Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and Supporting (B)

Identifying Topics, Main
Ideas, and Supporting

Details
Week 2
By
HANITH ISKANDAR
Idenftifying topic
Identifying main idea
OVERVIEW Identifying details

introduction
Understanding the topic, the gist, or the
larger conceptual framework of a
textbook chapter, an article, a
paragraph, a sentence or a passage is a
sophisticated reading task. Being able
to draw conclusions, evaluate, and
critically interpret articles or chapters is
important for overall comprehension in
tertiary reading. Textbook chapters,
articles, paragraphs, sentences, or
passages all have topics and main
ideas.
Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and

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Supporting Details
The topic is the broad, general theme or
message. It is what some call the subject.
The main idea is the "key concept" being

expressed.
Details, major and minor, support the main idea

by telling how, what, when, where, why, how
much, or how many.
Con’t
•Locating the topic, main idea, and supporting details helps you understand the
point(s) the writer is attempting to express.
•Identifying the relationship between these will increase your comprehension.
•The successful communication of any author's topic is only as good as the

organization the author uses to build and define his/her subject matter.

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Supporting Details
Grasping the Main Idea:
•A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, or central theme. Every paragraph has a
key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to
know about the concept of that paragraph.
•When authors write they have an idea in mind that they are trying to get across. This is especially true as
authors compose paragraphs. An author organizes each paragraph's main idea and supporting details in
support of the topic or central theme, and each paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it.
•A writer will state his/her main idea explicitly somewhere in the paragraph. That main idea may be stated at
the beginning of the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated is
the topic sentence of that paragraph.
•The topic sentence announces the general theme ( or portion of the theme) to be dealt with in the
paragraph. Although the topic sentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first – and for a
very good reason. This sentence provides the focus for the writer while writing and for the reader while
reading. When you find the topic sentence, be sure to underline it so that it will stand out not only now, but
also later when you review.

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Supporting Details
IDENTIFYING THE TOPIC:
• The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main idea of a
paragraph is to identify the topic – the subject of the paragraph.
• Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic being the hub – the
central core around which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins.
• Your strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself the
question, "What is this about?"
• Keep asking yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until
the answer to your question becomes clear.
• Sometimes you can spot the topic by looking for a word or two that
repeat.
• Usually, you can state the topic in a few words.
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Strategy
• Let us try this topic-finding strategy.
• Reread the first paragraph under the heading Grasping the Main Idea.
• Ask yourself the question, "What is this paragraph about?" To answer, say to yourself in your mind, "The
author keeps talking about paragraphs and the way they are designed.
• This must be the topic – paragraph organization." Reread the second paragraph of the same section. Ask
yourself, "What is this paragraph about?" Did you say to yourself, "This paragraph is about different ways
to organize a paragraph"?
• That is the topic.
• Next, reread the third paragraph and see if you can find the topic of the paragraph. How? Write the topic
in the margin next to this paragraph. Remember, getting the main idea of a paragraph is crucial to reading.

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Supporting Details
Con’t
•The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supporting sentences (major
and minor details), which help to explain or prove the main idea. These sentences
present facts, reasons, examples, definitions, comparison, contrasts, and other
pertinent details. They are most important because they sell the main idea.
•The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used

to sum up a discussion, to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic
sentence so as to bring the paragraph to a close. The last sentence may also be
a transitional sentence leading to the next paragraph.
•Of course, the paragraphs you'll be reading will be part of some longer piece of
writing – a textbook chapter, a section of a chapter, or a newspaper or magazine
article. Besides expository paragraphs, in which new information is presented and
discussed, these longer writings contain three types of
paragraphs: introductory, transitional, and summarizing.

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Supporting Details
Exercise:
•Read the following paragraph and underline the stated main idea. Write down in
your own words what you are able to conclude from the information.
•The rules of conduct during an examination are clear. No books, calculators or

papers are allowed in the test room. Proctors will not allow anyone with such
items to take the test. Anyone caught cheating will be asked to leave the room.
His or her test sheet will be taken. The incident will be reported to the proper
authority. At the end of the test period, all materials will be returned to the
proctor. Failure to abide by these rules will result in a failing grade for this test.
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Answer:
• You should have underlined the first sentence in the
paragraph – this is the stated main idea. What can
be concluded from the information is: If you do not
follow the rules, you will automatically fail the test.
This concluding information is found in the last
sentence.
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thank you
Hanith iskandar
hanith@uitm.edu.my

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and Supporting (B)

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Identifying Topics, Main

Ideas, and Supporting

Identifying main idea

OVERVIEW Identifying details

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and

The main idea is the "key concept" being

Details, major and minor, support the main idea

•Identifying the relationship between these will increase your comprehension.

•The successful communication of any author's topic is only as good as the

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and

2023 presentation title 7

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and

•The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and

•The rules of conduct during an examination are clear. No books, calculators or

20XX presentation title 10

20XX presentation title 11

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