MAIN IDEAS

IDENTIFYING TOPICS, MAIN IDEAS, and SUPPORTING DETAILS

By Teacher Nurhafizah

You can't comprehend the subject matter if you haven't identified

the topic, the main idea, and the supporting details.

-ANONYMOUS-

At the end of the lesson , you are expected to :

• 1. Discuss what topics, main ideas and supporting details are;

• 2. Identify topics, main ideas, and supporting details in texts read;

• 3. Demonstrate full understanding of text perused.

What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic or central theme. Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea which is considered the most significant piece of information the author wants to convey.

Paragraph structure. A paragraph has 3 parts:

• The topic sentence: Is the main idea of the paragraph. Tells the reader what the paragraph is about.

• The supporting sentences: Add the details of the main idea.

• The concluding sentence: Summarizes the main points or rephrases the topic sentence.

Topic sentences

• The topic of a paragraph is generally introduced by a key sentence.

• This is called a topic sentence because it contains the central idea of the paragraph.

• It often -but not always- comes at the beginning of the paragraph.

• The topic sentence has 2 parts: Topic + controlling idea topic is the subject of the paragraph and the controlling idea tells what the paragraph will tell about the topic.

Topic sentences

• Examples of: Topic + controlling idea.

• Pollution in ABC Town is the worst in the world

• Dogs can help you to live longer.

• Teen pregnancy may be prevented by improved education.

• It is important to be ready before buying a house

• Swimming is the most effective and most injury-free aerobic exercise you can do.

The supporting sentences

• What are supporting sentences?

• They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.

• What do they do?

• They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.

• How do I write them?

• You should give supporting facts, details, and examples.

The concluding sentence

• The concluding or ending sentence closes or finishes the paragraph and should be related to the topic sentence.

• Ending sentences can:

• a) Repeat the topic sentence in a different way

• b) Summarize the information.

Example: Writing about college

Topic sentence could be:

College is very important.

Supporting sentences:

You learn how to study. Teachers teach you how to organize your work. You learn how to use computers.

_{The supporting sentences can be moved around so that the paragraph is in order or makes more sense. To strengthen your writing, make sure that each of your supporting sentences relates well to the topic sentence.}

Ending sentence:

It is important to go to college. So, it is important because you learn to study, to organize your work, and to use computers.