Advanced Reading
MAIN IDEA
• The main idea answers the question:
“What is the author’s one most important point about the topic?”
When an author includes a sentence in a paragraph that tells his or her
most important point about the topic, that sentence is called
the stated main idea sentence.
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 couldn’t read the
rest of the paragraph)
• Must be a general sentence that sums up the details in the paragraph
Location of the Stated Main Idea
Can appear anywhere in a paragraph:
• Most often it appears at the beginning.
• The next most likely location is at the end.
• The third possibility is somewhere else within the paragraph.
Regardless of where it appears, it will have supporting details that explain
more about it, give examples of it, or prove it.
How to Test the Sentence You Have
Identified as the Stated Main Idea
• When you think you have located a stated main idea sentence see if it
meets 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.
Supporting Details = Additional Information to
Help You Understand the Main Idea
Details consists of specific information such as examples, explanations,
descriptions, proof, and statistics.
Who, what, when, where, why and how?
The answers will be in the details.
Identifying the Main Idea
• Only ONE sentence can be the stated main idea in a paragraph.
• Avoid choosing a sentence just because it interests you or you think it sounds
important.
• Be sure you understand the sentence.
• 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.
• Read the entire paragraph before you decide if there is a stated main
idea sentence.
• Longer selections (such as textbook sections, essays, articles, and
editorials) can have overall stated main ideas.
• Locating the main idea is a skill that underlies several important study
skills, such as marking a text, outlining, making concept maps, and
writing summaries.
Pointers about the Stated Main Idea and
Supporting Details
• Main idea and details are not the same.
• The main idea is general. Details are specific.
• Examples are always details.
• Underline the main idea, but number the details in a paragraph.
• Details are often presented in a bulleted, numbered, or lettered list.
• Details are often introduced by In addition, also, moreover, another, next,
then, last, finally, etc.
Simple Test
• Read this short paragraph:
Engineers create wealth for society. So, tennis is a game and the resources of
the earth are scarce. Have you gone mad? Thus the only solution is to
educate the public on being socially responsible.
Can you find the main idea?
• It didn’t have a MAIN IDEA!
• It was difficult to understand because it was made of different ideas that
did not link. There was no common thread.
