main idea speech meaning

How to Find the Main Idea

ThoughtCo / Mary McLain 

• B.A., English, University of Michigan

Questions about the "main idea" of a passage are popular on reading comprehension tests, but sometimes, those questions are pretty difficult to answer, especially for students who are not completely sure they understand what the main idea really is.  Finding the main idea of a paragraph or longer passage of text is one of the most important reading skills to master, along with concepts like making an inference , finding the author's purpose , or understanding vocabulary words in context.

Here are a few techniques to help understand what, exactly, is a "main idea" and how to identify it accurately in a passage.

How to Define the Main Idea

The main idea of a paragraph is the primary point or concept that the author wants to communicate to the readers about the topic. Hence, in a paragraph, when the main idea is stated directly, it is expressed in what is called the topic sentence . It gives the overarching idea of what the paragraph is about and is supported by the details in subsequent sentences in the paragraph. In a multi-paragraph article, the main idea is expressed in the thesis statement, which is then supported by individual smaller points.

Think of the main idea as a brief but all-encompassing summary. It covers everything the paragraph talks about in a general way, but does not include the specifics. Those details will come in later sentences or paragraphs and add nuance and context; the main idea will need those details to support its argument.

For example, imagine a paper discussing the causes of World War I . One paragraph might be dedicated to the role that imperialism played in the conflict. The main idea of this paragraph might be something like: "Constant competition for massive empires led to increasing tensions in Europe that eventually erupted into World War I." The rest of the paragraph might explore what those specific tensions were, who was involved, and why the countries were seeking empires, but the main idea just introduces the overarching argument of the section.

When an author does not state the main idea directly, it should still be implied , and is called an implied main idea. This requires that the reader look closely at the content—at specific words, sentences, images that are used and repeated—to deduce what the author is communicating.

Finding the main idea is critical to understanding what you are reading. It helps the details make sense and have relevance, and provides a framework for remembering the content. Try these specific tips to pinpoint the main idea of a passage.

1) Identify the Topic

Read the passage through completely, then try to identify the topic. Who or what is the paragraph about? This part is just figuring out a topic like "cause of World War I" or "new hearing devices;" don't worry yet about deciding what argument the passage is making about this topic.

2) Summarize the Passage

After reading the passage thoroughly, summarize it in your own words in one sentence . Pretend you have just ten to twelve words to tell someone what the passage is about—what would you say?

3) Look at the First and Last Sentences of the Passage

Authors often put the main idea in or near either the first or last sentence of the paragraph or article, so isolate those sentences to see if they make sense as the overarching theme of the passage. Be careful: sometimes the author will use words like but , however ,  in contrast , nevertheless , etc. that indicate that the second sentence is actually the main idea. If you see one of these words that negate or qualify the first sentence, that is a clue that the second sentence is the main idea.

4) Look for Repetition of Ideas

If you read through a paragraph and you have no idea how to summarize it because there is so much information, start looking for repeated words, phrases, or related ideas. Read this example paragraph :

A new hearing device uses a magnet to hold the detachable sound-processing portion in place. Like other aids, it converts sound into vibrations, but it is unique in that it can transmit the vibrations directly to the magnet and then to the inner ear. This produces a clearer sound. The new device will not help all hearing-impaired people—only those with a hearing loss caused by infection or some other problem in the middle ear. It will probably help no more than 20 percent of all people with hearing problems. Those people who have persistent ear infections, however, should find relief and restored hearing with the new device.

What does this paragraph consistently talk about? A new hearing device. What is it trying to convey? A new hearing device is now available for some, but not all, hearing-impaired people. That's the main idea!

Avoid Main Idea Mistakes

Choosing a main idea from a set of answer choices is different than composing a main idea on your own. Writers of multiple choice tests are often tricky and will give you distractor questions that sound much like the real answer. By reading the passage thoroughly, using your skills, and identifying the main idea on your own, though, you can avoid making these 3 common mistakes : selecting an answer that is too narrow in scope; selecting an answer that is too broad; or selecting an answer that is complex but contrary to the main idea. 

Resources and Further Reading

• How to Find a Stated Main Idea
• How to Find an Implied Main Idea
• Finding the Main Idea Practice
• Finding Main Ideas In Paragraphs,  http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/topic.html
• Finding the Main Idea , Columbia College

Updated by Amanda Prahl 

• How to Write a Good Descriptive Paragraph
• Questions for Each Level of Bloom's Taxonomy
• How to Find the Implied Main Idea
• How to Find the Stated Main Idea
• Find the Main Idea Worksheets and Practice Questions
• Finding the Main Idea Worksheet 2
• How to Outline a Textbook Chapter
• Top 5 ACT Reading Strategies
• Paragraph Unity: Guidelines, Examples, and Exercises
• How To Write an Essay
• How to Find the Main Idea - Worksheet
• An Introduction to Academic Writing
• How to Teach Topic Sentences Using Models
• How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph
• How to Make an Inference in 5 Easy Steps
• How to Boost Reading Comprehension With Reciprocal Teaching

Reading to Understand

• Reading to Understand (8 minutes)
• Working with Context Clues (5 minutes)
• The Main Idea

Steps for Identifying the Main Idea

• Knowledge Check
• Academic Reading Challenges (7 minutes)

The main idea is the point or message - what an author presents and what a reader takes from a text. 

Searching for that main idea is a very important activity in understanding a text. It is usually found in the opening paragraph when the author is  setting up the topic  and  expressing the thesis.  

However, the location can vary according to the type of reading. For example, a research article's main idea is toward the end, whereas a persuasive essay's main idea is conveyed at the beginning.

Pre-read to Determine the Overall Topic

Examine the title and then skim the text to determine who or what the reading is about. If you see the same word repeated you know that it is likely the topic or at least an important element of the topic. The topic should be a noun or a noun phrase such as "online education." The topic itself does not convey any meeting us you must read on to determine the main idea.

Ask yourself questions about the text as you read in-depth. Pay close attention to the introduction, the first sentence of body paragraphs, and the conclusion. In these places, the author typically states and supports the main idea. 

Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading : 

• What elements make up this topic?
• What is the author saying about this topic?
• What does the author want me to know or believe about this topic?

Reflect on what you have read. If the main idea is not immediately apparent to you review the introduction and conclusion. The  main idea should be a complete thought  such as "because of its flexibility, comfort, and lower-cost online education is increasing in popularity for younger generations."

Questions to Ask Yourself While Reflecting:

• What is the message I take away from this reading?
• What point does the information add up to?
• What idea does the author reinforce in the conclusion?
• What is the final impression I have about this topic?

Finding the Main Idea

Once you believe you have found the main idea, check that each body paragraph relates to that main idea. The body paragraph should include  supporting ideas  that reinforce and provide greater detail about the main idea. 

Some students find it beneficial to sketch the main idea and supporting ideas in their notes as a concept map.

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• Next Page: Academic Reading Challenges (7 minutes)
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10.1 Determining Your Main Ideas

Learning objectives.

• Revisit the function of a specific purpose.
• Understand how to make the transition from a specific purpose to a series of main points.
• Be able to narrow a speech from all the possible points to the main points.
• Explain how to prepare meaningful main points.

Matt Wynn – Lightbulb! – CC BY 2.0.

When creating a speech, it’s important to remember that speeches have three clear parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction establishes the topic and whets your audience’s appetite, and the conclusion wraps everything up at the end of your speech. The real “meat” of your speech happens in the body. In this section, we’re going to discuss how to think strategically about the body of your speech.

We like the word strategic because it refers to determining what is important or essential to the overall plan or purpose of your speech. Too often, new speakers just throw information together and stand up and start speaking. When that happens, audience members are left confused and the reason for the speech may get lost. To avoid being seen as disorganized, we want you to start thinking critically about the organization of your speech. In this section, we will discuss how to take your speech from a specific purpose to creating the main points of your speech.

What Is Your Specific Purpose?

Before we discuss how to determine the main points of your speech, we want to revisit your speech’s specific purpose, which we discussed in detail in Chapter 6 “Finding a Purpose and Selecting a Topic” . Recall that a speech can have one of three general purposes: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. The general purpose refers to the broad goal for creating and delivering the speech. The specific purpose, on the other hand, starts with one of those broad goals (inform, persuade, or entertain) and then further informs the listener about the who , what , when , where , why , and how of the speech.

The specific purpose is stated as a sentence incorporating the general purpose, the specific audience for the speech, and a prepositional phrase that summarizes the topic. Suppose you are going to give a speech about using open-source software. Here are three examples (each with a different general purpose and a different audience):

In each of these three examples, you’ll notice that the general topic is the same—open-source software—but the specific purpose is different because the speech has a different general purpose and a different audience. Before you can think strategically about organizing the body of your speech, you need to know what your specific purpose is. If you have not yet written a specific purpose for your current speech, please go ahead and write one now.

From Specific Purpose to Main Points

Once you’ve written down your specific purpose, you can now start thinking about the best way to turn that specific purpose into a series of main points. Main points are the key ideas you present to enable your speech to accomplish its specific purpose. In this section, we’re going to discuss how to determine your main points and how to organize those main points into a coherent, strategic speech.

How Many Main Points Do I Need?

While there is no magic number for how many main points a speech should have, speech experts generally agree that the fewer the number of main points the better. First and foremost, experts on the subject of memory have consistently shown that people don’t tend to remember very much after they listen to a message or leave a conversation (Bostrom & Waldhart, 1988). While many different factors can affect a listener’s ability to retain information after a speech, how the speech is organized is an important part of that process (Dunham, 1964; Smith, 1951; Thompson, 1960). For the speeches you will be delivering in a typical public speaking class, you will usually have just two or three main points. If your speech is less than three minutes long, then two main points will probably work best. If your speech is between three and ten minutes in length, then it makes more sense to use three main points.

You may be wondering why we are recommending only two or three main points. The reason comes straight out of the research on listening. According to LeFrancois, people are more likely to remember information that is meaningful, useful, and of interest to them; different or unique; organized; visual; and simple (LeFrancois, 1999). Two or three main points are much easier for listeners to remember than ten or even five. In addition, if you have two or three main points, you’ll be able to develop each one with examples, statistics, or other forms of support. Including support for each point will make your speech more interesting and more memorable for your audience.

Narrowing Down Your Main Points

When you write your specific purpose and review the research you have done on your topic, you will probably find yourself thinking of quite a few points that you’d like to make in your speech. Whether that’s the case or not, we recommend taking a few minutes to brainstorm and develop a list of points. In brainstorming, your goal is simply to think of as many different points as you can, not to judge how valuable or important they are. What information does your audience need to know to understand your topic? What information does your speech need to convey to accomplish its specific purpose? Consider the following example:

Now that you have brainstormed and developed a list of possible points, how do you go about narrowing them down to just two or three main ones? Remember, your main points are the key ideas that help build your speech. When you look over the preceding list, you can then start to see that many of the points are related to one another. Your goal in narrowing down your main points is to identify which individual, potentially minor points can be combined to make main points. This process is called chunking because it involves taking smaller chunks of information and putting them together with like chunks to create more fully developed chunks of information. Before reading our chunking of the preceding list, see if you can determine three large chunks out of the list (note that not all chunks are equal).

You may notice that in the preceding list, the number of subpoints under each of the three main points is a little disjointed or the topics don’t go together clearly. That’s all right. Remember that these are just general ideas at this point. It’s also important to remember that there is often more than one way to organize a speech. Some of these points could be left out and others developed more fully, depending on the purpose and audience. We’ll develop the preceding main points more fully in a moment.

Helpful Hints for Preparing Your Main Points

Now that we’ve discussed how to take a specific purpose and turn it into a series of main points, here are some helpful hints for creating your main points.

Uniting Your Main Points

Once you’ve generated a possible list of main points, you want to ask yourself this question: “When you look at your main points, do they fit together?” For example, if you look at the three preceding main points (school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider), ask yourself, “Do these main points help my audience understand my specific purpose?”

Suppose you added a fourth main point about open-source software for musicians—would this fourth main point go with the other three? Probably not. While you may have a strong passion for open-source music software, that main point is extraneous information for the speech you are giving. It does not help accomplish your specific purpose, so you’d need to toss it out.

Keeping Your Main Points Separate

The next question to ask yourself about your main points is whether they overlap too much. While some overlap may happen naturally because of the singular nature of a specific topic, the information covered within each main point should be clearly distinct from the other main points. Imagine you’re giving a speech with the specific purpose “to inform my audience about the health reasons for eating apples and oranges.” You could then have three main points: that eating fruits is healthy, that eating apples is healthy, and that eating oranges is healthy. While the two points related to apples and oranges are clearly distinct, both of those main points would probably overlap too much with the first point “that eating fruits is healthy,” so you would probably decide to eliminate the first point and focus on the second and third. On the other hand, you could keep the first point and then develop two new points giving additional support to why people should eat fruit.

Balancing Main Points

One of the biggest mistakes some speakers make is to spend most of their time talking about one of their main points, completely neglecting their other main points. To avoid this mistake, organize your speech so as to spend roughly the same amount of time on each main point. If you find that one of your main points is simply too large, you may need to divide that main point into two main points and consolidate your other main points into a single main point.

Let’s see if our preceding example is balanced (school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider). What do you think? Obviously, the answer depends on how much time a speaker will have to talk about each of these main points. If you have an hour to talk, then you may find that these three main points are balanced. However, you may also find them wildly unbalanced if you only have five minutes to speak because five minutes is not enough time to even explain what open-source software is. If that’s the case, then you probably need to rethink your specific purpose to ensure that you can cover the material in the allotted time.

Creating Parallel Structure for Main Points

Another major question to ask yourself about your main points is whether or not they have a parallel structure. By parallel structure, we mean that you should structure your main points so that they all sound similar. When all your main points sound similar, it’s simply easier for your audiences to remember your main points and retain them for later. Let’s look at our sample (school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider). Notice that the first and third main points are statements, but the second one is a question. Basically, we have an example here of main points that are not parallel in structure. You could fix this in one of two ways. You could make them all questions: what are some common school district software programs; what is open-source software; and what are some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider. Or you could turn them all into statements: school districts use software in their operations; define and describe open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider. Either of these changes will make the grammatical structure of the main points parallel.

Maintaining Logical Flow of Main Points

The last question you want to ask yourself about your main points is whether the main points make sense in the order you’ve placed them. The next section goes into more detail of common organizational patterns for speeches, but for now we want you to just think logically about the flow of your main points. When you look at your main points, can you see them as progressive, or does it make sense to talk about one first, another one second, and the final one last? If you look at your order, and it doesn’t make sense to you, you probably need to think about the flow of your main points. Often, this process is an art and not a science. But let’s look at a couple of examples.

When you look at these two examples, what are your immediate impressions of the two examples? In the first example, does it make sense to talk about history, and then the problems, and finally how to eliminate school dress codes? Would it make sense to put history as your last main point? Probably not. In this case, the main points are in a logical sequential order. What about the second example? Does it make sense to talk about your solution, then your problem, and then define the solution? Not really! What order do you think these main points should be placed in for a logical flow? Maybe you should explain the problem (lack of rider laws), then define your solution (what is rider law legislation), and then argue for your solution (why states should have rider laws). Notice that in this example you don’t even need to know what “rider laws” are to see that the flow didn’t make sense.

Key Takeaways

• All speeches start with a general purpose and then move to a specific purpose that gives the who , what , where , and how for the speech.
• Transitioning from the specific purpose to possible main points means developing a list of potential main points you could discuss. Then you can narrow your focus by looking for similarities among your potential main points and combining ones that are similar.
• Shorter speeches will have two main points while longer speeches will generally have three or more main points. When creating your main points, make sure that they are united, separate, balanced, parallel, and logical.
• Generate a specific purpose for your current speech. Conduct a brainstorming activity where you try to think of all the possible points you could possibly make related to your specific purpose. Once you’ve finished creating this list, see if you can find a meaningful pattern that helps you develop three main points.
• Pair up with a partner. Take the three main points you developed in the previous exercise, exchange papers with your partner and ask him or her to see whether or not they are united, separate, balanced, parallel, and logical. You do the same for your partner’s main points. If they are not, what can you or your partner do to fix your main points?

Bostrom, R. N., & Waldhart, E. S. (1988). Memory models and the measurement of listening. Communication Education, 37 , 1–13.

Dunham, J. R. (1964). Voice contrast and repetition in speech retention (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from: http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses .

LeFrancois, G. R. (1999). Psychology for teaching (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Smith, R. G. (1951). An experimental study of the effects of speech organization upon attitudes of college students. Speech Monographs, 18 , 292–301.

Thompson, E. C. (1960). An experimental investigation of the relative effectiveness of organizational structure in oral communication. Southern Speech Journal, 26 , 59–69.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Main Idea Definition

Main Idea includes the overall message of the text that a writer intends to convey to the audience . Almost all genres of literature have one or two main ideas in them. However, the main idea in literature is not limited to one sentence or paragraph; instead, it develops and grows throughout the text. It works as the central, unifying element of the story which ties together all other elements. In this sense, it can be best defined as the dominant impression or the generic truth incorporated in the literary piece. Etymologically, the central idea is the phrase of two words ‘main’ and ‘idea.’ The meaning is clear that it is the most important thought of a text which enables the readers to understand the layered meanings of the concerned text.

Examples Main Idea from Literature

“ A Red, Red Rose ” by Robert Burns

“O my Luve is like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve is like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune. So fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry. Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun; I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run. And fare thee weel, my only luve! And fare thee weel awhile! And I will come again, my luve, Though it were ten thousand mile.”

This is one of the famous poems of Robert Burns, a renowned Scottish poet, and lyricist. The poem illustrates the intense love of the speaker for his beloved . The central idea of the poem is love, which the writer has declared in the opening lines. However, he further supports this idea by comparing his beloved with a red rose. He has also employed literary elements to make the readers understand his version of love. To him, beauty is transitory, but his love is holy and eternal. Thus, the central idea plays a great role in advancing the action of this poem.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

The poem, having an artistic expression, was composed to illustrate the courageous stance of a person in unfortunate circumstances. The main idea of the poem is the resilience of human spirit in the face of miseries and challenges of life. Despite having troubles and adverse circumstances, the speaker holds his spirit high and face the difficult time of his life bravely. His optimism and ability to overcome the adversity makes him stronger as he calls himself the master of his fate. He is not afraid of the problems and, this belief enables him to overcome any obstacle that comes to his way. Therefore, courage makes up the main idea of the poem.

SCENE I. A desert place. (Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Act I, Scene I)

Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches First Witch When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? Second Witch When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won. Third Witch That will be ere the set of sun. First Witch Where the place? Second Witch Upon the heath. Third Witch There to meet with Macbeth . First Witch I come, Graymalkin! Second Witch Paddock calls. Third Witch Anon. ALL Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.

This extract has been taken from one of the famous plays of Shakespeare, Macbeth. This is the opening scene of Macbeth in which three witches discuss their next meeting point , where they plan to see Macbeth. This opening scene not only sets the tone of the play but also highlights the recurring motif of the supernatural creatures. The audience immediately gets an idea that the text is about the evil and foul play.

Main Idea Meaning and Function

Main idea serves as the pause for the audience. It provides them an opportunity to understand the writer’s intention or the reason for his writing. It also makes them recognize and appreciate the deeper meanings of the texts. The writers also use it as a tool that enables them to project their inner thoughts and persuade the readers. Moreover, some of the academic writings unconsciously instill main ideas into the subconscious of the readers with ulterior motives which can be good or bad.

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• Dramatic Monologue
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• In Medias Res
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• Romanticism
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• Metaphysical
• Auditory Imagery
• Sensory Language
• Implied Metaphor
• Rhetorical Device
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• Equivocation
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• Urban Legend
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[ meyn ahy- dee - uh ]

Find the main idea in each paragraph.

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Word history and origins.

Origin of main idea 1

Example Sentences

The main idea is that you want all of your images somewhere in your sitemaps.

While the main idea is to get some laughs during a grim time, the goat video calls have managed to keep the 500-year-old farm afloat — and staff members employed.

“The main idea of the museum is to cheer people up,” Wynd says.

It is the myth in its entirety which is alone important: its parts are only of interest in so far as they bring out the main idea.

Fernald got up, and acting as though his main idea was just to stretch his legs, strolled up to the front of the car.

His main idea was, that he would see how much Bella knew before committing himself.

Perhaps the main idea in this was to have a handy refuge in case a sudden need arose.

The writer has already used the main idea of the allegory in the Ancrene Wisse (M 172, 271).

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Fifth grade reading skills

Course: fifth grade reading skills   >   unit 1, identifying the main idea | reading.

• What is a main idea? | Reading

What's the main idea?

• Which choice best captures the central idea of the passage?
• What is the author's main point in this passage?
• The main idea of the passage is...

What ISN'T the main idea?

• Look for clues in the title, the first sentence, and the last sentence of a passage. The author might state the main idea right at the beginning of the passage.
• Jot quick notes to yourself on scratch paper as you read. Taking notes is always helpful for understanding a passage.
• Pay attention to repeated words or ideas. If the author keeps mentioning the same thing over and over, it's likely that it's the main idea.
• Summarize the passage in your own words. If you can boil the passage down to just one or two sentences, that's probably the main idea.

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How to find the main idea

Determining the main idea of any text can be tricky. Let’s take a look at some helpful ways to zero in on it.

Author Taylor Hartley

Published January 19, 2024

Published Jan 19, 2024

• Key takeaways
• Think of the main idea as the point – The main idea is the primary argument or claim discussed by the author, around which all other supporting details and explanations revolve.
• Make sure you read the full text – You can determine the main idea by reading the full text, annotating its key points, summarising, and looking for any repeating ideas or statements.
• There are a few key questions to ask – While reading, it’s always important to look for the Who, What, Where and Why. These details will help explain why the author believes what they do.

Table of contents

What exactly is the main idea?

How to find the main idea in five easy steps.

• Questions to ask when trying to find the main idea​
• Watch out for distractors​

The main idea of a text can be a difficult thing to nail down, but it’s the most important detail of any passage you come across. As you travel along your journey towards mastering reading comprehension, you’ll need to build a habit of figuring out what the main idea is. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ll have a better chance at consistently understanding even the most complicated of paragraphs. 

The main idea is the central argument or point a paragraph is trying to communicate. It’s often the first claim an author makes when they begin their work but it can also be formed based on key details and facts dispersed throughout the body of a paragraph, too. Think of the main idea as the anchor of a paragraph, holding the passage steady and providing a foundation for other important points. 

Is there a difference between the central idea and the main idea?

You might be a bit confused if you discover people referencing a “central idea,” of a paragraph or essay. But fear not! The central idea and the main idea are one and the same. The central idea represents the same key talking points and details as the main idea–the primary argument an author is trying to make. 

Is there a difference between a supporting detail and a main idea?

Even though the central idea and the main idea are the same, there are a few differences between the main idea and it various supporting details. Supporting details are another important part of reading comprehension, as they provide some much needed context, or explanation of the overall main idea. 

A supporting detail might go into greater detail on a specific topic, and give you a bit more understanding of the main point the author is trying to drive home. However, these supporting details don’t exist as their own main ideas, they’re simply there to support the main idea and reinforce it.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what the main idea is, you’ll need to start learning ways to identify it when you encounter it in the wild. Follow along as we walk through some helpful tips on pinpointing the main idea of a passage.  

1. Identify the topic.

One of the first tools you can use for locating the main idea is referencing the title of a paper or any subtitles used throughout. Titles are a great way of gaining a grasp on the central topic of an author’s argument. Take the title of this article, “How to find the main idea.” We can learn a lot about what a piece of writing is about by looking at its title. 

2. Read the entire passage.

The second step in finding the main idea? You guessed it, thoroughly read the passage so you can get a firm handle on what it’s trying to say. You might be tempted to skim the writing to save time, but it’s important to read each sentence with intent so no details go unseen. Remember, even the smallest detail can provide you with the extra confidence and understanding you need to define the main idea. 

3. Annotate as you go, underlining key points or ideas you see.

One helpful tip to help guide your understanding of the main idea is to annotate, or take notes, while you read the text. Doing this will give you a brief but helpful outline of the main points the passage makes. You can look back through your notes once you’re done reading and use them to solve the main idea puzzle. Remember to write down any details you find particularly impactful.  

4. At the end, summarise the passage and what you think it’s arguing.

When you’re finished reading and annotating, use what you’ve learned from the text to form a summary of the entire passage. Your summary should include the main arguments and supporting evidence the author used to get their point across. By creating a summary, you’ve reinforced the main ideas of the text in your head, making it easier to discover what the author is really trying to say. 

5. Read the first sentence and last sentence and look for repeating ideas in your annotations.

The main idea is often expressed in the first few lines of a text and reiterated in the closing lines of a passage. Knowing this, take a good look at both the first and last lines of a paragraph, and see if there are any recurring details or statements within each one. If there are similarities, there’s a good chance that these statements reflect what the main idea is. 

Questions to ask when trying to find the main idea

Although it’s important to take note of each detail you come across in a passage, some can be more valuable when trying to determine the main idea. These details are key parts of the summary you’ll need to create. They’re known as the Who, the What, the Where, and the Why. 

The Who relates to the subject of the text; the person or thing the passage is describing. It’s most often a person or group of people, but it can also range from animals to robots to insects! Identifying the Who is an important part of grasping the main idea, because you’ll need to determine just who the author is writing about if you’re going to figure out what the author is trying to say about them.

What is happening within the passage? What actions are taken by the Who? These actions, or reactions, are known as the What. This is the meat of the paragraph, the behaviours or movements of characters and people that the author uses to describe what’s happening in their writing.

The When is another important detail you’ll need to define as you discover the main idea. The When of a passage is the time period the paragraph itself takes place in or references. Think of the When as a date on a calendar. The Who and What you’ve already defined, but on what date – or at what time of the day – do they appear?

What is the setting or location of the paragraph? Where does the action take place? Is it in a specific state or country, or maybe a specific city or neighbourhood? By defining the Where, you’ll be able to determine how the setting influences the main idea. Maybe there are specific laws or rules tied to the setting that affect the main idea, or maybe the geography of the setting affects what the author is trying to say about the region and the people who live in it. No matter what the Where is, you need to define it so that you can understand how the setting of a passage relates to the main idea. 

And most importantly, why?

The Why is perhaps the most important piece of the main idea puzzle. To define the Why, ask yourself how the author explains the reasoning behind their argument. Why do certain things work the way they do? Why do people act in the ways that they do? The answer to these questions are within the text, and they’re probably the most important facts regarding the main idea. If you can define the Why, or the explanation for why the author thinks the way they do, you can find the main idea. 

Watch out for distractors

As you work your way through a multiple-choice test, reading comprehension questions will normally ask you to pick the main idea out from a collection of possible answers. The creators of these tests can be tricky, and might try to mislead you with answers that don’t actually align with the true main idea.

Because of this, it’s important that you read the passage carefully, paying close attention to the little details throughout that might clue you in to the main idea’s meaning. Make sure to come up with your own main idea, and don’t rely on the answers provided to you by the test. Wrong answers are often either too narrow in their description of the text, too broad, or make claims that are contrary to the argument posed by the author.

Creating your own outline of the passage once you’ve carefully read it will help you summarise the text, pick out its key arguments, and determine the best answer for what the main idea is.

Explore the main idea with DoodleEnglish

DoodleEnglish  is an app that’s filled with thousands of fun, interactive exercises covering grammar, punctuation, spelling and more!

Designed by teachers, it creates each child a unique work programme tailored to their needs, boosting their confidence and skills in English.  Try it for free  today!

FAQs about the main idea

The main idea should include the main talking points of a paragraph. Think of it as a summary of the author’s writing that represents their central argument. The main idea includes the key statements, facts, or opinions the author chooses to include that embody what they’re trying to say. 

There are several strategies you can use to help you find the main idea. Techniques such as looking at the title of the work, or any subtitles, writing down your own summary of the text, looking at the first and last sentences of a paragraph, and identifying recurring ideas are ways to discover the main idea. You can also take notes throughout your reading so that you have a brief outline of key details. 

Yes, it’s extremely important for you to read the passage in its entirety if you want the best chance at understanding its main idea. You may feel tempted to skim or speed-read your way through an essay, but be wary that you might miss certain details or key ideas that could have helped you define the central argument. The best way to go about defining the main idea is to read each sentence intently. 

The central claim and the main idea are synonymous with one another, meaning they represent the same thing. If you’ve identified the central claim of a passage, you’ll be happy to know that you’ve also found the main idea!

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Module 5: Choosing and Researching a Topic

Finding the purpose and central idea of your speech, learning objectives.

• Identify the specific purpose of a speech.
• Explain how to formulate a central idea statement for a speech.

General Purpose

The general purpose of most speeches will fall into one of four categories: to inform , to persuade , to entertain , and to commemorate or celebrate . The first step of defining the purpose of your speech is to think about which category best describes your  overall  goal with the speech. What do you want your audience to think, feel, or do as a consequence of hearing you speak? Often, the general purpose of your speech will be defined by the speaking situation. If you’re asked to run a training session at work, your purpose isn’t to entertain but rather to inform. Likewise, if you are invited to introduce the winner of an award, you’re not trying to change the audience’s mind about something; you’re honoring the recipient of the award. In a public speaking class, your general purpose may be included in the assignment: for instance, “Give a persuasive speech about . . . .”  When you’re assigned a speech project, you should always make sure you know whether the general purpose is included in the assignment or whether you need to decide on the general purpose yourself.

Specific Purpose

Now that you know your general purpose (to inform, to persuade, or to entertain), you can start to move in the direction of the specific purpose. A specific purpose statement builds on your general purpose and makes it more specific (as the name suggests). So if your first speech is an informative speech, your general purpose will be to inform your audience  about a very specific realm of knowledge.

In writing your specific purpose statement, you will take three contributing elements and bring them together to help you determine your specific purpose :

• You (your interests, your background, experience, education, etc.)
• Your audience
• The context or setting

There are three elements that combine to create a specific purpose statements: your own interests and knowledge, the interests and needs of your audience, and the context or setting in which you will be speaking.

Keeping these three inputs in mind, you can begin to write a specific purpose statement, which will be the foundation for everything you say in the speech and a guide for what you do not say. This formula will help you in putting together your specific purpose statement:

To _______________ [ Specific Communication Word (inform, explain, demonstrate, describe, define, persuade, convince, prove, argue)] _______________ [ Target Audience (my classmates, the members of the Social Work Club, my coworkers] __________________. [ The Content (how to bake brownies, that Macs are better than PCs].

Example: The purpose of my presentation is to demonstrate to  my coworkers the value of informed intercultural communication .

Formulating a Central Idea Statement

While you will not actually say your specific purpose statement during your speech, you will need to clearly state what your focus and main points are going to be. The statement that reveals your main points is commonly known as the central idea statement (or just the central idea). Just as you would create a thesis statement for an essay or research paper, the central idea statement helps focus your presentation by defining your topic, purpose, direction, angle, and/or point of view. Here are two examples:

• Central Idea—When elderly persons lose their animal companions, they can experience serious psychological, emotional, and physical effects.
• Central Idea—Your computer keyboard needs regular cleaning to function well, and you can achieve that in four easy steps.

Please note that your central idea will emerge and evolve as you research and write your speech, so be open to where your research takes you and anticipate that formulating your central idea will be an ongoing process.

Below are four guidelines for writing a strong central idea.

• Your central idea should be one, full sentence.
• Your central idea should be a statement, not a question.
• Your central idea should be specific and use concrete language.
• Each element of your central idea should be related to the others.

Using the topic “Benefits of Yoga for College Students’ Stress,” here are some correct and incorrect ways to write a central idea.

A strong central idea shows that your speech is focused around a clear and concise topic and that you have a strong sense of what you want your audience to know and understand as a result of your speech. Again, it is unlikely that you will have a final central idea before you begin your research. Instead, it will come together as you research your topic and develop your main points.

• Purpose and Central Idea Statements. Provided by : eCampusOntario. Project : Communication for Business Professionals. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Finding the Purpose of Your Speech. Authored by : Susan Bagley-Koyle with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Here Are 2 Simple Main Idea Examples Paragraph (+ Activities)

Are you a speech-language pathologist or teacher teaching the main idea of a passage to your students? Understanding the main idea of a paragraph is an important skill for language development. This blog post explains the components of a main idea passage and provides a main idea examples paragraph.  It is important to teach the main idea because this skill (understanding the “big picture”) is  linked to success in all academic areas . SLPs and educators may also consider the importance of vocabulary knowledge and understanding of grammar and sentence structure. 

What Is the Main Idea?

The  main idea  of a passage is the most important message in that passage.

What’s the point of the passage?

What is the passage all about?

What’s the most important idea, or  big picture ?

When you understand the main point of the paragraph, then you can understand the paragraph’s main idea or the most important message.

It is important to note that while sometimes the main idea is stated in the passage, this is not always the case. In this case, one needs to use inferencing skills.

Reference: 

MAIN IDEA Definition & Usage Examples. (n.d.). Retrieved from  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/main-idea

The Components Of a Main Idea Paragraph 

What the the components of a main idea paragraph? 

A single paragraph will often include a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion.

Topic Sentence, Supporting Details, Conclusion

When writing a paragraph with a main idea, one would first make sure to include a topic sentence. 

The topic sentence typically occurs at the beginning of a paragraph.

After that, subsequent sentences would include supporting details.

Finally, a concluding sentence summarizes the main idea or provides a satisfactory conclusion. This is typically the last sentence of a paragraph.

What Is a Topic Sentence?

A  topic sentence  is a complete sentence that states the main idea, or big picture, of the body paragraph.

It often comes at the beginning of the paragraph, but not always. It could be considered the most important sentence, as it expresses the central idea of the passage.

Perhaps you are writing a passage and the primary point of that passage is that one should avoid ultra-processed foods to maintain health.

The following example could be a topic sentence for that big idea:

Avoiding ultra-processed foods is essential because these foods can lead to many health problems.

Nordquist, R. (2020). Examples of Effective Topic Sentences. Retrieved from  https://www.thoughtco.com/topic-sentence-composition-1692551

What Are Supporting Details?

Supporting details provide facts, steps, or information to support the main idea of the paragraph.

My earlier example of a topic sentence was  Avoiding ultra-processed foods is essential because these foods can lead to many health problems.

So what are some supporting details to support that topic sentence?

Well, according to some internet research, I found these facts (or supporting details):

• Ultra-processed foods are  linked to many diseases , including certain cancers and cardiovascular disease 
• Most ultra-processed foods are  low in fiber  
• Ultra-processed foods contain  hidden added sugars

Those facts, or supporting details, could be used in a group of sentences to support my topic sentence.

Main Idea Examples Paragraph 

The topic of the paragraph is usually expressed in the topic sentence, which sometimes can be found in the first sentence of a paragraph.

The rest of the paragraph will likely contain some supporting details.

Need an example paragraph?

Here are two examples of main idea paragraphs. 

The first paragraph explains the importance of avoiding ultra-processed foods for health reasons.

The next paragraph describes how much fun Ella has playing in her first soccer game. 

Avoiding ultra-processed foods is essential because these foods can lead to many health problems. Although they are incredibly convenient, ultra-processed foods are linked to many diseases, including 

certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, ultra-processed foods should also be avoided because they tend to be low in fiber. This is a problem because  eating fiber-rich diets can lower the risk of health conditions  such as heart disease. Finally, one should be careful not to consume too many ultra-processed foods as these foods tend to contain hidden added sugars. There are many health benefits if you choose to not eat too many ultra-processed foods.

Today was Ella’s first soccer game! She proudly put on her new uniform and soccer cleats. Ella’s parents and brother Nick were excited to watch her play. Ella played her very best, and even scored a goal! Although Ella’s team lost the game, Ella had a great time playing in her first soccer game. 

How To Teach the Main Idea

There are so many different ways to target the main idea with your students.

While students are first learning how to identify the main idea, you could  first start by using pictures .

 Ask your students questions like, “What’s happening? What is this picture about?”

Next, your students could  identify the main idea of a sentence  using their own words.  ​

An example might be, “There are several negative effects of climate change, including the  risks of flooding and loss of food supply. ” 

“If you had to explain what this sentence is about using different words, what would you say?”

After that, your students could work on  identifying the main idea of paragraphs and stories . 

Check out the  ultimate list of children’s books for speech therapy .

To provide extra support, your students might benefit from a set of answer choices. These answer choices may be picture-supported if necessary.

What To Teach Before Main Idea

Are there any prerequisite skills to teaching the main idea?

One might first start by making sure your student knows how to answer  wh questions .

It can also be extremely beneficial to make sure you are also targeting  grammar  and  sentence structure  with your students.

This is because we know that every sentence contributes to the overall meaning of the passage.

An additional area to target is vocabulary. 

Check out this  vocabulary article  for goal ideas and strategies for teaching.

​Understanding word meanings is also a crucial aspect of being able to comprehend what one is reading.

5 Unique (and Fun) Main Idea Activities

Here are 5 main idea activities to use with your students!

These activities could be used in individual or small group settings.

Use these worksheets and activities in speech therapy or small groups or centers.

Main Idea Longer Passages with Graphic Organizers

These  main idea passages  cover famous places, including Big Ben, The Eiffel Tower, Egyptian pyramids, the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, and the Taj Mahal.

Each topic includes:

• one worksheet that targets finding the main idea and details, and includes a graphic organizer on the page
• one worksheet that targets answering comprehension questions

These passages are perfect for use with your fifth and sixth-grade students.

Your student can identify the main idea and supporting details from each passage.

In addition, these informational texts also provide comprehension questions. 

13 main idea worksheets are included in this engaging activity packet. 

Ashley M. reviewed, “This is a wonderful activity to target comprehension questions, with a focus on main idea and details. My students enjoyed learning about new places and we even compared/contrasted some of the locations. There is so much you can do with this resource, thank you!”

Travel-Themed Main Idea Passages and Comprehension Questions

These exciting  travel-themed main idea passages  can be paired with a magnetic wand and chips!

There are 4 main idea passages included. 

Topics discussed include Greece, Kenya, Jamaica, and the Netherlands.

Each main idea passage also comes with comprehension questions.

These main idea and comprehension activity sheets are best used in small group or individual sessions.

Your student needs to state the correct answer.

Marina F. reviewed, “My students and I loved this resource. Great way to learn about many different countries in the world as we go over the main idea and supporting details! Love the bright images on each page – students were very excited to learn about other countries! Thanks!”

• Henry VIII Main Idea Worksheets

Okay, history buffs- here’s your chance to bring all the drama of Henry VIII into your classroom or speech therapy session!

There are 10  Henry VIII main idea  informational passages included in this fun, unique resource.

The 10 included passages are about the following historical figures or topics:

• Catherine of Aragon
• Anne Boleyn
• Jane Seymour
• Anne of Cleves
• Prince Arthur
• Elizabeth I
• Hampton Court

Your student will read the passage, then complete the provided open-ended graphic organizer to state the main idea and supporting details.

Jeni L, SLP, reviewed, “I love, love LOVE this packet! It includes a beautiful example to teach from, an adorable graphic organizer and 10 amazing historical stories. I have to admit, my favorite part might be the completed graphic organizer that accompanies every story! Having the answers in front of me will make teaching this skill so much easier (especially on those 4-IEPs-Sorry-No-Prep-No-Brain days!). Working with actual historical narratives makes the content much more applicable to classroom tasks. I also just love nerding out over great historical folks, so this product has everything I could ever ask for!”

• Historical Topics Main Idea Activity

Try these  history-themed main idea and comprehension questions  for individual or small group speech therapy, special education, or centers!

This packet includes 5 historical-themed- themed informational passages.

The topics included are ancient Egypt, Tudor England, the American Revolutionary War, the Titanic, and World War II.

This resource pairs perfectly with a magnetic wand and chips!

Lauren R. reviewed, “I love this resource. I have used it a lot to work on identifying the main idea, comprehension, and finding details. I have even learned so much from these. We have looked up the areas on the map. I will continue to use this all the time.”

Here’s how it works.

First, your student will read the passage, or listen as you read it aloud.

Next, your student will pick up a chip as they explain what the passage was about (the implied main idea), and what the supporting details were.

Finally, your student could also answer the included comprehension questions.  Read more about  WH questions  in this post.

Halloween Main Idea Worksheets

This  Halloween Main Idea Worksheet  set is so much fun, that I needed to make sure you knew about it.

You’ll dig this one out every October, trust me.

This is perfect for use in the classroom or during a speech therapy session.

Alexandria M. reported, “The perfect October lesson. My students enjoyed the spooky stories, I was able to use this as morning work, homework and for a substitute. The stories are engaging and a wonderful main idea review.”

There are 10 “spooky” main idea passages and stories included in this resource, plus one open-ended graphic organizer page.

In addition to 2 Halloween-themed stories, your students will read about Frankenstein, mummies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, haunted houses, and ghosts.

After reading the Halloween-themed story or passage, your students can fill out the open-ended spider-themed graphic organizer page. This includes a place to write the main idea of the passage, as well as some supporting details that can be found within the text.

SLPs, intervention specialists, and teachers may be searching for main idea examples paragraph and activities to try with students.

This blog post explains the components of a main idea passage. These components include a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion. 

In addition, it provided some suggestions for teaching the main idea and supporting details, as well as some additional skill areas one might consider before teaching the main idea.

In summary, this blog post provides examples, activities, and suggestions for understanding and teaching this important skill.

Be sure to check out these engaging main idea worksheets and activities to try with your students!

• “Famous Places” Main Idea Worksheets with Graphic Organizers
• Travel-Themed Main Idea Passages
• Halloween Main Idea Worksheets 

Here are some additional related articles that you may find beneficial:

• 30 Vocabulary Goals for Speech Therapy (Based on Research)
• The Best WH Questions Speech Therapy Activities and Ideas
• Children’s Books for Speech Therapy: The Ultimate List

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Tips and Tricks for Working On Main Idea in Speech Therapy

Have speech students with main idea goals  here are some fun ways to work on it so they can be successful.

Why do we work on main idea in speech?

Main idea?  Isn't that a reading comprehension skill?  Yes, but it is also very much language based.  In order for a student to be able to comprehend and express the main idea, they must have intact lexical and syntactical knowledge.  They need to be able to express a complete sentence.  They need to be able to respond to WH questions.  They need to know the vocabulary of the question asked and of the passage presented.  See?  It is very much a language activity!

For an expository text, these strategies may include previewing the passage for its likely content, monitoring comprehension by asking oneself questions about the passage, finding the main idea, and summarizing the key points in one's own words ( Boardman, Scornavacco, & Klinger, 2013 ).

That is why it is recommended to teach students to use reading comprehension strategies by modeling it, teaching it one at a time, present it to them in small groups, provide guided practice, and have discussions about the material.   However, for students with difficulties with lexical and syntactical development, finding the main idea or summarizing key points will be extremely difficult.  Both of these strategies assume that students can comprehend at the sentence level.  Students should work on these skills in order to be able to be successful with a reading comprehension strategy of main idea, which is expected of them when they read expository text in the academic classroom.

Evidence shows that SLPs should work on comprehending the sentence level, increase amount of sentences, and then introduce concepts like main idea.  Students need to comprehend what sentences are about explicitly before they can name topics or express the gist of it all.  (Nippold, 2017).

Where should we begin when working on main idea in speech?

I like to start at the picture level, then sentence level, then paragraph level, and finally, the story level.  If they cannot express in one sentence the main idea of a picture, they won't be able to do so of a story (even though they might be expected to in their classrooms!).

I like to use the idea of an umbrella to teach main idea because it makes it visual for our students to comprehend.  An umbrella covers your head and the main idea covers the whole story.

I also like to do sorting activities to help my students comprehend that the details have to go with the main idea.  If they can't “see” it during sorting activities, they won't be able to express a main idea independently.

Once they understand what a main idea is and that details have to support it, we will move onto sentence level and paragraph level.  For my students that struggle to express a main idea in complete sentences, I teach my students this strategy: “who was the story about” and “what happened to them.”    I was so excited to hear so many of you use this strategy too when I asked in my Instagram story!

When we get to the story level, I have my students continue to break stories into different paragraphs and just express main ideas of each paragraph first, then come up with one main idea based on all the ones they came up with.  This also helps eliminate overwhelm!   For more information on this strategy CLICK HERE!

Want even more main idea strategies and activities?  Check out this DIY idea by clicking HERE!

To check out the Main Idea Umbrella strategy pack in my TpT store CLICK HERE!

Want to try it out first?  Click the button below to try out a sample of this pack!!

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Chapter 5: Presentation Organization

32 Purpose and Central Idea Statements

Speeches have traditionally been seen to have one of three broad purposes: to inform, to persuade, and — well, to be honest, different words are used for the third kind of speech purpose: to inspire, to amuse, to please, or to entertain. These broad goals are commonly known as a speech’s general purpose, since, in general, you are trying to inform, persuade, or entertain your audience without regard to specifically what the topic will be. Perhaps you could think of them as appealing to the understanding of the audience (informative), the will or action (persuasive), and the emotion or pleasure.

Now that you know your general purpose (to inform, to persuade, or to entertain), you can start to move in the direction of the specific purpose. A specific purpose statement builds on your general purpose (to inform) and makes it more specific (as the name suggests). So if your first speech is an informative speech, your general purpose will be to inform your audience about a very specific realm of knowledge.

In writing your specific purpose statement, you will take three contributing elements (shown in figure 5.3) that will come together to help you determine your specific purpose :

• You (your interests, your background, past jobs, experience, education, major),
• Your audience
• The context or setting.

Putting It Together

Keeping these three inputs in mind, you can begin to write a specific purpose statement , which will be the foundation for everything you say in the speech and a guide for what you do not say. This formula will help you in putting together your specific purpose statement:

To _______________ [Specific Communication Word (inform, explain, demonstrate, describe, define, persuade, convince, prove, argue)] my [ Target Audience (my classmates, the members of the Social Work Club, my coworkers]  __________________. [T he Content (how to bake brownies, that Macs are better than PCs].

Example: The purpose of my presentation is to demonstrate for my coworkers the value of informed intercultural communication.

Formulating a Central Idea Statement

While you will not actually say your specific purpose statement during your speech, you will need to clearly state what your focus and main points are going to be. The statement that reveals your main points is commonly known as the central idea statement (or just the central idea). Just as you would create a thesis statement for an essay or research paper, the central idea statement helps focus your presentation by defining your topic, purpose, direction, angle and/or point of view. Here are two examples:

Specific Purpose –  To explain to my classmates the effects of losing a pet on the elderly.

Central Idea –  When elderly persons lose their animal companions, they can experience serious psychological, emotional, and physical effects.

Specific Purpose –  To demonstrate to my audience the correct method for cleaning a computer keyboard.

Central Idea –  Your computer keyboard needs regular cleaning to function well, and you can achieve that in four easy steps.

Communication for Business Professionals Copyright © 2018 by eCampusOntario is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Identifying the main idea of the story: A Guide for Students and Teachers

READING FOR MEANING: IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA OF THE STORY

We have all been there, though it can often feel as futile as the search for that proverbial needle in a haystack…

Finding the main idea of a piece of writing can be challenging, but it is an essential reading comprehension skill for our students to develop. Students that become skilled in this art will benefit from it far beyond the perimeters of the school gates. From the small print of an insurance document to writing a book review, the ability to filter a text and identify its central idea is as much a crucial life skill as an essential literacy-based learning objective. Though it isn’t always easy, luckily, there is much we can do to help our students hone their abilities in this area.

WHAT IS ‘THE MAIN IDEA’? DEFINITION

Whether we are talking about the main idea of a paragraph, a poem, a chapter, or a longer text, finding the main idea requires the reader to identify the topic of a piece of writing and then uncover what the writer wants us to know about that topic.

As is so often the case, it is best to start small. When working with students on how to identify the main idea, begin by having students locate the main idea in a sentence before building up to locating it in a longer paragraph. As students gradually build their confidence in identifying the main idea in paragraphs, they will soon be ready to move on to longer texts in the form of chapters and eventually full-length books.

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A WORD ON PARAGRAPHS

The main idea of a sentence is usually fairly straightforward to identify. Often it is as simple as identifying the subject of the sentence. Whole chapters or books, on the other hand, can seldom be easily reduced to expression in the form of a single, main idea. For these reasons, the paragraph offers the student the most suitable format in which to practice their main idea identification skills.

Usually, if the writer knows what they are doing, we can identify a single main idea in every paragraph. We can think of this as the key point that is usually expressed as a topic sentence. It is often found in the paragraph’s first sentence, with subsequent sentences providing the supporting details. It can, however, occur in the middle, at the end, or even be split across the paragraph. It may not even be there at all – at least not explicitly.

Writers are a creative bunch, and so students will require more sophisticated means to accurately identify the main idea in all cases and that is exactly what this article will help you help your students to do.

HOW IS A MAIN IDEA EXPRESSED?

It can appear to be a reasonably clear-cut task to define the main idea, so why is it often so problematic for students to identify it? Well, the truth is that it needn’t be so. Often the central concept is expressed directly in the text and is as easy to identify as your own face in the mirror.

However, the main idea will not always be expressed so explicitly, and students must learn to identify it, whether it is expressed directly or merely implied, if they are to fully comprehend what they are reading.

  THE STATEMENT OF THE MAIN IDEA

Attention is the key to pulling the main idea from a text, whatever the genre. Students need to identify the most relevant information from the work and use it to develop a statement expressing what they perceive as the main idea.

We can refer to this as The Statement of the Main Idea . This statement should be a lean sentence or two. The process of composing this statement starts with asking questions about the text. Not all questions will apply to every text, but they will provide a good starting point for extracting the main idea from any piece of writing.

●     Who – Can the student identify the person or people the text is about?

●     What – Can the student identify the topic or underlying theme of the text?

●     When – Can the student identify a reference to a specific time or period?

●     Where – Can the student identify a specific place or a setting ?

●     Why – Can the student identify a reason or explanation for what happens in the text?

●     How – Can the student identify a method or theory in the text?

These questions, and variations of these questions, can help students draw out what the text is about. The two most important questions of those above are who and what . These will sufficiently elicit the information required to identify the main idea in most circumstances. But, the actual litmus test of whether the student can absorb the text’s central idea is whether or not they can summarize what they have read in their own words.

The Litmus Test: Summarizing and Paraphrasing

We know through our experience in the classroom that learning through teaching is a highly effective instructional strategy. It also offers teachers opportunities to observe and assess their students’ grasp of the concepts they have been working on. Similarly, when we ask our students to summarize or paraphrase the main idea of an extract, we are creating an opportunity to observe their comprehension of what they have read and their ability to identify the main idea therein.

You can also encourage students to regularly practice these skills by challenging them to paraphrase and summarize things you have said or read to them in class, even during lessons entirely unrelated to literacy. Encourage them to be concise and to the point; you may even wish to set a word limit of 10 or 15 words within which they must express the main idea. Keep it lean!

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA

Get The Gist

In this method, give each student a copy of a nonfiction paragraph. If you wish, you can differentiate for students’ different abilities by choosing extracts of varying complexities. Regardless of the level of difficulty, the approach will remain the same. Have students:

1. Ask themselves who or what the paragraph is about.

2. Ask themselves what is the most essential information about the who or what.

3. Restate the main idea in 10 words or less.

You can model this strategy for your students by first walking them through the process. Project the text onto the whiteboard for shared reading and, with focused support and prompting, have them answer the initial questions.

Part 3 of the process above can be undertaken as a piece of shared writing which will model the correct approach before students begin to do it independently. Later, when students have written independent statements of the main idea, they can compare their responses and offer each other feedback. After feedback sessions, they can be given a further opportunity to redraft and modify their statements for accuracy and brevity.

Through these processes, students will improve their ability to identify and express the main idea clearly and concisely.

Get the Gist – Longer Texts

As we mentioned earlier, it isn’t always easy to reduce a longer extract, such as a chapter, down to a single central idea – much less a whole book! There will be times, however, when students will be asked to do just that. They will need a systematic approach to help them in such circumstances. The following process provides for a practical approach:

1. Look at the title – Often, the title provides a good indication of the topic of the text or at least helps to orientate the reader in the direction of the main idea.

2. Look at the extract’s first and last sentences/paragraphs – Often, the main idea will be introduced and summarized respectively in these parts of the text.

3. Look for repeated words and phrases in the extract -The frequency with which they occur will be a strong indicator of their relative importance and will point students toward that elusive main idea.

4. Instruct students to ask themselves, “ What does the writer want me to know? ” – Answering this question successfully will require them to uncover the text’s main idea.

As the students work through the above steps, they can highlight, underline, or circle the keywords and phrases and then use these to help them form their main idea statement.

HOW TO LOCATE THE MAIN IDEA WHEN IT IS IMPLIED

Inferring the main idea requires students to look for patterns in the details as they read. When the main idea is explicit, the student must first identify the topic of the writing before determining what it is the writer wants the reader to know about it. If the main idea is not stated explicitly in a sentence or paragraph, then it is implied, and students must consciously work to uncover it by analysing the details to infer the main idea. Conscious practice of this strategy will soon see it become second nature, and the student will quickly become skilled in identifying the main idea even when it is not stated explicitly.

To efficiently identify the main idea in a piece of writing, students should first determine the text’s topic. Then, they will need to work out what it is the writer wants us to understand about that topic. This is the essence of how to identify the main idea.

Students should understand that the main idea may not always be explicit, and they may need to work hard to uncover precisely what the text implies. Regardless of whether the main idea is explicit or implicit, every paragraph will have the main idea. Students should understand that it can be located at the beginning, in the middle, at the end, or even be split up throughout the paragraph.

With perseverance and hard-earned experience, students can use various methods and, at times, a fusion of these methods to uncover the main idea with speed and accuracy. Soon they will be able to apply these methods to a broad range of texts over a wide range of lengths and complexities.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

 MAIN IDEA GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (FREE DOWNLOAD)

 VIDEO TUTORIAL ON TEACHING THE MAIN IDEA

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10.1: Determining Your Main Ideas

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Learning Objectives

• Revisit the function of a specific purpose.
• Understand how to make the transition from a specific purpose to a series of main points.
• Be able to narrow a speech from all the possible points to the main points.
• Explain how to prepare meaningful main points.

Determining Your Main Idea

Matt Wynn – Lightbulb! – CC BY 2.0.

When creating a speech, it’s important to remember that speeches have three clear parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction establishes the topic and whets your audience’s appetite, and the conclusion wraps everything up at the end of your speech. The real “meat” of your speech happens in the body. In this section, we’re going to discuss how to think strategically about the body of your speech.

We like the word strategic because it refers to determining what is important or essential to the overall plan or purpose of your speech. Too often, new speakers just throw information together and stand up and start speaking. When that happens, audience members are left confused and the reason for the speech may get lost. To avoid being seen as disorganized, we want you to start thinking critically about the organization of your speech. In this section, we will discuss how to take your speech from a specific purpose to creating the main points of your speech.

What Is Your Specific Purpose?

Before we discuss how to determine the main points of your speech, we want to revisit your speech’s specific purpose, which we discussed in detail in Chapter 5 “Finding a Purpose and Selecting a Topic”. Recall that a speech can have one of three general purposes: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. The general purpose refers to the broad goal for creating and delivering the speech. The specific purpose, on the other hand, starts with one of those broad goals (inform, persuade, or entertain) and then further informs the listener about the who , what , when , where , why , and how of the speech.

The specific purpose is stated as a sentence incorporating the general purpose, the specific audience for the speech, and a prepositional phrase that summarizes the topic. Suppose you are going to give a speech about using open-source software. Here are three examples (each with a different general purpose and a different audience):

In each of these three examples, you’ll notice that the general topic is the same—open-source software—but the specific purpose is different because the speech has a different general purpose and a different audience. Before you can think strategically about organizing the body of your speech, you need to know what your specific purpose is. If you have not yet written a specific purpose for your current speech, please go ahead and write one now.

From Specific Purpose to Main Points

Once you’ve written down your specific purpose, you can now start thinking about the best way to turn that specific purpose into a series of main points. Main points are the key ideas you present to enable your speech to accomplish its specific purpose. In this section, we’re going to discuss how to determine your main points and how to organize those main points into a coherent, strategic speech.

When you write your specific purpose and review the research you have done on your topic, you will probably find yourself thinking of quite a few points that you’d like to make in your speech. Whether that’s the case or not, we recommend taking a few minutes to brainstorm and develop a list of points. In brainstorming, your goal is simply to think of as many different points as you can, not to judge how valuable or important they are. What information does your audience need to know to understand your topic? What information does your speech need to convey to accomplish its specific purpose? Consider the following example:

Now that you have brainstormed and developed a list of possible points, how do you go about narrowing them down to just two or three main ones? Remember, your main points are the key ideas that help build your speech. When you look over the preceding list, you can then start to see that many of the points are related to one another. Your goal in narrowing down your main points is to identify which individual, potentially minor points can be combined to make main points. This process is called chunking because it involves taking smaller chunks of information and putting them together with like chunks to create more fully developed chunks of information. Before reading our chunking of the preceding list, see if you can determine three large chunks out of the list (note that not all chunks are equal).

You may notice that in the preceding list, the number of subpoints under each of the three main points is a little disjointed or the topics don’t go together clearly. That’s all right. Remember that these are just general ideas at this point. It’s also important to remember that there is often more than one way to organize a speech. Some of these points could be left out and others developed more fully, depending on the purpose and audience. We’ll develop the preceding main points more fully in a moment.

Helpful Hints for Preparing Your Main Points

Now that we’ve discussed how to take a specific purpose and turn it into a series of main points, here are some helpful hints for creating your main points.

Uniting Your Main Points

Once you’ve generated a possible list of main points, you want to ask yourself this question: “When you look at your main points, do they fit together?” For example, if you look at the three preceding main points (school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider), ask yourself, “Do these main points help my audience understand my specific purpose?”

Suppose you added a fourth main point about open-source software for musicians—would this fourth main point go with the other three? Probably not. While you may have a strong passion for open-source music software, that main point is extraneous information for the speech you are giving. It does not help accomplish your specific purpose, so you’d need to toss it out.

Keeping Your Main Points Separate

The next question to ask yourself about your main points is whether they overlap too much. While some overlap may happen naturally because of the singular nature of a specific topic, the information covered within each main point should be clearly distinct from the other main points. Imagine you’re giving a speech with the specific purpose “to inform my audience about the health reasons for eating apples and oranges.” You could then have three main points: that eating fruits is healthy, that eating apples is healthy, and that eating oranges is healthy. While the two points related to apples and oranges are clearly distinct, both of those main points would probably overlap too much with the first point “that eating fruits is healthy,” so you would probably decide to eliminate the first point and focus on the second and third. On the other hand, you could keep the first point and then develop two new points giving additional support to why people should eat fruit.

Balancing Main Points

One of the biggest mistakes some speakers make is to spend most of their time talking about one of their main points, completely neglecting their other main points. To avoid this mistake, organize your speech so as to spend roughly the same amount of time on each main point. If you find that one of your main points is simply too large, you may need to divide that main point into two main points and consolidate your other main points into a single main point.

Let’s see if our preceding example is balanced (school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider). What do you think? Obviously, the answer depends on how much time a speaker will have to talk about each of these main points. If you have an hour to talk, then you may find that these three main points are balanced. However, you may also find them wildly unbalanced if you only have five minutes to speak because five minutes is not enough time to even explain what open-source software is. If that’s the case, then you probably need to rethink your specific purpose to ensure that you can cover the material in the allotted time.

Creating Parallel Structure for Main Points

Another major question to ask yourself about your main points is whether or not they have a parallel structure. By parallel structure, we mean that you should structure your main points so that they all sound similar. When all your main points sound similar, it’s simply easier for your audiences to remember your main points and retain them for later. Let’s look at our sample (school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider). Notice that the first and third main points are statements, but the second one is a question. Basically, we have an example here of main points that are not parallel in structure. You could fix this in one of two ways. You could make them all questions: what are some common school district software programs; what is open-source software; and what are some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider. Or you could turn them all into statements: school districts use software in their operations; define and describe open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for these school administrators to consider. Either of these changes will make the grammatical structure of the main points parallel.

Maintaining Logical Flow of Main Points

The last question you want to ask yourself about your main points is whether the main points make sense in the order you’ve placed them. The next section goes into more detail of common organizational patterns for speeches, but for now we want you to just think logically about the flow of your main points. When you look at your main points, can you see them as progressive, or does it make sense to talk about one first, another one second, and the final one last? If you look at your order, and it doesn’t make sense to you, you probably need to think about the flow of your main points. Often, this process is an art and not a science. But let’s look at a couple of examples.

When you look at these two examples, what are your immediate impressions of the two examples? In the first example, does it make sense to talk about history, and then the problems, and finally how to eliminate school dress codes? Would it make sense to put history as your last main point? Probably not. In this case, the main points are in a logical sequential order. What about the second example? Does it make sense to talk about your solution, then your problem, and then define the solution? Not really! What order do you think these main points should be placed in for a logical flow? Maybe you should explain the problem (lack of rider laws), then define your solution (what is rider law legislation), and then argue for your solution (why states should have rider laws). Notice that in this example you don’t even need to know what “rider laws” are to see that the flow didn’t make sense.

Key Takeaways

• All speeches start with a general purpose and then move to a specific purpose that gives the who , what , where , and how for the speech.
• Transitioning from the specific purpose to possible main points means developing a list of potential main points you could discuss. Then you can narrow your focus by looking for similarities among your potential main points and combining ones that are similar.
• Shorter speeches will have two main points while longer speeches will generally have three or more main points. When creating your main points, make sure that they are united, separate, balanced, parallel, and logical.
• Generate a specific purpose for your current speech. Conduct a brainstorming activity where you try to think of all the possible points you could possibly make related to your specific purpose. Once you’ve finished creating this list, see if you can find a meaningful pattern that helps you develop three main points.
• Pair up with a partner. Take the three main points you developed in the previous exercise, exchange papers with your partner and ask him or her to see whether or not they are united, separate, balanced, parallel, and logical. You do the same for your partner’s main points. If they are not, what can you or your partner do to fix your main points?

Bostrom, R. N., & Waldhart, E. S. (1988). Memory models and the measurement of listening. Communication Education, 37 , 1–13.

Dunham, J. R. (1964). Voice contrast and repetition in speech retention (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from: etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses.

LeFrancois, G. R. (1999). Psychology for teaching (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Smith, R. G. (1951). An experimental study of the effects of speech organization upon attitudes of college students. Speech Monographs, 18 , 292–301.

Thompson, E. C. (1960). An experimental investigation of the relative effectiveness of organizational structure in oral communication. Southern Speech Journal, 26 , 59–69.

Trump Fiercely Booed At Libertarian Convention: Here’s What He Said That Drew Backlash

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Former President Donald Trump was booed and heckled Saturday night as he tried to sway the Libertarian vote in his direction at the party’s national convention, but his efforts—which included promises to nominate a Libertarian to his cabinet and commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who founded an online marketplace to buy and sell illegal drugs—were largely met with loud jeering and shouted insults from the crowd.

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the Libertarian ... [+] Party National Convention on May 25, 2024.

Some of the loudest boos came when Trump recommended the Libertarian party choose him as its nominee, saying “we should win together,” but jeers repeatedly popped up throughout the speech, including after Trump suggested he may be a libertarian “without even trying to be one.”

After being continuously booed and heckled—audience members called him a "liar," "panderer" and "wannabe dictator"—Trump turned on the audience and mocked the Libertarian Party's poor voting record, telling them if they didn't vote for him, they could "keep getting your 3% every four years.”

The Republican presidential candidate called President Joe Biden the “worst president in the history of the United States”—which was met with response cries of “that’s you”—and Trump begged the Libertarians to “combine with” the Republicans, saying the two parties “should not be fighting each other.”

During at least one point in the speech, a silhouette of a rubber chicken was visible in front of the former president in video of the address—the rubber chickens were circulated among supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a form of protest urging the major candidates to debate him, and Secret Service agents were reportedly confiscating the rubber chickens before Trump spoke.

The would-be president made several promises to the party he said he’d follow through on if Libertarian voters helped elect him, including nominating party members to senior positions, commuting the sentence of Silk Road marketplace founder Ulbricht, cutting taxes, defending gun rights and opposing climate change policies under the Green New Deal.

Other conventional speakers who supported Trump, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy , were also met with boos.

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Trump was cheered at points, including when he condemned the U.S. taking part in “senseless wars.” Opposition to most American foreign military action has historically been a major pillar of the Libertarian Party’s viewpoint.

Crucial Quote

"If I wasn’t a libertarian before, I sure as hell am a libertarian now," Trump said at the convention, referring to the criminal indictments against him.

34 minutes. That's how long Trump spoke at the Libertarian convention, one of his shortest-ever campaign speeches.

Kennedy spoke at the convention Friday and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is expected to speak Sunday. Kennedy in his speech accused Trump of presiding "over the greatest restriction on individual liberties this country has ever known" in his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and spoke for the freedom of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who he said "should be celebrated as a hero."

Key Background

Libertarians base their core beliefs in the rights of the individual, limited government, free markets and, overall, a balanced society that functions with limited oversight and a collective interest in the common good. Many Libertarians believe the Trump administration wielded too much government power, particularly early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government recommended certain businesses shut their doors to the public while urging Americans to stay home, socially distance and wear face masks. The Libertarian Party earned 3.3% of the vote in the 2016 presidential election, when former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson was its nominee, and 1.2% in 2020 , when its nominee was activist Jo Jorgensen. The Libertarian vote has always been small but Republicans have a vested interest in winning it—if Libertarians in Arizona had voted for Trump over Jorgensen , for instance, he would have won the state in 2020. Arizona is another crucial battleground state in the 2024 election, as are Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada and Wisconsin. Polls that show a number of voters are displeased with the Trump-Biden matchup have raised concerns in the former presidents’ camps that disgruntled voters will choose to vote for third-party candidates instead, NPR reported .

What To Watch For

Who wins the Libertarian presidential nomination. Registered delegates at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, which ends Sunday, will choose a party nominee. The most popular candidates for the nomination are Charles Ballay of Louisiana, Chase Oliver of Georgia and Jacob Hornberger of Virginia.

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Katie and Schwartz Tear Up Over Their Marriage in Unseen Reunion Moment: "I Miss You"

Get details on the previously unaired Vanderpump Rules reunion moment between Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz.

Katie Maloney  and  Tom Schwartz 's post-divorce relationship hasn't always been harmonious, but the  Vanderpump Rules   exes ended up sharing a sweet, sentimental moment during the  extended and uncensored version  of the  third and final part of the Season 11 reunion  (which is now streaming exclusively on  Peacock ).

How to Watch

Watch Vanderpump Rules on  Peacock  and the Bravo app .  

The previously unseen exchange came after reunion host  Andy Cohen  asked Katie for her honest thoughts on Tom's VPR finale proposal (a one-night stand that would only consist of them eating junk food and sitting on their phones).

"That's one of my favorite things to do, is just rot and scroll," Katie said at the reunion. "So, while I'm like, 'Oh my god, one of my favorite activities, it was like, that's also so intimate.' Having sex, you could do that with anyone."

Suffice to say, Katie and Tom didn't end up doing either of those. They did, however, reflect fondly on their relationship at the reunion after Andy asked Schwartz if Katie is "the one that got away." 

Is Tom Schwartz still in love with Katie Maloney?

"No, I'm completely at peace with our decision to separate. It doesn't mean that from time to time I don't cry," Tom responded at the Season 11 reunion before turning to Katie with tears in his eyes, telling her, "and I miss you."

Katie also got emotional, responding "aw," before Schwartz continued.

"It was the right decision, but I'm still fond of the best moments we had together," he said. "We had 13 years. I don't look at it as a failure. I had so many great moments with you, Katie, and I still love you. But it was the right decision to separate."

"I don't look at it as time wasted or taken from me at all," Katie agreed. "It was the best."

More from Bravo: 

Andy Delivers a Scathing Judgement of Katie and Schwartz in Unseen Reunion Moment

Tom Schwartz Defends Katie as Tom Sandoval Labels Her “the Very Definition of Evil”

Did a WWHL Caller Predict Katie and Schwartz's Issues Back in 2016? (Watch the Vintage Clip)

Where Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz Stand Today

Katie and Schwartz's sweet reunion moment is the latest in a series of pleasant interactions between the two exes. The most recent, though, came on May 26 when Tom paid a visit to Katie and  Ariana Madix 's  just-opened sandwich shop, Something About Her.  There, Tom posed for a photo with none other than Katie's mom, Teri Maloney .

Something About Her Is Open! Katie & Ariana Talk Sandwiches, Challenges & What's Next

Prior to his visit, Schwartz said on the May 21 episode of the  Vanderpump Rules Season 11 After Show  that he and Katie are in "a good place."

The two also bonded over the course of Season 11 , with Katie stating at one point, “I know that I told Tom I wouldn’t see him one-on-one, but there is still part of me that does still want to have some type of friendship with [him]. Having spent so much time with a person and them just becoming a stranger, I just can’t quite wrap my head around that.”

RELATED:  Keep the Vanderpump Rules Reunions Season 11 Vibes Going with This Bravo Merch

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