Main Ideas:

Stated and Implied

T. C . N O R R I S
FA L L 2 0 1 6
Definitions
Main Idea
• The point the writer wants to make about the subject.

Stated
• The point the writer wants to make about the subject is clearly
identifiable in a sentence.

Implied
• The point the writer wants to make about the subject is not
clearly identifiable in a sentence. The reader must dig for it.
Stated Main Ideas
• Stated main ideas will be in the topic sentence.
o The focus of the paragraph.
o A general statement that covers all of the details in the paragraph.

• Topic sentences may be at the beginning, middle, or end of the

paragraph, but are usually at the beginning.
Find the Stated Main Idea
Your memory operates through three stages to take in, sort, and store

information for later use. Encoding is the first stage, during which ideas are

processed through your five senses. During the storage stage, information is

either discarded or sorted and then retained briefly in short-term memory or

transferred into long-term memory, where it may become permanent.

Retrieval, the third stage of memory, allows you to recall stored ideas and

images.
 Find the Stated Main Idea
• What details does the paragraph include?
o Stages of memory

• What is the subject of the paragraph (what is the paragraph about)?

o Memory
• What point does the writer want to make about the subject?
o How memory operates
• What sentence encompasses all of the information in the paragraph (topic sentence)?
o “Your memory operates through three stages to take in, sort, and store
information for later use.”
Implied Main Ideas
• Inferred from information in the paragraph:
o Key words/ideas.
o Repeated words.

• Based on what the writer said throughout the paragraph, what is the
main point he is expressing?
Find the Implied Main Idea
Locus of control means source of motivation. Students who have an external locus
of control expect their instructors to motivate them and keep them interested.
These students do not see a connection between effort and grades. They make
excuses for poor performance or blame the instructor. Students who have an
internal locus of control are self-motivated. They believe that their grades reflect
their effort. Instead of making excuses for failure, they try to identify their mistakes
and learn from them. What is your source of motivation, and does it help or hinder
your performance in college?
 Find the Implied Main Idea
• What key words are repeated in the paragraph?
o Locus of control – “source of motivation” (three times)
o Motivation, motivate, self-motivation (four times)

• What main divisions are in the paragraph?

o External locus of control (sentence 2)
o Internal locus of control (sentence 5)

• What is the topic of the paragraph?

o Motivation
• What point does the writer want to make about the subject (main idea)?
o There are two sources of motivation.
Summary
To identify the main idea of a paragraph, look for the following information:
• Stated
o Primary details within the paragraph
o A general sentence that encompasses all of the primary details in the paragraph

• Implied
o Key terms
o Repeated words or phrases
o Structure of the paragraph
o Topic
 Finding Main Ideas in Larger Works
To find the main idea in larger works (e.g. chapters), look in the following places:
• Title
o Topic
o Focus

• First paragraph or two

o Main Idea (stated or implied)

• Last paragraph
o Clarify or verify Main idea
 Find the Larger Main Idea
Good Kids Are Not Hard to Find
Although teen pregnancy is on the decline, it still interrupts the lives of far too many young girls.
Although smoking in the United States is declining overall, more teenage girls and young
women are taking up the habit. We hear reports of widespread drug and alcohol abuse among
high school students and binge drinking among college students. But most alarming are the
kids who kill. The school shootings of 1998 and 1999 and more recent events have caused
parents, educators—everyone—to ask, “Why?”
These dire reports paint a frightening picture of American youth, but they do not tell the
whole story. Far more young people do not drink, take drugs, get pregnant, or kill their peers.
Most of the kids in every school, college, and community are busy studying, working, and
preparing for a future filled with hope and pride. Who are these young people, and what can we
learn from them?
Find the Larger Main Idea
• What is the topic of the title?
o Good Kids
• What does the title say about the topic?
o Not hard to find
• What key terms related to the topic are used in the text?
o Teen, young girls, teenage girls, young women, high school students,
college students, kids, American youth, young people
• What sentence expands on the title?
o “Most of the kids in every school, college, and community are busy studying,
working, and preparing for a future filled with hope and pride.”
• What sentence indicates what the writer will discuss in the article?
o “Who are these young people, and what can we learn from them?”
 Work Sited
Kanar, Carol. The Reader's Corner. 3rd ed., Houghton Mifflin, 2008, pp. 8-12.