Heidi: I was looking at your persuasive journal and just want to offer some information that may help. Don't encourage students to put "because" in their topic sentences. Students need to differentiate between the three parts of a paragraph. I tell students that the "becauses" (causes) belong in the body of the paragraph. Or, in an essay, they become topic sentences for separate paragraphs. The topic sentence should be a strong statement, the body should include supporting sentences with clarifying sentences, and the concluding sentence should wrap it all up for the reader. Personally, I do not like using the term "detail sentences" because students have learned to equate details with adjectives and descriptive writing. It is OK to be descriptive, but supporting sentences need to be clarified with factual information. Hope this helps you and your students.