Friday, February 9, 2007

We are going to look at how to find the main idea in a passage. There are also a number of exercises that we did (and marked) as a class.

Finding the Main Idea

In a crime there’s a motive. There’s also a motive behind every piece of writing. In order to find out, you have to ask yourself:
· Why did the author write this?
· What idea is he trying to convey (get across)?
· WHAT YOU ARE REALLY ASKNG IS:
What is the writer’s main idea?

Finding the main idea determines the who, what, when, why and where the writer will write about, as well as the how he will write.

Subject vs. Main Idea

There is a difference between the subject of a piece of writing and its main idea.

The post office is merely the subject of the passage (the who or what the passage is about). The main idea must say something about this subject. The main idea of a text is usually a statement about the subject that requires evidence of proof to prove it is true (a thesis).

All the sentences in the passage will all relate to that main idea and serve as “evidence” that the assertion (opinion about the subject) is true. The main idea must be general enough to hold al of these ideas together.

Thus the main idea of a passage is:
· An assertion (opinion of position) about the subject
· The general idea that controls of holds together the paragraph or passage

Topic Sentences

Most of the time, this sentence is at the beginning, but not always, it can also be found at the end and sometimes in the middle. Whatever the case, you know it’s a topic sentence if it is an assertion, and it needs “proof”. The proof is found in the facts and ideas that make up the rest of the passage. (Not all passages provide a clear topic sentence that states the main idea.)