MAIN IDEAS AND

SUPPORTING DETAILS
ELC081
READING STRATEGIES
 A paragraph is a group of related sentences about a single
topic
■ TOPIC: the subject of the whole paragraph

What is a ■ MAIN IDEA: the point that the whole paragraph makes
Paragraph? ■ DETAILS: the sentences that explain the main idea
■ TRANSITIONS: words and phrases to connect the ideas
 MAIN IDEA
▪ The main idea is the key concept being examined.

Identifying ▪ It is like the heart of a text or a paragraph

▪ It is the overall gist of what the essay will be dealing with as a whole.
Main Idea and ▪ Commonly, the main idea of the whole essay is also known as the Thesis
Supporting Statement.
Details ▪ Thesis statement is written as the last sentence of the introductory
paragraph.
 ▪ “The city’s bus system can solve
Example of a it’s budget crisis by cutting routes,
Thesis raising fares and selling
Statement
advertisements”
 THE TOPIC SENTENCE
▪ Many paragraphs have topic sentences that indicate the main idea.
Identifying ▪ It usually begins with a discourse marker like “Firstly” or “Finally”
Main Idea and which functions as a signal.

Supporting ▪ Writers normally write it as the first sentence of the paragraph.

Details ▪ However, it can also be found in the middle of the paragraph or the last
sentence of the paragraph.
Example of a ▪ “Raising fares will help the bus
Topic system increase revenue”
Sentence
 SUPPORTING DETAILS

▪ The rest of the sentences in the paragraph which elaborate,

explain or clarify the main idea are the Supporting Details.
Identifying ▪ The supporting details also prove the value of the main idea.

Main Idea and ▪ Types of supporting details:

Supporting i. Examples, illustrations

ii. Facts and statistics
Details iii. Reasons
iv. Incidents
v. Descriptive details
vi. Steps or procedures
vii. Comparison or contrast
 ▪ Sometimes, a paragraph has a stated main idea usually in
the topic sentence. This means the paragraph “says”
what the main idea is.
STATED AND ▪ Sometimes, a paragraph doesn’t have a stated main idea,
IMPLIED MAIN but has an “implied” main idea. This means that you
IDEA need to state the main idea in your own words because it
doesn’t actually “say” it in the paragraph.
▪ The author simply gives clues and details of the selection
and expects you to suggest the main idea.
 ▪ To determine the implied main idea ask yourself these questions:

STATED AND ❖What is the most important topic of the passage/ paragraph?

IMPLIED MAIN ❖ What does the author want the reader to know about the topic?

IDEA ❖ What is the single most important thing the author is trying to say
about the topic?
 EXAMPLE 1

“The students had fun on their field trip.  They

STATED AND visited  the Marine Museum.  They were able to
IMPLIED MAIN tour a tug boat and they bought souvenirs in the
IDEA gift shop.  After the tours they ate a picnic lunch
in the park and played with their friends.”

❖The underline portion of the sentence is the main idea and is stated
for the readers.
 EXAMPLE 2

“Samantha, I can’t eat or sleep when you are

STATED AND gone. I need to hear your soothing voice and see
IMPLIED MAIN your lovely smile. I miss that special way you
IDEA sing. Please come home soon.”
❖In this paragraph, the main idea isn’t stated. However, by reading
the paragraph, the reader can determine the main idea: The author
misses Samantha.
 Please refer to English for Foundation Studies 11 (ELC081) manual
PRACTICES and do the exercises for Main Idea and Implied Main Idea.
Thank you for listening
Any questions?