Getting the Main Idea

A different approach is needed for reading a unit of material to grasp the main idea. In this, the reader is concerned with the central theme, or general meaning of the text. The important meaning may involve an idea or it may concern the emotion expressed, which is the central thought or impression. By means of discrimination and judgment, the reader grasps the essential significance of the unit as a whole. This skill requires a considerable training, for it is not easy to acquire. But it has wide application in the reading of newspaper, articles, novels, short stories, and other materials. Much of ones everyday reading is of this type and should done rapidly and accurately but not superficially. The common tendency to try to remember many details hinders reading for the main idea.

Main Idea

answers the question, What is the authors one most important point about the topic? is what the writer is saying about the subject the most important idea of a paragraph the main point the author wishes to make

Characteristics of a Main Idea

must always contain the topic ( the word, name, or phrase that tells who or what the paragraph is about ) must always make complete sense by itself ( even if you couldnt read the rest of the paragraph must be a general sentence that sums up the details in the paragraph

To comprehend written material means to understand its meaning. To understand the meaning, the reader must retrace the writers path. Luckily, trained writers of exposition informational prose present their ideas in a structured way. If you know the rules, you can unlock the

meaning. You will grasp the literal content; who, what, when, where, and why. We will be able to discover the topic, the main idea about the topic, the support for the main idea, and how that support is arranged o organized. With a little more effort, you can go on to uncover the inferences those unstated meanings that lie just under the surface of the literal content.

The Main Idea Stated

When the main idea of a single paragraph is stated in a complete sentence, it is called the topic sentence of the paragraph. When the main idea of a longer work article, essay, term paper, editorial is stated in a complete sentence, it is called the thesis statement. How do we discover the main idea of a passage when the writer has stated it for you? Here are some tips to help you: 1. Recognize an umbrella idea, one that includes other, lesser ideas. 2. Look at the likely places. Know where writers are likely to state their main ideas, and direct your eyes (attention) to those places. Main ideas can usually be found in the title, the subtitle (if any), the lead-in (if any), the introduction or first sentence or first paragraph, and the conclusion. You can be sure that no professional writer of exposition will bury his or her main idea the whole point of the writing in the middle of the material. 3. In a long paragraph or selection, notice any repetition of the main idea in the same or similar words .If a writer repeats a supporting detail, we may decide he is being repetitious and redundant. However, when a writer repeats the main idea once or several times, it is clear that he is trying to be emphatic. In fact, this is one of the best ways for you to recognize the main idea. It is often a general, umbrellalike statement that is stressed and repeated throughout the selection.

Organizational Patterns
So far, you are aware that as a reader you must retrace the writers path. This means you must look for main ideas, especially the important supporting details. Instead, they usually organize the supporting material the body of the work in one or more recognizable ways. These are called writing patterns or patterns of organization. To further

help us, writers often announce their patterns and guide the reader through them with certain signal words, phrases, or sentences. 1. Reasons (reasons why) pattern. The writer gives one or more reasons why the thesis is a sound or valid one. This pattern is common in opinion, persuasion, and argumentation. Fields that commonly use the reasons pattern are medicine, history, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Example: The hikers had no reason to expect anything but beautiful late summer weather. Storms seldom moved in before late September. And this weekend of September 5, the rangers assured them, would be three days of fair weather. So they were totally unprepared for the sudden blizzard that swept down on them Saturday night. Signals: so, reasons, why, because, hence, therefore, as a result. 4. Cause-and-effect pattern. Here the writer tries to show a causal connection between two or more events (outcomes, situations, and so on). Since a cause can hardly occur simultaneously with an effect, this pattern often includes a strong chronological component as well. The writer must assemble proof, evidence logical reasons, or data, or must appeal to shared experience, to convince the reader that A did indeed bring about B. This pattern is commonly used in the social sciences, the physical sciences, medicine, laboratory research, biography, and autobiography. We also see it in English classes, when the teacher warns the student that missed work will lead to a low grade. Example: A large vocabulary is said, by some pop experts, to be closely correlated with a large income. It is no doubt true that high salaried people in business and the professions have pretty fair-sized vocabularies, since they nearly always possess college and university degrees. Also, they must learn the specialized jargon of their fields. But how much civilized to show a relationship between knowledge of ones language and ability to think. After all, words are

thoughts. Without words, we could not have an abstract idea; we could only react and feel. Our high-salaried sample may simply be people who could learn and listen, could think and express themselves. Their big vocabularies did not lead directly to dollars but to an effective, civilized person --- who might or might not choose to make a lot of money. Signals: cause, effect, because, leads to, result, results in, brings about, ends in, traced back to, correlation, correlated with, link between, causal relationship, contributes to, proceeds toward, thereby, hence, since, if this.

WRITTEN REPORT IN
INTENSIVE READING

Prof. Rhodora Englis

Chosen Cero Ana Bianca Concubierta