When you outline your research essay what do you use as the basis of your topic sentence?

You use what you'll be exploring in each paragraph. The importance of the topic sentence is make the essay flow so it should link to your contention in the introduction

The sentences are based on the areas or categories into which you grouped your data. Before you write a paper you should decide what your main idea is, and come up with at least three things that you are going to talk about in order to support that main idea. You can make that into a 3-point thesis statement. These 3 points will be your topics.