How to Find Main Idea
How to Find Main Idea
When you read a book or story, you're like a detective, always looking for clues to tell you what is going on. You look for clues to help you make predictions, make inferences and draw conclusions, and even find the main idea.
The main idea is what the text is mostly about. This includes the topic of the text and the main point the text makes about the topic.
For example, if you're reading a book about Lebron James, the main idea of the book may be "Lebron James was a very accomplished basketball player." If you're reading an article about a hurricane, the main idea may be, "The hurricane caused a lot of damage to the region."
How do you find the main idea of a text?
The simplest way to find the main idea of a text is to ask yourself the question, "What did I just read about?"
However, sometimes you need help answering that question. If you can't figure out the main idea of a text right away, there are a few different places you can look:
- Look at the title and subtitle. Usually the title of a text will tell you the topic and, occasionally, offer a bit of information about what the text is going to say about the topic.
- Look at the first and last paragraph. If they are written well, the introductory and closing paragraphs of a text usually sum up what a text is about.
- Look at the first sentence of each paragraph. The first sentence of each paragraph in a non-fiction text is often called a topic sentence. These sentences will introduce the different aspects of a topic that is covered in the text and can help you figure out the main idea.
- Look for clue words that are used multiple times. Words related to the topic that are used multiple times can often help you narrow down the main idea of the topic.
Let's see if you can figure out the main idea of this text:
Basketball: America's Game
While many countries have their own basketball teams, the sport of basketball has long been America's game. The NBA is one of the most celebrated basketball leagues in the world and basketball games in the United States are regularly packed with more fans than are found at basketball games in other countries. Even though basketball was invented by a Canadian, it was first played in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, before spreading around the world. From the very beginning, basketball was America's game.
If you look at the title and subtitle, you can figure out that the passage is going to talk about basketball in America.
This passage only has one paragraph, but if you look at the first and last sentence, you can see that both mention that basketball is America's game.
The phrase "America's game" is also repeated throughout the text.
After looking at this passage, you can conclude that the main idea of the passage is, "Basketball is America's game."
Use the practice questions and worksheets below to continuing learning how to find the main idea.
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