What is a Main Idea? A Main Idea is : A general statement about the WHOLE passage that contains the TOPIC

READING OBJECTIVE 2

MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS

CHAPTERS 2, 3, AND 4

What is a Main Idea?A Main Idea is :

•A general statement about the WHOLE passage that contains the TOPIC .

The main idea (or point) is that the man is a terrible pet owner.

The main idea is vividly supported by the dog’s three specific reasons.

Main idea 1

2

3

Here are four strategies that will help you find the main idea.

Look for general versus specific ideas. The general statement will be the main idea.

Find the topic first.

Use key words to lead you to the main idea.

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4 Make sure the main idea is about the WHOLE passage.

1. Find the topic first

The topic is the general subject of a selection. It can often be expressed in one or more words.

The main idea always contains the topic.

But there are many times when you are not given topics—with individual paragraphs in articles or textbooks for example.

To find the topic of a selection when the topic is not given, ask this simple question:

Who or what is the selection about?

Many times, the topic will be the heading of the passage.

Social psychologists have found that almost everyone gossips. Male or female, young or old, blue-collar or professional, humans love to talk about one another. All too often, such gossip is viewed as a frivolous waste of time.

What is the paragraph about?

Gossip





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2. GENERAL VS SPECIFIC

• MAIN IDEAS ARE GENERAL. SUPPORTING DETAILS ARE SPECIFIC

General Specific

GeneralSpecific

Specific

General

Attending college can help you make friends.

A college degree will help you get a higher paying job.

A college degree helps you earn respect.

College has many beneficial outcomes.

College will improve the way you think.





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First to note are list words, which tell you a list of items is to follow.

The main idea in the paragraph about gossip was stated like this:

The expression several important functions helps you zero in on your target: the main idea.

However, gossip actually serves several important functions in the human community.

3. Use key words to help you find the main idea.

List Words

Many other list-word expressions are possible—“four kinds of,” “some advantages of, ” “three reasons for,” and so on. If you see a sentence with a word group like the ones above, you’ve probably found the main idea.

Here are some common word groups that often announce a main idea:

List Words

Note that each of them contains a word that ends in s—a plural that suggests the supporting details will be a list of items.

What are the list words in each of the sentences below?

1. Researchers have identified two factors that play a significant role in our dreams.

2. Several steps can help you overcome the fear of speaking and become an effective speaker.

3. Three key differences exist between the House and the Senate.

Each of these phrases tells you that a list of details will follow.

In addition to list words, addition words can alert you to a detail. If the sentence is a detail, then it cannot be the main idea!

Here is a list of words that often introduce major supporting details and help you discover the main idea:

Addition Words

When you see this type of clue, you can assume that the detail it introduces fits under the umbrella of a main idea.





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As you read the paragraph below, look for the main idea. 4. Make sure the main idea is about the WHOLE passage

Which sentence contains the main idea?

Today, most people in the Western world use a fork to eat. But before the eighteenth century, using a fork was highly discouraged. Most people in Europe ate with their hands. People from the upper class used three fingers, while the commoners ate with five. When an inventor from Tuscany created a miniature pitchfork for eating, Europeans thought that it was a strange utensil. Men who used a fork were often ridiculed and considered feminine. Priests called out against the fork, claiming that only human hands were worthy to touch the food God had blessed them with. One wealthy noblewoman shocked clergymen by eating with a fork she designed herself. Over dinner, they accused her of being too excessive. When the woman died from the plague a few days later, the priests claimed her death was a punishment from the heavens. They warned others that using a fork could bring them the same fate.

Each year, as days grow shorter and nights grow colder, animals take action to survive the winter. Many animals fly, swim, or walk hundreds or thousands of miles to the south in search of a warm winter home. Earthworms travel too slowly to make a long journey to warmer regions. But they will die if they get trapped in the frozen ground. To survive a brutal winter, earthworms practice vertical migration. They move from dirt that’s close to the surface to dirt that’s deeper down. Each fall, the same instinct that sends geese flying south causes earthworms to start moving downward. As little barbs that stick out of their bodies poke into the dirt, the earthworms contract their muscles. This moves them downward to a point where they’re below the soil that will freeze in the winter. Only after winter passes and soil overhead warms up to 36 degrees or more do the earthworms tunnel back upward.

As you read the paragraph below, look for the main idea.

Which sentence contains the main idea?

Theory

A Main Idea is a general statement that incorporates all details. This statement must contain the topic. A main idea without a topic

is like a Whataburger with no meat!

Topicdetail

detail

detail

detail

detail

detail

Main Idea

TIPS AND THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT MAIN IDEA

KEY WORDS THAT SOMETIMES (NOT ALWAYS) LET YOU KNOW A MAIN IDEA IS COMING:

IN CONCLUSION THUS IN OTHER WORDS HOWEVER CLEARLY

IF THE PASSAGE IS DISCUSSING A STUDY, RESEARCH, SURVEY, OR EXPERIMENT, THE MAIN IDEA WILL BE THE RESULTS OR THE OUTCOME OF THAT STUDY

The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, has conducted a wide-scale survey in eleven states to determine teenagers’ knowledge about AIDS. Half of the teens surveyed believe a person can get AIDS through giving blood. Almost three-quarters of teenagers think that AIDS can be gotten from a simple blood test. And half believe that the disease can be easily contracted from a public toilet. None of these beliefs is well-founded.

A. According to one survey, many teens have a poor understanding of how people get AIDS.

B. The Center for Disease Control conducted a survey to discover teens’ knowledge about AIDS.

C. Teenagers have a poor understanding of sexually transmitted diseases.

Before they can say any words, babies communicate by making a variety of sounds. They start by crying. Then they progress to cooing when they are happy, squealing, gurgling, and making long “oohs” and “aahs.” At about six months they babble, repeating syllables such as “buh” and “muh.” Next they start to imitate sounds they hear, even though they don’t seem to understand these sounds. At the next stage, they string such sounds together in a way that is almost speechlike. At about age 1, they say their first meaningful word—usually “mama” or “dada.” Soon they use many words, and at about eighteen months they begin to make combinations of words, forming simple sentences.

A. Babies are able to communicate before they can actually speak.

B. Babies coo and babble when they are happy.

C. Babies learn to speak in several stages.

According to scientists, cockroaches evolved about 300 million years ago, which means they saw the dinosaurs come and go and later watched people emerge on Earth. If you wonder how such little creatures have lasted so long, consider the fact that they can live in a refrigerator or in extreme heat. They can develop resistance to poisons faster than scientists can develop new ones. And they can live for two months on water alone or go for five months without water. Furthermore, they are quick to escape from danger. The takeoff time for a threatened cockroach has been timed at 54/1000th of a second.

A. Cockroaches evolved about 300 million years ago. B. Cockroaches can live in a wide variety of temperatures and quickly develop

resistance to poisons. C. Cockroaches have survived for millions of years because they can adapt to a wide

variety of circumstances and react quickly to danger.

Imagine a beam of light many billions of times more concentrated than the sunlight focused by a magnifying glass. A beam so intense that it will burn a hole in a steel plate, or even through a diamond, the hardest natural material known to man. Such a beam can be produced by a modern source of light called a laser. Laser light is used for communication, for extremely accurate measurements, for surgery and dentistry, and for many different purposes in engineering and science.

a. Laser light can be made from sunlightb. Laser light can be used for communication, for extremely accurate measurements, for surgery and dentistry, and for many different purposes in engineering and sciencec. A laser is an intense form of light that has many valuable usesd. Laser beams can burn holes through very hard surfaces.

PESTICIDES KILL PLANTS AND ANIMALS OTHER THAN THE PESTS THEY ARE INTENDED FOR. PESTICIDES POLLUTE WATER SYSTEMS. SOME PESTS DEVELOP IMMUNITY TO FREQUENTLY USED PESTICIDES. SOME PESTICIDES SUCH AS DDT AND ITS RELATIVES CAN REMAIN IN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR MANY YEARS BEYOND THE TIME NECESSARY TO DO THEIR INTENDED JOB. SOME PESTICIDES HAVE BEEN LINKED TO CANCER AND OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS IN HUMANS.

A. Some pesticides have been linked to cancer and other health problems

B. Pesticides can be very harmful.

C. Pesticides kill plants and animals other than the pests they are intended for.

D. They can be very dangerous to both people and the environment.

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What is a Main Idea? A Main Idea is : A general statement about the WHOLE passage that contains the TOPIC