MAIN IDEA

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MAIN IDEA

• A MAIN IDEA IS THE FOCUS OR CENTRAL IDEA IN A
  PIECE OF WRITING.

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Main Idea

• 1. The topic is what the article is about.
  This can be stated in a few words it should not
  be lengthy.
• 2. The main idea is the most important idea
  about the topic.
• 3. Supporting details are small pieces of
  information that tell more about the main idea.

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Stated or implied?

• 4. A stated main idea is actually written in the
  article or story.
• 5. An implied main idea must be inferred or
  figured out from the information the selection
  contains.

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Read the following passage and choose the main
idea.

• Sheila Farnsworth stood before the
  sculpture in her studio. She had been working
  since 400 a.m. to make the giant pair of eagles
  look real. It was now time for lunch, and she
  still hadnt finished. The artist continued her
  work on the eagles wings, molding them into a
  pattern of flight.
• A. The giant sculpture was a pair of eagles in
  flight.
• B. The artists studio was her place of work.
• C. A sculpture of eagles can look real.
• D. Sheila Farnsworth was a hard-working artist.

5
Read the following passage and choose the main
idea.

• Sheila Farnsworth stood before the
  sculpture in her studio. She had been working
  since 400 a.m. to make the giant pair of eagles
  look real. It was now time for lunch, and she
  still hadnt finished. The artist continued her
  work on the eagles wings, molding them into a
  pattern of flight.
• A. The giant sculpture was a pair of eagles in
  flight.
• B. The artists studio was her place of work.
• C. A sculpture of eagles can look real.
• D. Sheila Farnsworth was a hard-working artist.

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MAIN IDEA

• 6. Main ideas often appear as topic sentences of
  paragraphs or in an introduction or conclusion of
  a composition.

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EXAMPLE
Main idea

• The yo-yo has been a popular toy through
  many centuries and cultures. Invented in China
  about one thousand years ago, it appeared in
  England in the late eighteenth century. The
  troops of the French ruler Napoleon entertained
  themselves with the yo-yo in the nineteenth
  century. The yo-yo came to the United States
  from the Philippines in the 1920s and became a
  favorite toy of people of all ages.

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Read the following passage and choose the main
idea.

• If you have Internet access, you can send an
  e-mail message. You do not need stationery, a
  pen, or a stamp. You do not have to find a post
  office or mailbox to send the letter. You just
  type in your message and hit the send button.
  The person will get your e-mail message, usually
  in minutes, rather than days.

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IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

• E-mail is easy to use.

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EXAMPLE
Support for Implied Main Idea

• If you have Internet access, you can send an
  e-mail message. You do not need stationery, a
  pen, or a stamp. You do not have to find a post
  office or mailbox to send the letter. You just
  type in your message and hit the send button.
  The person will get your e-mail message, usually
  in minutes, rather than days.