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Contents
Reading
 
0001 Meaning of Words and Phrases
 
0002 Main Idea and Supporting Details
Identify the Main Idea
Sequence of Events or Steps
Supporting the Main Idea
Expressed or Implied Purpose
 
0003 Analyze Relationship Among Ideas
 
0004 Critical-Reasoning Skills
 
0005 Apply Skills for Summarizing, Outlining, and Interpreting
 
Practice Reading Tests
 

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0002 Understand the Main Idea and Supporting Details in Written Material

Identify the Stated Main Idea of a Paragraph or Passage

In expository writing - writing that explains - the main idea of a passage is usually stated in the passage; it is explicit. Frequently, it will be stated as the first sentence of the passage or at the end of the introduction. In your own writing, you may have learned to call this main idea a topic statement. Sometimes, however, particularly in narrative writing - writing that tells a story - the main idea is implicit, unstated. When you cannot find an expressly stated main idea, you must figure it out or infer it, taking care that you have considered the entire passage.

You can help yourself by asking,

“What is this writer trying to communicate?”

If you state the main idea in a single sentence before you read the choices given by the test makers, it should clarify your own ideas and, therefore, be able to answer the question more easily.