FINDING TOPIC AND

MAIN IDEA IN THE

READING MATERIAL
By : Irma Sufianingsih
 SKILLS AND STRATEGIES FOR
UNDERSTANDING YOUR READING
Reading effectively involves understanding the meaning
of what is written and interpreting it. To be able to do
this, a person must be able to: decode what they read,
make connections between what they read and what
they already know, and think deeply about what they
have read. Let’s look at the processes involved in
reading comprehension in more detail.
 COMPREHENSION SKILLS
1 Decoding
Decoding is an essential stage of the reading process. It
means connecting individual symbols, words and their
pronunciations to their meaning.
Accurate word decoding and recognition is required for
comprehension of the text. This is particularly important when
you begin studying a new discipline – with its specific
terminology that you are not yet familiar with. Sometimes this
will mean going back to your textbook, or looking up a word
in a dictionary or an encyclopedia.
2 Fluency
Fluency is based on word recognition, and it
speeds up the rate at which you can read
and understand a text. Word recognition is
the ability to recognise whole words
instantly by sight, without sounding them
out.
3 vocabulary
To understand what you are reading, you need to
recognise most of the words in the text. Having a
strong vocabulary is a key component of reading
comprehension. In specialised areas you learn
discipline-specific terminology through instruction,
and of course, by reading.
The more specialised the terminology you are
2 exposed to, the richer your vocabulary becomes
and the more fluent your reading becomes.
A sentence structure and cohesion
Understanding how sentences are built (sentence
structure), and how ideas are connected within and
between sentences (cohesion) might appear to be
writing skills. However, sentence structure and
cohesion are essential components of reading as well.
Knowing how ideas are linked to each other at the
sentence level helps us decode meaning from passages
and entire texts. It also leads to what is called
coherence, or the ability to connect ideas to other
ideas in an overall piece of writing.
5 Reasoning and Background Knowledge
Most readers relate what they read to what they know.
Therefore, take advantage of any background or prior
knowledge about a field when reading. It is also useful to learn
how to ‘read between the lines’ and gather meaning that goes
beyond the explicit message of the text. This is important
because critical reading and writing involves presenting a
reasoned argument that evaluates and analyses new knowledge
alongside what is already known (background knowledge) to
advance your understanding. Therefore, in addition to helping
you read effectively, your background knowledge will also assist
with comprehension. This is explored further in Key strategies to
understand reading.
2 Attention working memory
The ability to self-monitor while reading is
also tied to attention and working memory.
To develop this skill you need to be able to
recognise when you do not understand
something, whether this is a whole passage or
some terminology. If this happens, you
should:
1. Stop
2. Go back
3. Re-read the text to clear up any
confusion you may have.
FINDING THE MAIN IDEA
The main idea of a paragraph is the
author's message about the topic. It is
often expressed directly or it can be
implied. Knowing how to find main
ideas allows you to understand and
think critically about what you're
reading. And that benefits you
regardless of your chosen profession.
 WHERE ARE THE
MAIN IDEAS FOUND?

at the beginning of paragraphs. The first

sentence often explains the subject being
discussed in the passage.
in the concluding sentences of a paragraph.
The main idea can be expressed as a
summation of the information in the paragraph
as well as a link to the information in the next
paragraph.
 The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult
to identify a main idea when it is inferred or implied. It can be
implied through other words in the paragraph. An implied main
idea can be found in several ways.

Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the

main idea by introducing facts about the topic
before actually stating the topic.
Implied ideas can
A be drawn from facts, reasons,
or examples that give hints or suggestions
concerning the main idea. These hints will be
clues leading you to discover the main idea in
the selected text.
HOW TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA
Finding the main idea is critical to
understanding what you are reading. It helps
the details make sense and have relevance, and
provides a framework for remembering the
content. Try these specific tips to pinpoint the
main idea of a passage.
HOW TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA
1. Identify the Topic
Read the passage through completely,
then try to identify the topic. Who or
what is the paragraph about? This part
is just figuring out a topic like
HOW TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA
2. Summarize the Passage
After reading the passage thoroughly,
summarize it in your own words in one
sentence. Pretend you have just ten to
twelve words to tell someone what the
passage is about—what would you say?
HOW TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA
3. Look at the First and Last Sentences
of the Passage
Authors often put the main idea in or near either the
first or last sentence of the paragraph or article, so
isolate those sentences to see if they make sense as
the overarching theme of the passage. Be careful:
sometimes the author will use words like but, however,
in contrast, nevertheless, etc. that indicate that the
second sentence is actually the main idea. If you see
one of these words that negate or qualify the first
sentence, that is a clue that the second sentence is
the main idea
HOW TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA
4. Look for Repetition of Ideas
If you read through a paragraph and
you have no idea how to summarize it
because there is so much information,
start looking for repeated words,
phrases, or related ideas.
Ask the following questions:

Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group

of people?
When - Does the information contain a reference
to time?
Where - Does the text name a place?
Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for
something that happened?
How - Does this information indicate a method or
a theory?
 THE KEY STEPS TO FINDING THE
MAIN IDEA
1. Read the whole paragraph
2. Identify the different types of sentences present within
the paragraph, such as topic sentence, example,
explanation or statistic.
3. Identify the main topic and what the writer is saying
about the topic. This will be the main idea.
 THE KEY STEPS TO FINDING THE
MAIN IDEA

4. Ask yourself what central point is the writer trying to

make? Construct in your mind what you think the main
idea is. What is the biggest point(s) you have taken away
from the paragraph? Use your own words.
5. Check if the examples and details support this main
idea.
6. What point(s) has the most supporting details?
THANK YOU