Types of main ideas

It seems that Valentine’s Day is hard on relationships. Researchers Katherine Morse and Steven Neuberg have shown that the overall odds of breaking up one week before or one week after Valentine’s Day are higher than normal, 5.49 times higher than normal to be

exact. Morse and Neuberg further determined that the negative effect of the holiday occurred mainly in couples whose relationship was already deteriorating. The holiday had no effect on breakups among high quality or improving relationships.

The main idea in the paragraph is...

• implicit

• explicit

• none

• hold on, let me think first!

Answer explanation

The main idea is implicit because readers need to read between the lines to understand it.

It seems that Valentine’s Day is hard on relationships. Researchers Katherine Morse and Steven Neuberg have shown that the overall odds of breaking up one week before or one week after Valentine’s Day are higher than normal, 5.49 times higher than normal to be

exact. Morse and Neuberg further determined that the negative effect of the holiday occurred mainly in couples whose relationship was already deteriorating. The holiday had no effect on breakups among high quality or improving relationships.

Which of the following is the best main idea for the paragraph?

• More breakups happen during the Valentine’s day

• Valentine’s day generally affect a deteriorating relationship

• It seems that Valentine’s Day is hard on relationships

• According to studies, Valentine's Day has varying effects on different relationships

In the late 1950s, union leaders Walter Reuther and George Meany battled over how to define American labor’s role in the world. The liberal Reuther wanted unions to think of themselves as part of an international labor movement. The more conservative Meany insisted that American union members should concentrate on their own interests and let workers in other countries take care of themselves.

What is the best main idea for the paragraph?

• Union leaders have different views over the global role of the American labor

• The conservative side thought that union leaders should maintain its interests on the American labor’s role

• Labor movement is of particular interests for the liberal and conservative parties

Television news programmers know they have to draw big audiences to please their advertisers. Because audiences have many programs to choose from, local TV news directors try to attract viewers with action-oriented shows featuring stories about crimes, accidents, and natural disasters with news about sports and weather and the chipper chatter of the newscasters. Because it is hard to write snappy stories about government and politics, most

news programs feature very little information about these topics.

What is the best main idea for the paragraph?

• TV news programmers have the biggest job in the industry

• It is challenging to attract viewers because they have different TV programs to choose from

• Action-oriented programs attract more viewers and benefits advertisers

• TV news directors have to be more careful when writing stories related to politics and government

Social interaction is important for happiness. According to psychologists, much of our happiness comes from feeling that we are part of a community. Simple acts like smiling to a neighbour or having dinners with friends can greatly increase our overall happiness. People in Mexico socialise with friends and family a lot and this adds to their happiness.

Which of the following is the best main idea for the passage?

• having dinners with friends can greatly increase our overall happiness

• Social interaction is important for happiness.

• People in Mexico socialise with friends

• our happiness comes from our feeling