Topic-Comment Structure
Pattern
Topic (given)→Comment (new) — aboutness + assertion structure
Definition
The division of a sentence into what the sentence is about (topic) and what is said about it (comment). The topic is typically old or given information; the comment provides new information about it.
Examples
Example 1
'As for the budget, we've exceeded our targets.' — 'as for the budget' explicitly marks the topic; 'we've exceeded our targets' is the comment.
AI Detection Note
AI tends to frontload topics explicitly ('When it comes to X', 'Regarding Y', 'In terms of Z'), creating a formulaic topic-marking pattern. Human writers more often let topic continuity emerge naturally from context.
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