FINDING THE IMPLIED MAIN IDEA OF A PARAGRAPH

2.2 FINDING THE IMPLIED MAIN IDEA OF A PARAGRAPH

Before we discuss how to find an implied main idea, you have to know what the main idea is in the first place. The main idea of a paragraph is the point of the passage, minus all the details. It's the big picture—the Solar System vs. the planets. The football game vs. the fans, cheerleaders, quarterback, and uniforms. The Oscars vs. actors, the red carpet, designer gowns, and films. It's the summary.

What Is an Implied Main Idea?

Sometimes, a reader will get lucky and the main idea will be a stated main idea, where the main idea is easy to find because it's written directly in the text.

However, many of the passages you'll read on a standardized test like the SAT or GRE will have an implied main idea, which is a little trickier. If the author doesn't directly state the main idea of the text, it's up to you to infer what the main idea is.

Finding the implied main idea is easier if you think of the passage as a box. Inside the box, is a random group of stuff (the details of the passage). Pull each item from the box and try to figure out what they each have in common, kind of like the game Tri-Bond. Once you've figured out what the common bond is among each of the items, you'll be able to summarize the passage in a snap.

How To Find the Implied Main Idea

1 Read the passage of text.
2 Ask this question to yourself: "What do each of the details of the passage have in common?".
3 In your own words, find the common bond among all the details of the passage and the author's point about this bond.
4 Compose a short sentence stating the bond and what the author says about the bond.

• Find the topic first. You have to know the topic before you can determine the main idea. Preview your text and ask yourself, “What or who is the article about?” or “What is the author teaching me about?” (For further help, see Identifying the Topic skill sheet.)

• Ask yourself. “What does the author want me to know about the topic?” or “What is the author teaching me about the topic?” You can answer this by finding the idea that is common to most of the text or what opinion all the parts support.

1. Read the first and last sentences of the paragraph (or the first and last paragraphs of the article). Authors often state the main idea near the beginning or end of a paragraph.

2. Pay attention to any idea that is repeated in different ways. If an author returns to the same thought in several different sentences (or paragraphs), that idea is the main or central thought under discussion.

3. Look for a sentence that states the main idea. This is the stated main idea or topic sentence.

4. Look for reversal transitions at the beginning of sentences. These signal that the author is going to modify the previous idea. When a reversal transition opens the second sentence of a paragraph, there’s a good chance that the second sentence is the topic sentence and a stated main idea. Some samples of reversal transitions:

But	Nevertheless	Still
Conversely	Nonetheless	Unfortunately
Even so	On the contrary	When in fact
However	On the other hand	Yet
Must	to express obligation	I must go now.
Must	to express strong belief	She must be over 90 years old.
Should	to give advice	You should stop smoking
Would	to request or offer	Would you like a cup of tea?
In contrast	Regardless

5. At times the main idea will not be stated directly. This is called an implied main idea.

• Read all of the specific statements, not just the ones that open the paragraphs.

• Think of a general statement that could sum up the specifics as effectively as any stated topic sentence. As there will not be a topic sentence, you will have to write one. The main idea you write must be a complete sentence that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

6. Once you feel sure that you have found the main idea, test it. Ask yourself if the sentence could act as a summary of the other sentences in the paragraph. Do the examples, reasons, and facts included in the reading explain or give evidence supporting the main idea you have in mind? If they do, then you are right on target. If they don’t, you may want to revise your main idea.