Topic / Clincher Connection Assignment

 (-5 points if missing!)

NAME: 

The first sentence of an essay or story should have a connection of some kind with the last sentence.

The first sentence is called the "topic sentence."

The last sentence is called the "clincher sentence."

Write a topic and clincher sentence for 10 nursery rhymes or fairy tails. 

If you choose nursery rhymes, pretend each one is a whole story (not just the short version of the nursery rhyme).

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EXAMPLE:

Nursery rhyme:  The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Topic sentence:  Once upon a time there was a persistent little brown spider who loved to climb.

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: The persistent little arachnid set out to climb the water spout again, and he just knew he would be able to do it this time!

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EXAMPLE:

Nursery rhyme:  Cinderella

Topic sentence:  In a village just outside the royal palace, a young girl cleaned the fireplace in her home until it shone even though most of the cinders seemed to end up on her.

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: The royal palace was now her home and no longer would Cinderella wear the ashes of the fireplace, instead she would spend her life helping the people of her beloved village with her husband, the prince, by her side.

Here are some ideas of nursery rhymes and fairy tales that you might want to use to create your topic / clincher sentences.

Feel free to google them if you do not know them.

NURSERY RHYMES

Humpty Dumpty

Jack and Jill

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

London Bridge Is Falling Down

Hey Diddle Diddle

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Hickory Dickory Dock

This Little Piggy

Little Miss Muffet

Ring Around the Rosie

Three Blind Mice

Georgie Porgie

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Rock-a-Bye Baby

FAIRY TALES

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Sleeping Beauty

Beauty and the Beast

Little Red Riding Hood

Hansel and Gretel

Rapunzel

The Little Mermaid

Rumpelstiltskin

The Princess and the Pea

Jack and the Beanstalk

The Frog Prince

The Three Little Pigs

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The Ugly Duckling

The Elves and the Shoemaker

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Fill in the blanks with your TOPIC / CLINCHER sentences.

1.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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2.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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3.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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4.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence:

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5.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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6.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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7.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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8.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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9.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

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10.  The name of your Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale::  

Topic sentence:  

THINK ABOUT THE STORY AND HOW YOU WOULD TELL IT . . . . THEN WRITE ITS LAST SENTENCE. REMEMBER IT MUST CONNECT TO THE FIRST SENTENCE.

Clincher sentence: 

What is TT/CC?

Improving your writing involves strategy! Learn to use TT/CC.

THE SHORT EXPLANATION: 

You need TT/CC. 

That means TITLE, TOPIC, CLINCHER, CONNECTION. 

The topic sentence (that is the first sentence) and the clincher sentence (that is the last sentence) must connect in some way. 

The two sentences could  

1) REPEAT - be the same -or

2) REFLECT - be opposites -or 

3) REFRACT - share a couple of the same words or use synonyms

The topic or the clincher must connect to the title in some way.

TT/CC is an initialized mnemonic which some teachers might call an acronym. We use TT/CC to help us remember a very important stylistic requirement in our writing. 

TT/CC stands for Title / Topic / Clincher / Connection

Let's break it down:
Title = the title of your essay.

Topic = the FIRST sentence of your essay

Clincher = the LAST sentence of your essay.

Connection = 

The title must connect with either the topic or clincher sentence (at least one)

The topic and clincher sentences must have a connection with each other.

This way they connect can be described as REPEAT,  REFLECT,  or  REFRACT

REPEAT = simply repeating the sentence (or a very close to an exact repetition).

REPEAT example: 
TOPIC SENTENCE (first sentence of an essay)
 Cheerios saved his life! 
CLINCHER SENTENCE (last sentence of the essay)  
He would always be grateful that Cheerios saved his life. 

 OR

 

TOPIC SENTENCE (first sentence of an essay) 

Her mother told her that bright colors brought her luck. 

CLINCHER SENTENCE (last sentence of the essay)

Her mother was right; bright colors brought her luck. 

 

 

REFLECT = one sentence is the opposite of the other.

REFLECT example: 

TOPIC SENTENCE (first sentence of an essay)

The sun warmed her face in the early morning gently waking her from her sleep.

CLINCHER SENTENCE (last sentence of the essay)

The moon lulled her to sleep that night with a cool soft shaft of light that spilled across her bedroom ceiling.

sun is the opposite of moon
early morning is the opposite of night
waking her is the opposite of lulled her to sleep    

warmed her face is the opposite of across her bedroom ceiling

 

REFRACT = One sentence must share a word or two OR use synonyms to connect. 
It is easy to remember this kind of connection if you remember that the word "refract" can also mean to bend, whirl, or disperse. These sentence connect in creative ways, using pieces of each other or synonyms or references to each other.

REFRACT example: 

TOPIC SENTENCE (first sentence of an essay)

Atop his trusty steed, the knight never lost control of his temper in a jousting match.

CLINCHER SENTENCE (last sentence of the essay)

The gallant warrior rode into the night in perfect control of his emotions.

Atop his trusty steed = rode into the night  --> both sentences describe a knight riding his horse 

knight = gallant warrior --> these both describe the main character in the same way with slightly different wording. Perhaps the wording at the end describes him after a great battle or quest. He is now "gallant," but he is still a knight. 

never lost control of his temper = in perfect control of his emotions  --> These are different words used to describe and reiterate his demeanor

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TT/CC stands for Title / Topic / Clincher / Connection

TT/CC is a powerful rhetorical technique. It is used in writing as well as in speeches. It is also important to understand in literature analysis and poetry.

Once you have mastered this strategy, your writing will forever be improved.