Glossary (Version 8.4)

Refers to the main idea or message of a text.

Grammatical theme indicates importance both within a clause and across a text. In a clause the theme comes in first position and indicates what the sentence is about. Theme is important at different levels of text organisation. A topic sentence serves as a theme for the points raised in a paragraph. A pattern of themes contributes to the method of development for the text as a whole.