Main Idea notes

Main Idea

Paragraphs are written to explain or expand a main idea.

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Why write a paragraph?

Main Ideas

✗

The main idea is the central idea, the most
important idea, in the paragraph.

✗

The main idea gives the paragraph focus, purpose,
and direction. It gives the paragraph a point. The rest
of the paragraph explains, develops, illustrates, or
supports the main idea.

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Okay! But...

Where can I find
the main idea?

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Explicit Main Ideas

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One type of main idea is an explicit main idea
where the author has written out the main idea in
the text.

Topic
Sentence

The topic sentence is sometimes
the first sentence in the paragraph.
The other sentences that follow
will explain, develop, or support the
main idea.

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Highlight the
main idea
sentence on
your notes.

Example: The fight against
starvation in six West African nations
is being hampered by the rainy
season. Heavy rains are turning the
dirt roads into muddy rivers. Relief
will have to wait for a dry spell that
seems nowhere in sight. The
weather bureau is maintaining
silence for fear of increased alarm.

Where:
Sometimes the topic sentence is at the end of a paragraph.

Where else might the main idea be found?

Why:
This is common whenever a difficult or unpopular idea is discussed or when the
purpose of the paragraph is to persuade or convince.

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​What:
We call this “reasons
leading to a conclusion.” The supporting details will
progress from least
important to most
important.

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Highlight the
main idea
sentence on
your notes.

Example: If the wind becomes gusty after a
period of calm, you should seek shelter.
The sky needs careful watching, too.
Gradual darkening and “boiling” clouds
should quicken your pace. Lightning and
thunder are common enough storm
indicators, but few people realize that the
brightness of the lightning is not nearly as
important as the number of lightning
flashes. The signs of an oncoming storm
are many, and a person’s life may depend
on the ability to interpret them.

The topic sentence can be located
near the middle of the paragraph.
So it looks like:
~Introduction
~Main idea
~Supporting sentences

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​If not at the beginning or the end, then where could the main idea be?

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Highlight the
main idea
sentence on
your notes.

Example: Writers like Charles Brockden
Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Susan
Warner still deserve an audience. If they’re
no longer read, it’s because our values
have changed. The way to read some
books is from the vantage of the past. Only
by reconstructing the culture in which they
were written and the audience to whom
they were addressed can we learn to
appreciate their intrinsic worth and see
them for what they are.

Get ready for the confusing one!

Implicit Main Idea

The second type of main idea is an
implicit main idea. The main idea is not
written in the sentence, but the reader
must construct the main idea after
reading all of the details and identifying
the common information.

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Sometimes a paragraph does not have a
topic sentence. It is held together by an
implied main idea; it is hinted at but not
stated. In this kind of paragraph, the
supporting sentences should be strong
enough to suggest a main idea.

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Why in the world would authors do this!?

Reason #1

Details may be arranged as reasons that lead to the
conclusion so the reader
thinks he/she drew his/her
own conclusion.

Reason #2

Details may be arranged as
support for a broad idea that is left unstated. This
may be done because the writer thought the main idea was too widely known
to be necessary.

Reason #3

Details may not build in
any particular direction. It may be a list of equally important details. This would be a summary.
*Think of your objective
summary you wrote for
“The Veldt.”

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Write and
highlight the
implicit main
idea on your
notes.

Example: Whenever your physician orders a medical
test for you, ask why you need it. You should also
inquire about the risks and benefits are. Find out how to
prepare for it. For example, you may need to fast or
discontinue medications or herbal remedies you are
taking. Finally, be sure to ask what the test will involve.
(implicit main idea: There are several questions you
should ask whenever your doctor orders a medical test
for you.)

Okay, let’s practice in Schoology!

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