Paragraphing and Topic Sentences - Answers

The care of old people is an issue all over the world, as it is no longer clear who has the responsibility for looking after old people. There are two main choices: the government or the family.

If the government pays for the care of old people this usually means that the old people go into old people’s homes. In these all people are given equal and high quality care. Countries such as Sweden operate this system very efficiently.

The problem is that this solution is very expensive. The money comes from tax and many countries simply can’t afford it. It also often means that old people go into homes where they know no one and have nothing to do.

The alternative is for families to support their elderly relatives. In theory this provides loving care and means the old person can be an active member of the family. In practice, it often does not work out, as families don’t have enough money, and so, much bitterness is created, and the old people are neglected. I can see this happening all around me in my country where there is no government support for old people.

It is clear that neither of these solutions is good. Therefore, it seems to me that a mixture of the two is the best solution. The government should provide money to families to look after their elderly relatives. But I also think that old people should save up money during their working lives to look after themselves in old age.

The Purpose of Paragraphs and Topic Sentences
We use paragraphs to signal that we, the writer, are moving on to a new point or new type of information. Paragraphs help the reader to understand our message because they show that one point has ended and another is just beginning. It is also much easier to read small chunks of text than long, continuous ones.

Topic sentences contain the theme of the paragraph. They spell it out clearly to the reader and so help to give a text coherence. They usually but not always occur at the beginning of a paragraph. The rest of the paragraph is usually elaboration and/ or exemplification of the theme.