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    Main Idea

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    Rini Hadi
    The document discusses topics and main ideas in paragraphs. A topic is a word or phrase that tells what the author is writing about. Clues to finding the topic include headings, special formatting, repetition, and pronouns. A main idea is the most important point about the topic, and it can be located at the beginning, end, or within a paragraph.

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    Main Idea

    Uploaded by

    Rini Hadi
    85 views23 pages
    The document discusses topics and main ideas in paragraphs. A topic is a word or phrase that tells what the author is writing about. Clues to finding the topic include headings, special formatting, repetition, and pronouns. A main idea is the most important point about the topic, and it can be located at the beginning, end, or within a paragraph.

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    The document discusses topics and main ideas in paragraphs. A topic is a word or phrase that tells what the author is writing about. Clues to finding the topic include headings, special formatting, repetition, and pronouns. A main idea is the most important point about the topic, and it can be located at the beginning, end, or within a paragraph.

    Copyright:

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    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    85 views23 pages

    Main Idea

    Uploaded by

    Rini Hadi
    The document discusses topics and main ideas in paragraphs. A topic is a word or phrase that tells what the author is writing about. Clues to finding the topic include headings, special formatting, repetition, and pronouns. A main idea is the most important point about the topic, and it can be located at the beginning, end, or within a paragraph.

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    At a glance
    Powered by AI
    The key takeaways are that a topic tells what a paragraph is about while a main idea expresses the most important point about the topic. Clues to identifying the topic include it appearing as a heading, in special formatting, being repeated or referred to with pronouns. A main idea can be found at the beginning, end or within a paragraph.

    Some clues that can help identify the topic of a paragraph include it appearing as a heading or title, in special formatting like bold or italics, being repeated throughout the paragraph, or appearing once and then being referred to by pronouns or other words.

    The different locations where a main idea can be found in a paragraph are at the beginning of the paragraph, at the end of the paragraph, or within the paragraph.

    Topics

    and
    Main Ideas

    By Tammi Naumann
    What is a topic?
    "A topic is a word or phrase that tells what
    the author is writing about in a paragraph."
    (from Opening Doors, p.191)

    "The topic of a passage is a word or phrase


    that labels the subject but does not reveal
    the specific contents of the passage."
    (from Bridging the Gap: College Reading, p.124
    To find the topic of a
    paragraph or passage,
    ask yourself:

    Who or what is this


    paragraph about?
    Clues to Topic Location
    The topic can . . .
    Appear as a heading or title:
    Doing Business and Learning About a Culture 
    Through Its Language (p.192 from Opening Doors)
    Appear in special type such as bold print,
    italics, or color:
    "A felony is a serious crime . . . A misdemeanor
    is a minor offense, . . ." (p.193 from Opening Doors)
     Be repeated throughout the paragraph:
    "Claustrophobia. Acrophobia. Xenophobia. Although
    these sound like characters in a Greek tragedy, they are
    actually members of a class of psychological disorders
    known as phobias. . . ." (p.193 from Opening Doors)

     Appear once and then referred to by


    pronouns or other words
    "Before the age of 13, Isaac Newton had invented the
    mathematical methods . . . His was a lonely . . . His
    father died . . ., and after his mother remarried, he was
    raised by . . . In 1661, he was admitted to Cambridge
    University, . . ." (pp.193-194 from Opening Doors)
    "Topics are general categories, like titles,
    but they are not main ideas."
    (from Bridging the Gap: College Reading, p.124)

    What is the topic for each set of items?

    1) shirt, pants,
    CLOTHES
    jacket, sweater

    2) history, reading,
    math, English COURSES
    What is the topic for each set of items?

    3) Texas, Arizona,
    Pennsylvania, Virginia
    STATES

    4) corn, peas, FRUITS AND


    oranges, apples VEGETABLES

    5) basketball, volleyball,
    baseball, hockey SPORTS
    What is a stated main idea?
    "A stated main idea is the sentence in a
    paragraph that contains both the topic and the
    author’s single most important point about the
    topic."
    (p.172, Opening Doors)

    "The main idea of a passage is the central


    message that the author is trying to convey
    about the material."
    (p.122, Bridging the Gap: College Reading)
    To find the main idea of a
    paragraph or passage, ask yourself:

    What is the most important


    point the author wants me to
    understand about the topic?
    Where can the main idea
    appear in a paragraph?
     At the beginning of the paragraph

     At the end of the paragraph

     Within the paragraph


    At the beginning of the paragraph:
    "Beginning a new job is always
    exciting and sometimes intimidating.
    There is an invigorating feeling of a
    fresh start and a clean slate. You face
    new challenges and draw on a renewed
    sense of energy as you approach them.
    But you may also feel apprehensive . . . "
    (p.196,
    Opening Doors)
    At the end of the paragraph:
    “. . .Most Anglo-Americans, for instance, see the
    extensive family obligations of Hispanics as a
    burdensome arrangement that inhibits individual
    freedom. Hispanics, in contrast, view the isolated
    nuclear family of Anglo-Americans as a lonely
    institution that cuts people off from the love and
    assistance of their kin. This tendency to view
    one's own cultural patterns as good and right
    and those of others as strange or even immoral
    is called ethnocentrism."
    (p.197, Opening Doors)
    Within the paragraph:
    " Jim always seems to score well on tests. How
    does he do it? Jim offers these tips for
    successful studying. The first step is to decide
    what to study. Find out what topics will be
    covered on the test. Next, organize your notes
    and other materials on these topics. Third, make
    study guides to use as memory aids. Your final
    step is to review your notes and study guides
    until you feel confident about taking the test."
    (from Becoming a
    Confident Reader, p.200)
    "All organisms must insure that their offspring have a
    reasonable chance to survive and begin a new
    generation. Plants, however, face special challenges.
    Plants do not have nervous systems, and they are not
    able to run away from predators or pests. Because
    nearly all plants live in fixed positions, they must
    also manage to find mates without being able to
    move around. Therefore they have evolved strategies
    for dealing with these problems that are essentially
    passive. An important part of such strategies is a
    reproductive pattern enabling each individual to
    produce large numbers of offspring." (Levine
    and Miller, Biology, 1991)
    What is the most important point the
    author wants you to know about
    plants?
    Where is the main idea located?
    Within the paragraph (second sentence):

    "Plants, however, face special


    challenges."
    "Taking vitamins may be beneficial to
    your health for several reasons. For one
    thing, vitamins provide essential
    nutrients that may be lacking in your
    diet. Also, some vitamins may reduce
    your risk of cancer and other diseases.
    Finally, vitamins may increase your
    energy and improve your well-being."
    (from Becoming a Confident Reader, p.161)
    What is the most important point
    the author wants you to know about
    vitamins?
    Where is the main idea located?
    At the beginning of the paragraph:

    "Taking vitamins may be beneficial


    to your health for several reasons."
    "Within the organization, information may be
    transmitted from superiors to subordinates
    (downward communication), from subordinates
    to superiors (upward communication), among
    people at the same level on the organizational
    chart (horizontal communication), and among
    people in different departments within the
    organization (cross-channel communication).
    These four types of communication make up the
    organization's formal communication
    network."
    (Ober, Contemporary Business Communications, 1995)
    What is the most important point
    the author wants you to know about
    formal communication network?
    Where is the main idea located?
    At the end of the paragraph:
    "These four types of communication
    make up the organization's formal
    communication network."
    Summary
    a word or phrase that tells what the
    A topic is author is writing about in a paragraph

    topic as heading or title


    clues topic in special type
    to find topic repeated in paragraph

    topic are topic appears once and then


    referred to by pronouns or
    other words
    Summary
    sentence in a paragraph that
    A stated
    expresses the most important
    main idea is point about the topic

    at the beginning of the


    a main idea paragraph
    can be
    at the end of the paragraph
    located
    within the
    paragraph
    Bibliography
    Cortina, Joe and Janet Elder. (2002). Opening
    Doors: Understanding College Reading. New
    York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

    Kanar, Carol. (2000). Becoming a Confident


    Reader. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

    Smith, Brenda. (2000). Bridging the Gap: College


    Reading. New York: Longman.
    Thank you to the following:

    My students in READ-D01, D02, P16, & P36

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