Locate the topic sentence. tell which paragraph shape and pattern type this paragraph is.

1 the art of letter writing seems to have declined sharply in recent years.
2 perhaps the rising cost of stationery and postage is a factor.
3 most people today are so busy with their jobs, their families, and their hobbies that they do not feel they have time to write letters.
4 to a certain extent, television and personal computers have replaced communicating with friends as a form of entertainment.
5 the advent of the telephone and the use of e-mail, however, are probably the most significant factor in the decrease of letter writing, because they give instant access to friends and loved ones.

topic sentence:

sentence 1, sentence 2, sentence 3, sentence 4, or sentence 5

paragraph structure "shape":

diamond, rectangle, regular triangle, or inverted triangle

pattern:

time order, spatial order, cause-effect, simple listing, compare/contrast, or order of importance