Practicing Writing: Main Idea, Topic Sentences, Organizing Information, etc

To write an essay, there are a few main components, including the main idea, topic sentences, organizing information, and details.


When writing an essay, you should start by coming up with the main idea. The main idea is what you want a reader to take away from your essay once they have finished reading it. For example, the main idea of Home Alone is that a boy was left alone at his house while his family went on vacation.


A topic sentence expresses the main idea of a paragraph that it is in. Below is a paragraph about some 1990s memories.


During the 1990s, I really enjoyed watching Friends on television every Thursday night. I really wanted Rachel’s haircut—I think every girl wanted Rachel’s haircut back then! Rachel’s haircut went really well with the Guess Jeans that were so popular in the 1990s. I remember all the advertisements for Guess and Calvin Klein Jeans that were in each month’s Sassy magazine. I don’t think Sassy magazine exists anymore, but it was one of the most popular magazines for young women in the 1990s.


For the paragraph above, a topic sentence could be: Thinking about the 1990s brings back a lot of memories for me about fashion and popular culture. It summarizes all the key points of the paragraph and is specific enough that the reader gets an idea of what they about to read.


As writers, we need to organize information for our stories or essays so that we have a clear way of presenting our information and the readers do not get confused while reading. There are many ways to organize information and one method is shown below.




In each paragraph, we need to state each argument and have some supporting details to make sure the reader knows what we are trying to say.


Now that we know the definitions of all those terms, we can start to write an essay. We will start by coming up with the main idea. The main idea of our essay will be why eating vegetables is important for your health. Now we need to come up with three supporting arguments for why vegetables are important. Here is how our outline looks like right now:

  1. Introduction Paragraph

    1. Main Idea: Vegetables are important for your health and it is vital that you consume enough every day to remain happy and healthy.

  2. Topic 1: Nutrients

    1. Topic Sentence: By including vegetables in your daily meals, you will gain all the necessary nutrients to provide enough energy to your body for repair, growth, and regulating processes in your body.

  3. Topic 2: Protection from Diseases

    1. Topic Sentence: Eating vegetables reduces the risk of various diseases, including heart attack, stroke, and certain types of cancer.

  4. Topic 3: Calories

    1. Topic Sentence: Lastly, the number of calories in vegetables is significantly less compared to other food options, so they can decrease your overall calorie intake and help you lose weight.

  5. Conclusion


Now that we added topic sentences to each paragraph, we need to add supporting details to emphasize our points.


  1. Introduction Paragraph

  1. Main Idea: Vegetables are important for your health and it is vital that you consume enough every day to remain happy and healthy.

  2. Introduce the topics introduced in the rest of the essay.

  1. Topic 1: Nutrients

  1. Topic Sentence: By including vegetables in your daily meals, you will gain all the necessary nutrients to provide enough energy to your body for repair, growth, and regulating processes in your body.

    1. Detail 1: Some of these nutrients include potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

    2. Detail 2: Potassium regulates blood pressure; sample foods include sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and spinach.

    3. Detail 3: Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and protects against infections, while vitamin C helps heal cuts/wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy.

  1. Topic 2: Protection from Diseases

  1. Topic Sentence: Eating vegetables reduces the risk of various diseases, including heart attack, stroke, and certain types of cancer.

    1. Detail 1: Leafy green vegetables can protect you from heart disease because they are high in vitamin K, which reduces blood pressure and improves arterial function.

    2. Detail 2: Magnesium-rich foods, such as spinach, can also lead to a reduced risk of stroke.

    3. Detail 3: Eating vegetables full of carotenoids, such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, and squash, may reduce the risk of lung mount, pharynx, and larynx cancers.

  1. Topic 3: Calories

  1. Topic Sentence: Lastly, the number of calories in vegetables is significantly less compared to other food options, so they can decrease your overall calorie intake and help you lose weight.

    1. Detail 1: The fewer calories you consume, the less weight you are gaining.

    2. Detail 2: Vegetables also fill you up more per cup, so you will eat less, leading to less weight gain.

    3. Detail 3: They have fiber, which means vegetables will make you feel fuller for a longer period of time.

  1. Conclusion

    1. Recap details from other paragraphs.


We have successfully created an outline for an essay! This organization method is easy to plan how your essay is going to flow.