CHAPTER 4LOCATING THE STATED MAIN IDEA

 IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL LEARN:

• What a stated main idea sentence is and why it is important to locate and understand it

• The method for identifying the stated main idea sentence

• Which sentence can be the stated main idea sentence in a paragraph

What is a stated main idea sentence, and why is it important to locate and understand it?

 Stated main idea sentence:

The sentence in a paragraph that contains both the topic and the author’s single most important point about this topic.

A stated main idea sentence is also known as the topic sentence.

Because stated main ideas are so important, authors sometimes draw attention to them

by using certain phrases. 

• The point is…• It is obvious that…• It is important to understand that…• In short,…• Therefore,…• In conclusion,…

Why is it important to locate and understand stated main idea sentences?

It is important because the stated main idea sentence is the sentence the author includes for the purpose of

stating the single most important point he or she wants the reader to understand.

Understanding main ideas is a key to identifying and learning the important material

(in other words, material you will see on tests). 

Understanding main ideas will enable you to:

• Comprehend more accurately and completely the material you are reading.

• Underline or highlight the most important material in your textbooks.

• Take better notes.

• Organize information into outlines and summaries.

• Locate and memorize more easily the important material for tests.

• Make higher test grades.

What is the method for identifying the stated main idea sentence?

 The topic:

The author’s most important point about the topic, otherwise known as the main idea sentence.

Begin by reading the paragraph and determining its topic. 

Then, locate the main idea by finding the sentence that answers the comprehension monitoring question,

“What is the single most important point the author wants me to understand about the topic of this paragraph?”

When you find a sentence that contains the topic and answers this question (tells the author’s most important point about the

topic), you have found the stated main idea sentence.

Next, make sure that the sentence you are considering as the main idea makes complete sense by itself.

A stated main idea sentence must contain the actual word, name, or phrase that is the topic as well as

the author’s single most important point about the topic.

Then be sure the sentence you have chosen is a general sentence.

The main idea sentence often sums up the details but does not include them.

 Finally, see if the other sentences in the paragraph

explain or tell more about the sentence you have chosen.

The other sentences in the paragraph will be supporting details that explain, illustrate, or prove

the general point expressed by the main idea sentence.

Which sentence can be the stated main idea sentence in a paragraph?

 A stated main idea sentence often occurs

at the very beginning of a paragraph.

The next most likely place is at the end of a paragraph.

Stated main idea sentences sometimes occur within a paragraph.

A stated main idea sentence can be highlighted or underlined because it always appears as a sentence in the paragraph.

The first sentence of a paragraph is often the stated main idea sentence.

Authors know that putting a main idea sentence first can make the paragraph clearer and easier to understand.

By giving the main point first, authors know that readers usually find it easier to locate the main idea.

Authors know that it will be easier for readers to identify the supporting details when they already know the main idea.

The stated main idea sentence is sometimes the last sentence of the paragraph.

Authors sometimes prefer to make the last sentence of a paragraph the stated main idea, because in some cases,

it helps the reader if they conclude the paragraph with the most important point.

This is especially true if an explanation is required before the reader can understand the main idea.

The author may wish to lead up to an important general conclusion.

Putting the main idea sentence last is a way authors can emphasize it or draw attention to it.

The stated main idea sentence may appear within the paragraph.

An author may prefer not to begin a paragraph with the stated main idea sentence.

An author may prefer to begin the paragraph with a question instead, then use a later sentence—the main idea sentence—to answer it.

The main idea can never be a question.

An author may choose to begin a paragraph with introductory statements, or with familiar or interesting examples.

Authors may begin by stating a widely held misconception they wish to refute.

They may begin by presenting a surprising or controversial statement designed to get the reader’s attention.

Things to keep in mind when locating the stated main idea sentence:

 1. All stated main idea sentences have certain

characteristics in common.The main idea sentence must contain the topic of the paragraph.

The main idea sentence must tell the author’s single most important point about that topic.

The main idea sentence makes complete sense by itself.

The main idea sentence is a general one that sums up the details in the paragraph.

The rest of the sentences in the paragraph explain or tell more about the main idea sentence.

2. Avoid these three common mistakes when locating the stated main idea sentence.

1. It is a mistake to think you can take a shortcut and determine the main idea by looking only at the first and last sentence of a

paragraph. Be sure to read the entire paragraph before you try to determine the main idea sentence.

2. Avoid choosing a sentence as the main idea merely because it contains familiar or interesting information.

3. Do not select a question from a paragraph as the main idea because the stated main idea is always written as a statement (a sentence).

The stated main idea is never written in the form of a question.

The stated main idea sentence, however, will often be the answer to a question the author presents at the beginning of a paragraph.

3. Signal words or phrases can give you a clue to locating a stated main idea and to locating a stated main idea that is presented as a conclusion.

Authors sometimes include a signal word or phrase in a paragraph in order to make a stated main idea obvious to the reader.

• Obviously…• Overall…• To sum up…• The point is…• Generally speaking…• The fact is…• The truth is…• In reality…

Sometimes an author will emphasize a stated main idea in a paragraph by presenting it as a conclusion.

A stated conclusion is simply a main idea which the author expresses as the final point in the paragraph.

These signal words and phrases indicate that the conclusion is the main idea:

• As a result…• As one can see…• So…• For these reasons…• The point is this…• Obviously, then…

• In conclusion…• It is clear, then…• Consequently…• Therefore…• Finally…• Thus…

4. A longer passage often has an overall main idea that is stated. Authors sometimes include an overall stated main idea to present the general point of an entire selection.

A longer selection might consist of a section of a textbook chapter, a short reading selection, or an essay.

Often, the introductory or concluding sentence of a longer selection expresses the most important point

or the overall message of the entire passage.

In a writing course or an English course, your instructor may refer to the overall stated main idea of a selection as the

thesis sentence. (The thesis sentence usually appears at the beginning of a selection.)

 AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• What a stated main idea sentence is and why it is important to locate and understand it

• The method for identifying the stated main idea sentence

• Which sentence can be the stated main idea sentence in a paragraph