Topic sentence
The sentence, usually first in a paragraph, that states what the paragraph will establish.
A topic sentence makes a paragraph scannable and forces it to have a point. Read only the topic sentences of a well-organised paper and you should get its argument in outline — which is exactly what a reviewer skimming does.
The failure mode is a paragraph whose first sentence describes a source rather than making a claim. “Larsen (2024) surveyed 400 editors” is a fact; “Editors and authors disagree about what delays publication” is a topic sentence that the Larsen survey can then support.