Main Idea and Supporting Details

What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?

• Who is the main character?

• What is the main event?

• What is one important detail?

• What point is the author trying to make?

In the phrase, "The main idea is buttressed by supporting details," what is the best synonym for buttressed?

• Backed

• Refuted

• Confounded 

• Weakened

In an essay, details serve a similar function to: 

• An instructional manual for putting together furniture

• The characters in a work of fiction

• Blank pages in a notebook

• The evidence an attorney needs to convict a criminal

What is the main idea of a passage?

• The central point or message the author wants to convey

• A minor detail that supports the text

• The author's personal opinion

• A random fact mentioned in the text

Which of the following is a supporting detail?

• A fact or example that explains the main idea

• The title of the passage

• The author's name

• The publication date

How can you identify the main idea in a paragraph?

• Look for repeated words or phrases

• Count the number of sentences

• Identify the longest sentence

• Find the first word

What role do supporting details play in a text?

• They provide evidence and examples to clarify the main idea

• They distract from the main idea

• They summarize the entire text

• They introduce new topics

Which sentence is most likely the main idea?

• The Amazon rainforest is home to diverse species.

• Many animals live in the Amazon.

• The Amazon is a large rainforest.

• The Amazon rainforest is crucial for global ecology.

What is a characteristic of a good supporting detail?

• It directly relates to and supports the main idea

• It is longer than the main idea

• It is unrelated to the main idea

• It is a personal opinion

In a well-structured paragraph, where is the main idea usually found?

• In the topic sentence

• In the last sentence

• In the middle of the paragraph

• In a footnote