Identifying the Stated Main Idea Sentence

1. Identifying the Stated Main Idea Sentence and the Supporting Details of a Paragraph

2. The Skill Every paragraph has a topic. Every paragraph has a main idea. When an author includes a sentence in a paragraph that tells his or her most important point about the topic, that sentence is called the stated main idea sentence.

3. Main Idea The main idea answers the question, “What is the author’s one most important point about the topic?”

4. Characteristics of a Main Idea Sentence • Must always contain the topic (the word, name, or phrase that tells who or what the paragraph is about) • Must always make complete sense by itself (even if you couldn’t read the rest of the paragraph) • Must be a general sentence that sums up the details in the paragraph

5. Location of the Stated Main Idea Sentence Can appear anywhere in a paragraph: • Most often it appears at the beginning. • The next most likely location is at the end. • The third possibility is somewhere else within the paragraph. Regardless of where it appears, it will have supporting details that explain more about it, give examples of it, or prove it.

6. How to Test the Sentence You Have Identified as the Stated Main Idea When you think you have located a stated main idea sentence, see if it meets these criteria: 1. The sentence contains the topic. 2. The sentence tells the author’s most important point about the topic. 3. The sentence makes complete sense by itself.

7. Read the following paragraph: Pets are often an important part of people’s lives. Different types of animals can be pets, ranging from reptiles to horses. One of the most common pets is a dog. Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind. One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship. Many an only child has bonded with his/her “Fido,” thus having a willing and loyal friend to play with on a daily basis. Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals, corralling sheep, conquering rats, and guarding the homestead. Finally, dogs also assist people, for example, by leading the blind, alerting the deaf, and alerting epileptics of impending seizures.

8. Now that you’ve read the preceding paragraph, ask yourself the following question. See if you can answer it in one word What is this paragraph about?

9. Your answer should have been dogs

10. If you were correct—hooray! If not, bear with me, and I’ll explain. Let’s look at the paragraph again:

11. Pets are often an important part of people’s lives. Different types of animals can be pets, ranging from reptiles to horses. One of the most common pets is a dog. Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind. One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship. Many an only child has bonded with his/her “Fido,” thus having a willing and loyal friend to play with on a daily basis. Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals, corralling sheep, conquering rats, and guarding the homestead. Finally, dogs also assist people, for example, by leading the blind, alerting the deaf, and alerting epileptics of impending seizures.

12. Let’s examine each sentence and see what’s going on: “ Pets are often an important part of people’s lives.” Now ask yourself “Is this what that whole paragraph is about? Is the writer telling me that pets are important?

13. The answer is “NO.” So this cannot be the main idea. Let’s look at the next sentence. “Different types of animals can be pets, ranging from reptiles to horses.” Is the whole paragraph trying to tell us about pets ranging from reptiles to horses?

14. NO. Look at the next sentence. “One of the most common pets is a dog.” Is the whole paragraph about how common dogs are?

15. No.Let’s look at the next sentence. “Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind.” Does the paragraph tell us about the different purposes dogs serve for humankind?

16. YES!Because the whole paragraph is telling us about the variety of purposes dog serve for humankind, that’s the main idea!

17. Supporting Details = Additional Information to Help You Understand the Main Idea • Details consists of specific information such as examples, explanations, descriptions, proof, and statistics. • Who, what, when, where, why, how? • The answers will be in the details.

18. The Edge: Pointers from the Coach • Only ONE sentence can be the stated main idea in a paragraph. • Avoid choosing a sentence just because it interests you or you think it sounds important. • Be sure you understand the sentence. • The main idea is NEVER a question. • Examples are details that support the main idea, so examples cannot be the main idea. • Watch for words or phrases authors use to signal their main idea: The point is, It is important, Thus, etc.

19. The Edge(continued) • Read the entire paragraph before you decide if there is a stated main idea sentence. • Longer selections (such as textbook sections, essays, articles, and editorials) can have overall stated main ideas. • Locating the main idea is a skill that underlies several important study skills, such as marking a text, outlining, making concept maps, and writing summaries.

20. The Edge: Pointers about the Stated Main Idea and Supporting Details • Main idea and details are not the same. • The main idea is general. Details are specific. • Examples are always details. • Underline the main idea, but number the details in a paragraph. • Details are often presented in a bulleted, numbered, or lettered list. • Details are often introduced by In addition, also, moreover, another, next, then, last, finally, etc. • The main idea may give a clue about the number of types of details: “There are four categories of galaxies.”

21. Main Idea and Supporting Details “House” Main Idea Supporting Details

22. Now examine the rest of the paragraph: One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship. Many an only child has bonded with his/her “Fido,” thus having a willing and loyal friend to play with on a daily basis. Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals, corralling sheep, conquering rats, and guarding the homestead. Finally, dogs also assist people, for example, by leading the blind, alerting the deaf, and alerting epileptics of impending seizures.

23. You probably noticed that the rest of the paragraph gave us specific information about the variety of purposes dogs serve for humankind. Those sentences are called supporting details because the support (or prove) the main idea. Now let’s analyze this paragraph—in other words, let’s look at how this paragraph is organized.

24. Main Idea: Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind. 1. One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship.2. Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals, 3. Dogs also assist people,

25. You probably noticed that the main idea is supported by three (3) points. Click on the back button to take another look. Those three points are called major supporting details because they are the major details that support or prove the main idea.

26. Let’s look at this organization another way: • Main Idea Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind Maj. SD. 1 Maj. SD 2 Maj. SD3 One way dogs Additionally, Dogs also assist Serve humans is dogs have people They are great served humans For companionship as work animals

27. But is that all that’s necessary for a good paragraph? -- just a main idea and two or three major supporting details? Let’s see how this would look as a paragraph: Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind. One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship. Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals. Finally, dogs also assist people.How’s that for a paragraph! Kinda short, huh? It’s well-organized, but it needs something more.

28. What this paragraph needs is something called “minor” supporting details. Remember the “major” supporting details? One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship. Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals. Dogs also assist people. Well, each of these supporting details needs more explanation and/examples.

29. Watch how major and minor supporting details make up the parts of a paragraph. If I said to you, “Hey, dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind,” and then I walked away, you’d be left with some questions, like “well, what are these purposes?” The major supporting details answer this question. Me: Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind.You: Well, what are these purposes?Me: They are great for companionship, they serve as work animals, and they assist people.

30. Now you might ask the question, “How? How are they great for companionship, how do they serve as work animals, and how do they assist people?” The minor supporting details answer these questions: MAJOR SD 1 One way dogs serve humans is they are great just for companionship. Minor SD Many an only child has bonded with his/her “Fido,” thus having a willing and loyal friend to play with on a daily basis. MAJOR SD 2 Additionally, dogs have served humans as work animals, Minor SD corralling sheep, Minor SD conquering rats, and Minor SD guarding the homestead. MAJOR SD 3 Finally, dogs also assist people, for example, by Minor SD leading the blind, Minor SD alerting the deaf, and Minor SD alerting epileptics of impending seizures.

31. Let’s look at the layout again: • Main Idea Dogs serve a variety of purposes for humankind Maj. SD. 1 Maj. SD 2 Maj. SD3 One way dogs Additionally, Dogs also Serve humans is dogs have assist people They are great served humans For companionship as work animals Minor SD Minor SDMinor SD Only child… corral sheep lead the blind conquer rats alert the deaf guard homestead alert for seizures