Finding the main idea

The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. It is often expressed
directly or it can be implied.

Where are the main ideas found?

It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text.

• Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often
explains the subject being discussed in the passage.
• Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can
be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the
information in the next paragraph.

The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult to identify a main idea when
it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An
implied main idea can be found in several ways.

• Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about the
topic before actually stating the topic.
• Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or
suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover
the main idea in the selected text.
• Try the passage below to see if you can pick out the main idea.

"To many parents, the infant's crying may be mainly an irritation, especially if it
continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as
for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory
system. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry,
they indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information for
parents."

Use the hints below to determine the correct main idea of this paragraph.

After reading a paragraph ask, "What point is the author making in this passage?"

Ask the following questions:

• Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group of people?

• When - Does the information contain a reference to time?
• Where - Does the text name a place?
• Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for something that happened?
• How - Does this information indicate a method or a theory?
How can I determine if I have selected the correct main idea
of a paragraph?
If you are able to summarize the information in the passage in your own words,you have
absorbed the correct main idea. To accomplish this goal, try the steps listed below after reading a
short section of your textbook.

• Write a short summary in your own words about what you have read.
• Does your summary agree with this general topic?
• Does your summary contain the same ideas being expressed by the author?
• Could you write a headline (or textbook subheading) that would express your summary in
less than five words?

If you are able to rephrase your choice of a topic sentence into a question and then determine if
the passage answers your question, you have been successful at selecting a main idea.

What is the Main Idea?

The main idea of a paragraph is the point of the passage, minus all the details. It is the main
point or concept that the author wants to communicate to the readers about the topic. Hence, in a
paragraph, when the main idea is stated directly, it is expressed in what is called the topic
sentence. It gives the overarching idea of what the paragraph is about and is supported by the
details in the paragraph. In a multi-paragraph article, the main idea is expressed in the thesis
statement.

The main idea is what you tell someone when they ask what you did last weekend. You might
say something like, "I went to the mall," instead of saying, "I got in my car and drove to the mall.

After I found a parking space near the main entrance, I went inside and got a coffee at Starbucks.
Then, I went into several shoe stores looking for a new pair of kicks to wear next weekend when
we go to the beach. I found them at Aldo's, but then I tried on shorts for the next hour because I
realized mine were all too small."

The main idea is the brief, but all-encompassing summary. It covers everything the paragraph
talks about in a general way, but does not include the specifics.

When an author does not state the main idea directly, it should still be implied, and is called an
implied main idea. This requires that the reader look closely at the content - at specific words,
sentences, images that are used and repeated - to deduce what the author is communicating. This
may take a little more effort on the part of the reader.
Finding the main idea is critical to understanding what you are reading. It helps the details make
sense and have relevance, and provides a framework for remembering the content.

How to Find the Main Idea

Identify the Topic

Read the passage through completely, then try to identify the topic. Who or what is the paragraph
about?

Summarize the Passage

After reading the passage through thoroughly, summarize it in your own words in one sentence
that includes the gist of every idea from the paragraph. A good way to do this is to pretend you
have just ten words to tell someone what the passage is about.

Look at the First and Last Sentences of the Passage

Authors often put the main idea in or near either the first or last sentence of the paragraph or
article.

Determine whether either of these sentences capture the main idea. Sometimes, however, the
author will use what is called a reversal transition in the second sentence - words like but,
however, in contrast, nevertheless, etc. - that indicate that the second sentence is the main idea.
If you see one of these words that negate or qualify the first sentence, that is a clue that the
second sentence is the main idea.

Look for Repetition of Ideas

If you read through a paragraph and you have no idea how to summarize it because there is so
much information, start looking for repeated words, phrases, ideas or similar ideas. Read this
example paragraph:

A new hearing device uses a magnet to hold the detachable sound-processing portion in place.
Like other aids, it converts sound into vibrations. But it is unique in that it can transmit the
vibrations directly to the magnet and then to the inner ear. This produces a clearer sound. The
new device will not help all hearing-impaired people - only those with a hearing loss caused by
infection or some other problem in the middle ear. It will probably help no more than 20 percent
of all people with hearing problems. Those people who have persistent ear infections, however,
should find relief and restored hearing with the new device.

What idea does this paragraph consistently repeat? A new hearing device. What is the point
about this idea? A new hearing device is now available for some hearing-impaired people. And
there is the main idea.

Avoid Main Idea Mistakes

Choosing a main idea from a set of answer choices is different than composing a main idea on
your own. Writers of multiple choice tests are often tricky and will give you distractor questions
that sound much like the real answer. By reading the passage through thoroughly, using your
skills, and identifying the main idea on your own, though, you can avoid making these 3
common mistakes - 1) selecting an answer that is too narrow in scope; 2) selecting an answer
that is too broad; 3) or selecting an answer that is complex but contrary to the main idea.

Summary

Finding the main idea can be challenging, but if you use the tools above and practice, you will be
well on your way to the score you want on the verbal or reading sections of standardized tests.

How To Find the Stated Main Idea

1. Read the passage of text

2. Ask this question to yourself: "What is this passage mostly about?"
3. In your own words, explain the answer in one short sentence. Do not includes details or
examples from the text. Do not extend your idea beyond what is written in the text, even
if you know a ton about the topic. It does not matter for this exercise.
4. Look for a sentence in the text that most closely fits with your brief summary.

Stated Main Idea Example:

Because the Internet exists in a world that is already regulated with policies and laws,
government officials, upholders of current laws and the voice of the people, should be ultimately
responsible for the regulation of the Internet. With this responsibility comes the enormous task of
managing the protection of First Amendment rights along with honoring social and public
interests across the world. That being said, the ultimate responsibility still rests in the hands of
Internet users who vote – they, along with the officials elected to serve them, make up the global
community. Voters have the ability to elect responsible individuals to the appropriate posts, and
the elected officials have the responsibility to act on the will of the people..

The main idea here is "…government officials…should be ultimately responsible for the
regulation of the Internet." That is a stated main idea because it is directly written in the text. The
sentence fully encapsulates the passage's meaning as a whole. It does not go beyond the text
making inferences outside the scope of the passage, nor does it use the specifics of the passage
inside it, either.

What Is an Implied Main Idea?

Sometimes, a reader will get lucky and the main idea will be a stated main idea, where the main
idea is easy to find because it's written directly in the text.
However, many of the passages you'll read on a standardized test like the SAT or GRE will have
an implied main idea, which is a little trickier. If the author doesn't directly state the main idea of
the text, it's up to you to infer what the main idea is.

Finding the implied main idea is easier if you think of the passage as a box. Inside the box, is a
random group of stuff (the details of the passage). Pull each item from the box and try to figure
out what they each have in common, kind of like the game Tri-Bond. Once you've figured out
what the common bond is among each of the items, you'll be able to summarize the passage in a
snap.

How To Find the Implied Main Idea

1. Read the passage of text

1. Ask this question to yourself: "What do each of the details of the passage have in
common?"
2. In your own words, find the common bond among all the details of the passage and the
author's point about this bond.
3. Compose a short sentence stating the bond and what the author says about the bond.

Step 1: Read the Implied Main Idea Example:

When you're with your friends, it's okay to be loud and use slang.

They'll expect it and they aren't grading you on your grammar. When you're standing in a
boardroom or sitting for an interview, you should use your best English possible, and keep your
tone suitable to the working environment. Try to gauge the personality of the interviewer and the
setting of the workplace before cracking jokes or speaking out of turn. If you're ever in a position
to speak publicly, always ask about your audience, and modify your language, tone, pitch and
topic based on what you think the audience's preferences would be. You'd never give a lecture
about atoms to third-graders!

Step 2: What's the Common Thread?

In this case, the author is writing about hanging out with friends, going on an interview, and
speaking publicly, which, at first glance, don't seem to relate to each other that much. If you find
a common bond among all them, though, you'll see that the author is giving you different
situations and then telling us to speak differently in each setting (use slang with friends, be
respectful and quiet in an interview, modify your tone publicly). The common bond is speaking,
which will have to be part of the implied main idea.

Step 3. Summarize the Passage

A sentence like "Different situations requires different kinds of speech" would fit perfectly as the
implied main idea of that passage.
We had to infer that because the sentence doesn't appear anywhere in the paragraph. But it was
easy enough to find this implied main idea when you looked at the common bond uniting each
idea.

Author's Tone Defined

Author's tone is simply an author's attitude toward a particular written subject. It's very different
from the author's purpose! The tone of the article, essay, story, poem, novel, screenplay, or any
other written work can be described in many ways. The author's tone can be witty, dreary, warm,
playful, outraged, neutral, polished, wistful, reserved, and on and on. Basically, if there's an
attitude out there, an author can write with it.

Author's Tone Created

An author uses different techniques to create the tone he or she wants to convey, but the most
important is word choice. It's huge when it comes to setting a tone. If an author wanted his or her
writing to have a scholarly, serious tone, he or she would stay away from onomatopoeia,
figurative language, and bright, flashy words.

He or she would probably choose tougher vocabulary and longer, more complex sentences. If,
however, he or she wanted to be witty and light, then the author would use very specific sensory
language, (sounds, smells and tastes, perhaps), colorful descriptions and shorter, even
grammatically incorrect sentences and dialogue.

Author's Tone Examples

Take a look at the word choice in the following examples to see how different tones can be
created using the same scenario.

Tone #1

The suitcase was packed. His guitar was already on his shoulder. Time to go. He took one last
look around his room, pushing down the lump forming in his throat. His mother waited in the
hallway, eyes red. "You'll be great, baby," she whispered, pulling him to her for one last hug. He
couldn't answer, but warmth spread through his chest at her words. He walked out into the crisp
morning, tossed his suitcase in the back, and left his childhood home, the future shining before
him as brightly as the September sun.

Tone #2
The suitcase was busting at the seams. His ol' beat-up guitar hung around his shoulder, knocking
him in the head as he tried to get out the gol-dang door. He looked around his room, probably for
the last time, and coughed so he didn't start blubbering like a baby. His mom stood there in the
hallway, looking like she'd been crying for the last fifteen hours. "You'll be great, baby," she
cooed and pulled him into a hug so tight he felt his insides squishing around. He didn't answer
and not because he was upset or anything.

More because she'd squeezed the words out of his throat. He clomped out the house, threw his
junk in the car, and smiled as he revved the engine. He could hear his mom wailing inside and
chuckled to himself as he backed out the drive toward the unknown. What waited around the
bend? He wasn't sure, but he was absolutely, one hundred per cent positive it was gonna be good.
Really good.

Even though both paragraphs talk about a young man leaving his mother's house, the tone of the
passages are very different. The first is wistful – more nostalgic - whereas the second is light-
hearted.

Author's Tone on Reading Tests

Reading comprehension tests like ACT Reading or Evidence-Based Reading on the SAT, will
often ask you to determine the author's tone of different passages, although they may not come
right out and ask you in that way.

Some will, but many do not! Here are some questions you could see on the reading
comprehension portion of an exam that relate to author's tone:

1. Which of the following choices provides the most vivid description while maintaining the
author's tone of the article?
2. What does the author want to convey through the use of the word "bitter" and "morbid"?
3. The author's attitude toward mom and pop cafés could best be described as:
4. Based on the information in lines 46 – 49, the author's feelings about environmentalists in
the Sahara could best be described as:
5. Which emotion is the author most likely trying to rouse from the reader?
6. The author of the article would most likely describe the American Revolution as:
7. What emotion does the author want to convey through the use of the statement, "Never
again!"

Author's Tone Defined

Author's tone is simply an author's expressed attitude toward a particular written subject. It may
not be his or her actual attitude as authors can certainly express an attitude other than their own.
It's very different from the author's purpose! The tone of the article, essay, story, poem, novel,
screenplay, or any other written work can be described in many ways. The author's tone can be
witty, dreary, warm, playful, outraged, neutral, polished, wistful, reserved, and on and on.

Basically, if there's an attitude out there, an author can write with it.

Here are more details about what author's tone actually is. And, if you'd like to practice your new
skills, here's Author's Tone Worksheet 1.

How To Find Author's Tone

So, now that you know what it is, how can you determine the author's tone when you get to a
reading comprehension test? Here are a few tricks to help you nail it every time.

Author's Tone Trick #1: Read the Introductory Info

On most major reading comprehension tests, the test makers will give you a little snippet of
information along with the author's name prior to the text itself. Take these two examples from
the ACT Reading test:

Passage 1: "This passage is adapted from the chapter “Personality Disorders” in Introduction
to Psychology, edited by Rita L. Atkinson and Richard C. Atkinson (©1981 by Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.)."

Passage 2: "This passage is adapted from the novel The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria
Naylor (©1998 by Gloria Naylor)."

Without reading any portion of the text itself, you can already determine that the first text will
have a more serious tone. The author writes in a scientific journal, so the tone will have to be
more reserved. The second text could be anything at all, so when you're reading, you'll need to
use another trick to determine author's tone.

Authors' Tone Trick #2: Watch Word Choice

Word choice plays a major part in the tone of a piece. If you look at the examples given in the
"What is Author's Tone" article, you'll see how very different an identical situation can be by just
the words an author chooses to use. Look at the following words and see how they reflect a
different feeling, even though the words are similar in meaning.

1. Sit in the sunshine and smile. Bask in the brilliant rays. Discover your giggle.
2. Sit in the hot sun and smirk. Recline in the glaring rays. Hunt for that snicker.
3. Sit in the warm sun and grin. Relax in the warm rays. Look for a chuckle.

Even though all three sentences are written almost identically, the tones are very different. One is
more relaxing – you can picture a lazy afternoon by the pool. The other is more joyful – maybe
playing in the park on a sunny day. The other is definitely more sarcastic and negative, even
though it's written about sitting in the sun.
Authors' Tone Trick #3: Go With Your Gut

Often, a tone is tough to describe, but you know what it is. You get a particular feeling from the
text – an urgency or a certain amount of sadness. You feel angry after reading it and can sense
the author is angry, too.

Or you find yourself chuckling throughout the text even though nothing comes right out and
screams "funny!" So, on these kinds of texts, and the corresponding author's tone questions, trust
your gut. And on the author's tone questions, hide the answers and make yourself come up with a
guess before looking. Take this question for example:

The author of the article would most likely describe ballet as

Before you get to the answer choices, try to finish the sentence. Put an adjective in there based
on what you've read. Amusing? Essential? Cut-throat? Joyous? Then, when you've answered the
question with a gut reaction, read the answer choices to see if your choice, or something similar
is there. More often than not, your brain knows the answer even if you doubt it!

Finding the main idea

The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. It is often expressed
directly or it can be implied.

Where are the main ideas found?

It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text.

• Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often
explains the subject being discussed in the passage.
• Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can
be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the
information in the next paragraph.

The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult to identify a main idea when
it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An
implied main idea can be found in several ways.

• Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about the
topic before actually stating the topic.
 • Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or
suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover
the main idea in the selected text.
• Try the passage below to see if you can pick out the main idea.

"To many parents, the infant's crying may be mainly an irritation, especially if it
continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as
for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory
system. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry,
they indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information for
parents."

Use the hints below to determine the correct main idea of this paragraph.

After reading a paragraph ask, "What point is the author making in this passage?"

Ask the following questions:

• Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group of people?

• When - Does the information contain a reference to time?
• Where - Does the text name a place?
• Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for something that happened?
• How - Does this information indicate a method or a theory?

How can I determine if I have selected the correct main idea

of a paragraph?
If you are able to summarize the information in the passage in your own words,you have
absorbed the correct main idea. To accomplish this goal, try the steps listed below after reading a
short section of your textbook.

• Write a short summary in your own words about what you have read.
• Does your summary agree with this general topic?
• Does your summary contain the same ideas being expressed by the author?
• Could you write a headline (or textbook subheading) that would express your summary in
less than five words?

If you are able to rephrase your choice of a topic sentence into a question and then determine if
the passage answers your question, you have been successful at selecting a main idea.