 75.2 years. Sociologists attribute many factors to this trend. For example, men have higher testosterone levels than women, which may make men more likely to abuse alcohol and tobacco, drive aggressively, and engage in other life-threatening behaviors. Men also choose riskier types of work and become involved in wartime aggression, which are connected to men’s decreased life expectancy. Studies also show that women are less likely to experience life-threatening illnesses and health problems than men are.
—Carl, Think Sociology, p. 211
a. women’s health
b. men and risky behaviors
c. testosterone and age
d. men’s life expectancy
The topic of the movie Titanic is this : a love story of two lovers on the Titanic. The main idea would be what the author says about the topic, a complete sentence: The film describes the story of Jack and Rose, two lovers from radically different circumstances, who fall in love during the maiden voyage of the ship Titanic and who tragically sink with the ship.
According to the reading which will be an appropriate title.
1. You’ve probably heard that older men die before older women virtually everywhere in the world. In the United States, women are expected to live an average of 80.4 years, while men live only 75.2 years. Sociologists attribute many factors to this trend. For example, men have higher testosterone levels than women, which may make men more likely to abuse alcohol and tobacco, drive aggressively, and engage in other life-threatening behaviors. Men also choose riskier types of work and become involved in wartime aggression, which are connected to men’s decreased life expectancy. Studies also show that women are less likely to experience life-threatening illnesses and health problems than men are.
—Carl, Think Sociology, p. 211
a. women’s health
b. men and risky behaviors
c. testosterone and age
d. men’s life expectancy
