Topic Main Idea and Supporting Details

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TopicMain Idea and Supporting Details
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Topic, Main Idea, and Supporting Details

• Key Points
• Topic
• Main Idea
• Stated
• implied
• SupportingDetails

• Ideas
• Who/what text is about
• A word or phrase repeated in text
• May appear in title or special font

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What is the topic?

• The topic is who or what (subject) the text is
  about.

• The topic of a passage is a word or phrase that
  labels the subject but does not reveal the
  specific contents of the passage.

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To find the topic of a paragraph or passage, ask
yourself
Who or what is this paragraph about?
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Clues to Topic Location
The topic can . . .

• Appear as a heading or title

Mae Jemison Space Scientist

• 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)
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• 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)
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"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, jacket, sweater
CLOTHES
2) history, reading, math, English
COURSES
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What is the topic for each set of items?
3) Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia
STATES
4) corn, peas, oranges, apples
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
5) basketball, volleyball, baseball, hockey
SPORTS
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Whats the Main Idea?

• The main idea tells the most important point(s)
  the author will make about the topic.
• The main idea is NEVER A QUESTION!!
• The main idea is a general idea.
• The main idea can be stated or implied

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What is a stated main idea?
"A stated main idea is a general sentence in a
paragraph that contains both the topic and the
authors single most important point about the
topic."
(p.172, Opening Doors)
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To find the stated main idea of a paragraph or
passage, ask yourself

1. Who or what is this paragraph about-Topic?
2. What is the single most important point the
   author wants me to understand about the topic-the
   most general sentence?

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Where can the stated main idea appear in a
paragraph?

• At the beginning of the paragraph First
  sentence of the paragraph

• At the end of the paragraph Last sentence
  of the paragraph

• Within the paragraph

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At the beginning of the paragraph
Soccer players learn many skills when playing
soccer. Soccer players learn how to dribble and
pass the ball. They also learn how to control the
ball so they can eventually score. Most
importantly, soccer players learn how to work
together with their teammates.
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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)
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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)
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What is an implied main idea?
To imply is to suggest. To find an implied main
idea, the reader must read the entire passage and
determine the main idea from the supporting
details.

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What are Supporting Details?

• Supporting details gives additional specific
  information to help you understand more about the
  main idea.

• Details consists of specific information such as
  examples, illustrations, facts, explanations,
  descriptions, proof, comparisons, contrasts, and
  statistics.
• Who, what, when, where, why, how?
• The answers will be in the details.

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Summary

• who or what (subject) the reading selection or
  passage is about.

A topic is
topic as heading or title
clues to find topic are
topic in special type
topic repeated in paragraph
topic appears once and then referred to by
pronouns or other words
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Summary
sentence in a paragraph that expresses the most
important point about the topic
A stated main idea is
at the beginning of the paragraph
a main idea can be located
at the end of the paragraph
within the paragraph
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Summary
suggested through supporting details
An implied main idea is
Give information to help you learn more about the
main idea.
Supporing details
examples, illustrations, facts, explanations,
descriptions, proof, comparisons, contrasts, and
statistics
within the paragraph
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Main Idea with Tim and Moby!
http//www.brainpop.com/english/writing/mainidea/
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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.