General vs.

Specific Ideas
We'll begin this lesson with a pop quiz. You will be given two statements, and your job is to
identify which one is general and which one is specific.

1. Cats are creatures of habit.

2. Sadie, a little black cat, waits for her people at the top of the basement steps every
morning and runs right to the refrigerator for her snack.

If you said that the first statement is general and the second statement is specific, you are
correct.
General ideas and the statements that express them are kind of like umbrellas. They cover
broad categories or groups of people or things and usually express the overall aspects,
characteristics, or elements of these categories or groups. General ideas tend to communicate
broad topics that need to be explained further if readers are to understand them in depth.
For example, the general idea above that cats are creatures of habit refers to a broad group,
cats, and to an overall characteristic of cats, that they are creatures of habit. If readers are to
understand exactly how and why cats are creatures of habit, the writer will have to give more
information to support the general idea.
Specific ideas and statements offer that support. They usually clarify, explain, and illustrate
general ideas and statements by referring to particular individuals, ideas, or things. They also
tend to express distinct characteristics that define those individuals, ideas, and things.
For example, statement 2 presents an individual, the little black cat Sadie, who exhibits
particular behaviors that illustrate exactly how cats are creatures of habit.

Relationships Between General & Specific Ideas

General ideas usually express the main point or main idea of a piece of writing. They present
the topic of a paragraph, essay, or book and make a statement about it, usually a claim that
needs to be proven. The general statement we've been examining does exactly that. It makes
a claim that requires proof: 'Cats are creatures of habit.'
Specific ideas provide evidence to further define the general or main idea and prove that it is
valid. This evidence can take many forms: examples, anecdotes, logical reasons, facts,
statistics, and expert testimony. For instance, the specific statement about Sadie the cat
offers an example that proves the point that cats are creatures of habit.
To further convince readers of the truth of that general idea, however, we need to provide a
few more specific ideas. We might offer some statistical information like this:
In a recent survey of hundreds of cat owners, more than 90% indicated that their cats
demanded to be fed at the same time every day, and more than 95% said that their cats
sleep in the same spots day after day.

Note: If you want to see the video which includes further information about this topic, then go to the following source:

Source: Troolin, Amy. (s/f). General vs. Specific Ideas. Video y transcript. Recuperado de:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-identify-relationships-between-general-and-specific-ideas.html#lesson