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Considering Your Audience

At some point during your planning, you should see how well your topic matches up to the reader. Ask yourself the following questions.

Writing ■ Developing the First Draft

Write an opening paragraph. ■ In the first few sentences, get the reader’s attention; then write a sentence that states the topic or thesis of your paper. This sentence serves as the controlling idea for the research paper.
  The writer of the research paper on page 311 identifies the topic of her report in the opening.

Controlling Idea

Chinese-American food may not be authentically the food of China, but it a cuisine with a long history, created by Chinese immigrants for American tastes.