Topic and Main Idea

A. What is a main idea?

The main idea is the central point or thought the author wants to communicate to
readers. The main idea answers the question, “What does the author want me to know about
the topic?” or “What is the author teaching me?” Often the author states the main idea in a
single sentence. In paragraphs, a stated main idea is called the topic sentence. In an article,
the stated main idea is called the thesis statement. When the author does not state the main
idea directly, it is called an implied main idea. An implied main idea requires you to look at
the specific statements in the paragraph and consider what idea they suggest.
 Why is identifying the main idea important?
Finding the main idea is a key to understanding what you read. The main idea ties all of
the sentences in the paragraph or article together. Once you identify the main idea,
everything else in the reading should click into place. The rest of the reading is the evidence
provided to support that main idea.
 How to find the main idea
a. Find the topic first.
You have to know the topic before you can determine the main idea. Preview your text
and ask yourself, “What or who is the article about?” or “What is the author teaching me
about?”
b. Ask yourself.
“What does the author want me to know about the topic?” or “What is the author
teaching me about the topic?” You can answer this by finding the idea that is common to
most of the text or what opinion all the parts support.
c. Use these clues to help find the main idea:
1. Read the first and last sentences of the paragraph (or the first and last paragraphs of
the article). Authors often state the main idea near the beginning or end of a
paragraph.
2. Pay attention to any idea that is repeated in different ways. If an author returns to
the same thought in several different sentences (or paragraphs), that idea is the
main or central thought under discussion.
3. Look for a sentence that states the main idea. This is the stated main idea or topic
sentence.
4. Look for reversal transitions at the beginning of sentences. These signal that the
author is going to modify the previous idea. When a reversal transition opens the
second sentence of a paragraph, there’s a good chance that the second sentence is
the topic sentence and a stated main idea. Some samples of reversal transitions:
 But
 Nonetheless
 Unfortunately
 On the other hand
 Nevertheless
 On the contrary
 5. At times the main idea will not be stated directly. This is called an implied main
idea.
 Read all of the specific statements, not just the ones that open the
paragraphs.
 Think of a general statement that could sum up the specifics as effectively
as any stated topic sentence. As there will not be a topic sentence, you will
have to write one. The main idea you write must be a complete sentence
that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
6. Once you feel sure that you have found the main idea, test it. Ask yourself if the
sentence could act as a summary of the other sentences in the paragraph. Do the
examples, reasons, and facts included in the reading explain or give evidence
supporting the main idea you have in mind? If they do, then you are right on target.
If they don’t, you may want to revise your main idea.

Table 1. Key Terms

TERM DEFINITION
Main idea The most important point
Topic sentence The most important point of a paragraph
when directly stated
Thesis The most important point of an essay or
longer reading
Explicit (directly stated) main idea The most important point expressed in
one sentence in the reading.
QUICK TIPS
THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOU MAIN IDEA
 Every paragraph has a main idea.
 Every subsection has a main idea.
 Every longer reading has a main idea.
 An explicit or directly stated main idea means the author has written a sentence
that expresses the main thought.
 Main idea is never in a question form, but it is often the answer to the question.
 Main idea is always expressed as a sentence and reflects the pattern of
organization
READING
IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
Along with permanent settlement, the agricultural revolution brought surpluss
production. Farmers could produce substantially more than they needed for survival.
The agricultural surplus allowed the creation of new occupations and thus new
economic and social classes such as artisans, soldiers, priests, and government officials.
Freed from having to grow their own food, these new classes turned their talents to
performing specialized services and producing goods other than foods. They produce
more than they themselves needed, so they traded the excess to obtain whatever other
goods they required. The allocation of different job to different people is called
specialization of labor. Specialization has proven extraordinarily efficient compare to
self sufficiency for at least two reasons. First, individual talent and abilities are different
from one to another. Second, a person to concentrates on one activity becomes better at
it than could a jack-of-all trades
The exchange of goods and services in early societies commonly took place by
simple mutual agreement among neighbors. Today we use the term market economy to
refer to a called market. Today, traders prefer free market to the regulated market. Free
market economy allows the movement of goods and services freely from one place to
another at the price and quantity agreed by buyer and sellers. The earliest market
economies depend on barter, the trading of goods directly for other goods. However,
barter can be more costly process than money made trade in terms of time spent
searching out satisfactory exchanges. In today economy, barter is the least method of
exchanging goods and service.
(taken and adjusted from Lipsey, R.D., D. Purvis, and P.O. Steiner. 1988.
Economics. 6thedition. Harper & Row Publishers Inc. New York. p. 44-45)
Task 1
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
2. What are the main characteristics of free market?
3. Why is specialization proven to be more efficient?
4. What is the main idea presented in the second paragraph?
5. What happen when surplus occur to farmers?
LISTENING
Task 1
Write (T) if the statement is true and (F) if the statement is false
1. The video is considered for storage and transport of bagged rice.
2. Any kind of plastic layer can be used to keep the grain clean.
3. The truck box must be clean.
4. Holes or cracks in the floor or on the rails should be repaired.
5. One function of tarps is covering the loads from getting wet during rain.
6. During the trip, the person in charge can stop several times only to check the status
of the cargo and the tarp.
7. On larger storage buildings, it is significant to conduct seasonal inspections and
repairs of roof and walls.
8. SAWBOTM is abbreviation of Specific Animations Without Borders.
9. Rodents are pest like rats and squirrels.
10. The common problem-maker of storage room are rodents, insect attacks or bacteria
and fungi activity.

Task 2
1. What is the video about?
2. How can the holes or cracks in the floor or on the rails of the truck be repaired?
Explain it briefly!
3. When you find a bagged grain in the storage room is contaminated by fungi/bacteria,
what will you do?