MAIN IDEA

ELEMENTS OF A PARAGRAPH

• Topic sentence
• Main Idea
• Supporting Details ( Major & Minor)
• Conclusion
TOPIC 
The topic is the subject that the selection is about. The main
idea can usually be
located if you can determine what the topic is. To find the
topic of a selection,
ask the simple question, “Who or what is the selection
about?”
 
WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA?

“What’s the point?” You’ve probably heard these words before. It’s a
question
people ask when they want to know the main idea that someone is
trying to
express. The same question can guide you as you read.

Recognizing the main idea, or point, is the most important key to

good comprehension.
 MAIN IDEA
The main idea answers the question,
• “What is the author’s one most important point about the topic?”
1. Must always contain the topic (the word, name, or phrase that tells who or what
the paragraph is about)

2. Must always make complete sense by itself (even if you couldn’t read the rest of
the paragraph)

3. Must be a general sentence that sums up the details in the paragraph

 TYPES OF MAIN IDEA

• Stated Main Idea

• Implied Main Idea
STATED MAIN IDEA
 HOW TO TEST THE SENTENCE YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED
AS THE STATED MAIN IDEA

• When you think you have located a stated main idea sentence, it should meet these criteria:

1. The sentence contains the topic.

2. The sentence tells the author’s most important point about the
topic.

3. The sentence makes complete sense by itself

EXAMPLE:

Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America. It is on the
Niagara River about halfway between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.  Niagara Falls
is on the American and Canadian border.  The American Falls is 167 feet high.  On
the Canadian side, the Horseshoe Falls is 161 feet high.

TOPIC OF THIS PARAGRAPH:

Niagara Falls

Main Idea: Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America.

It is fun to visit a waterfall in the summer. 

The American Falls is 167 feet high.
Niagara Falls is on the American and Canadian border. 
The main idea of the paragraph is the author’s idea about the topic. It always a
complete sentence that includes both the topic and the idea the author’s
wishes to express regarding the topic.

Example:

Topic: Cats

•Cats are very friendly animals.

•Cats are very clean animals.
•Cats are very good pets.
1 People in my family love our dog Punch. 2 However, I have several reasons for wanting to get
rid of Punch. 3 First of all, he knows I don’t like him. 4 Sometimes he gives me an evil look and
curls his top lip back to show me his teeth. 5 The message is clearly, “Someday I’m going to bite
you.” 6 Another reason to get rid of Punch is he sheds everywhere. 7 Every surface in our house is
covered with Punch hair. 8 I spend more time brushing it off my clothes than I do mowing the
lawn. 9 Last of all, Punch is an early riser, while (on weekends) I am not. 10He will start barking
and whining to go outside at 7 a.m., and it’s my job to take care of him. 11When I told my family
that I had a list of good reasons for getting rid of Punch, they said they would make up a list of
reasons to get rid of me.
A good way to find an author’s point, or main idea, is to look for a general
statement. Then decide if that statement is supported by most of the other material
in the paragraph. If it is, you have found the main idea.

Pick out the general statement that is supported by the other material in the passage.

Main Ideas

Four statements from the passage:

A: I have several reasons for wanting to get rid of Punch.

B: He knows I don’t like him.
C:Punch sheds everywhere.
D:Punch is an early riser.

The general statement that expresses the main idea of the passage is _____.
1 Being a celebrity is often difficult. 2 First of all, celebrities have to look almost perfect

all the time. 3 There’s always a photographer ready to take an unflattering picture of a

famous person looking dumpy in old clothes. 4 Celebrities also sacrifice their private

lives. 5 Their personal struggles, divorces, or family tragedies all end up as front-page

news. 6 Last, and most frightening of all, celebrities are in constant danger of the wrong

kind of attention. 7 Threatening letters and even physical attacks from crazy fans are

things a celebrity must contend with.

Fire ants are painful and destructive pests. 2 The fire ant earned its name

because of its venom. 3 The insect uses a wasp-like stinger to inject the venom, which

causes a painful burning sensation and leaves tiny, itching pustules. 4

The ants will swarm over anyone or anything that disturbs their nests. 5

In addition to causing pain, fire ants damage many crops by eating the plants and by

protecting other insects that damage crops. 6 Fire ants are attracted to soybeans, eggplant,

corn, okra, strawberries, and potatoes.

Rosa Parks was an African American woman who worked hard as a seamstress in a department store

in the early 1960s. 2One day, tired from work, she refused to give up her seat on a bus in

Montgomery, Alabama, and became a national hero. 3She was arrested and placed in jail for her

refusal to move to the back of the bus, where African Americans were forced to sit in those days. 4

The way she was treated garnered national attention. 5Some people say her refusal to give up her seat

launched the civil rights movement. 6Rosa Parks proved that one brave person can make a difference.
 REMEMBER:
• Only ONE sentence can be the stated main idea in a
paragraph.
• Avoid choosing a sentence just because it sounds
important or interesting.
• The main idea is NEVER a question.
• Examples are details that support the main idea, so
examples cannot be the main idea.
• Watch for words or phrases authors use to signal their
main idea: The point is, It is important, Thus, etc.
• Supporting Details should relate to the main idea. Look at the following triangle:

All the supporting details should point to the main idea.

Main idea

Supporting Details
IMPLIED MAIN IDEA
STATED &IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

ACTIVITIES
 PARAGRAPH # 1

• An individual with the eating disorder bulimia first eats secretly, consuming an
enormous amount of food in one sitting. The large quantity of food is clearly
beyond simple hunger. Then, after the eating binge comes the purge. In this
phase, the person vomits or uses laxatives to make sure the food does not stay
in the body and produce weight gain. With bulimia, there is always a distinct
"binge and purge" pattern.
 PARAGRAPH # 2

• Adolescents tend to choose friends who are like them, and friends influence
each other to become even more alike. Friends are usually the same race and
have similar status within the peer group. Male adolescents tend to have many
friends, but the friendships are rarely close ones. Among teenage girls,
friendships are fewer but much closer, and they provide a great deal of
emotional support.
 PARAGRAPH # 3

• Is it an ant, you wonder, or a termite? Ants resemble termites, but they are quite
different and can be easily distinguished. In contrast to termites, ants are
usually dark in color, are hard bodied, and have constriction between the thorax
and abdomen. Also, ants and termites belong to different orders.
 PARAGRAPH # 4

• Democracy comes from the Greek word demos, which means "the people,"
and kratia, meaning "to rule." The term democracy refers to a form of
government in which the people govern, either directly or through elected
representatives. In other words, it is a set of rules for determining who will
exercise the authority of government.
 PARAGRAPH # 5

• When you listen to a speech, can it help you to focus on the speaker's strengths
and weaknesses? By closely observing and listening to people when they give
speeches, you can learn a great deal that will make you a more successful
speaker. If the speaker is not effective, try to determine why. If he or she is
effective, try to pick out techniques you can use in your own speeches. If the
speaker is ineffective, avoid the errors the person made.
IMPLIED MAIN IDEA
 PARAGRAPH # 1

• All people are concerned about a few great questions: the existence of God, the
purpose of life, the existence of an afterlife, and morality. About the first,
science has nothing to say: no test tube has either proved or disproved God’s
existence. As to the purpose of life, although science can provide a definition of
life and describe the characteristics of living organisms, it has nothing to say
about ultimate purpose. Regarding an afterlife, science can offer no information,
for it has no tests that it can use to detect a “hereafter.” As for the question of
morality, science can demonstrate the consequences of behaviour but not the
moral superiority of one action compared with another. Science cannot even
prove that loving your family and neighbour is superior to hurting and killing
them.
 PARAGRAPH # 2

• Autocratic leaders are hands-on leaders who keep strict control over group
members and their activities. They ask few questions, make the decisions, give
orders, and are likely to use coercion to make others carry out their
assignments. Laissez-faire leaders are hands-off leaders who leave most of the
decisions to the group and tend not to get involved. Democratic leaders
encourage group participation in decision-making and problem solving. Their
style falls between the other two extreme.
 PARAGRAPH # 3

• Rosa Parks, a black seamstress who was returning from work and tired, sat
down on a bus in a section reserved for whites. When asked to get up, she
refused. Parks was arrested and ordered to stand trial. Black civil rights
officials seized the issue and responded with a boycott of the bus system.
Organizational meetings for the boycott were held in a Montgomery Baptist
church where the young 27-year-old minister, Martin Luther King, Jr., took an
active role in the protest. Soon the talented and articulate Dr. King emerged as
the leading spokesman for the protest and for the civil and economic concerns
of black Americans.