Chapter 2
Reading for the Main Idea and
Author’s Purpose
Objectives
This chapter will help you improve your
comprehension by showing you how to
identify the:
Main idea in paragraphs
Placement of the main idea
Implied main ideas
Levels of support—major and minor
supporting details
Author’s purpose and modes of discourse
Main Idea in Paragraphs
• Why the paragraph?
– Reading entails the paragraphs in many
sizes
– Nonfiction
• The paragraph is the fundamental unit of
written thought
– Reading for pleasure
• ditto
Main Idea and Controlling
Idea
• Is the first sentence of a paragraph
always the topic sentence?
– No, this is very misleading
– To assume that the first sentence is
the main point may result in inaccurate
comprehension
Main Idea and Controlling
Idea
• The main idea
– Consists of two parts:
1. Topic
–
General subject
2. Controlling idea
–
A descriptive word or phrase
» It limits, qualifies, or narrows the topic
to make the larger subject manageable
Main Idea and Controlling
Idea
Topic + Controlling Idea = Main Idea
Learning is a lifelong endeavor.
A lifelong endeavor is learning.
The topic and controlling idea do not
change.
A well-constructed paragraph is
restricted on which details are
used.
Main Idea and Controlling
Idea
Go to pp. 46-47 and do Practice
Exercise 1
Main Idea and Controlling
Idea
Practice Exercise 1 answers
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
With the help of the topic being underlined once, it is much easier
to identify the controlling idea, isn’t it?
for a host of reasons
a narcotic that offers…
There has always been…apparent
a land of paradoxes
the color of the dust
Such a simple invention…discovery
nocturnal and poisonous and alien
Symbolizes to me…city
How did you do?
Placement of the Main Idea
Thank goodness for textbooks!
They are easy to use when spotting
the main idea. Why?
Visual aids > graphic elements
As a college reader, you must learn
to cope with diverse writing styles
and techniques, requiring you to
rewrite some of the rules you may
have been taught in the past.
Placement of the Main Idea
The chain of ideas
Use the strategy of paraphrasing in
order to find the main idea.
Create your own title for the passage.
What is the main idea of the passage
on the Ohlones from p. 49-50?
What did you write?
Placement of the Main Idea
You could have written…
Although the Ohlone Indians were
Stone-Age people with only
primitive tools at their disposal,
they treated deer hunting with
reverence.
Implied Main Ideas
• When a writer suggests the main
idea by providing various details,
the main idea is implied, or not
explicitly stated.
• Now, do Practice Exercise 2, found
on pp. 51-52.
Implied Main Ideas
Practice Exercise 2, pp. 51-52 answers
A. a
B. b
C. d
D. (suggested answer) Salt deities, usually
female, are found in many Native American
cultures.
E. (suggested answer) Keeping several hundred
animals fed and healthy in a zoo requires
knowledge, flexibility, and patience.
Levels of Support—Major
and Minor Supporting Details
• Can you recognize and separate
major and minor details? It is an
important thinking skill.
– Major statements directly relate to
and develop the main idea.
– Minor statements further explain,
illustrate, or otherwise develop the
major statements.
Levels of Support—Major
and Minor Supporting Details
Main Idea
Major Support
Minor Support
Major Support
Minor Support
Major Support
Minor Support
This diagram can be
recreated into a
graphic organizer. For
you, what would you
create graphically?
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
• The mode of discourse refers to
the kind of writing which is done in
nonfiction prose.
• How might you identify discourse?
– Ask yourself “Why is the writer
writing and what does he want to
accomplish?”
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
• The mode of discourse
refers to the kind of
writing which is done in
nonfiction prose.
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
• There are four modes:
1. Narration > to personally or indirectly tell
2. Description > how something looks or feels
• The writer shows a visual picture of a
particular scene, not a generalized one
based on a composite of many such
scenes
• Figures of speech may also be used
• There usually is not a sentence stating
the main idea but a dominant impression
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
3. Exposition > to inform, explain…
•
•
•
•
The most common kind of reading you will
encounter in your college courses
Objective writing with a straightforward
purpose: to inform, to explain, to make
clear, to discuss, to set forth.
It is usually factual, consistent with the
purpose of informing
Subject matter is presented without
trying to influence our opinions or
emotions or to criticize or argue
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
4. Persuasion >< argumentation
•
Argumentation refers to writing that is
supported by logical evidence in defense
of a specific issue
–
•
Based on emotion or opinion
Persuasion is an attempt to change
another person’s feelings or opinions by
using emotional or ethical appeals.
–
–
Controversy
May use facts to prove a point
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
• Now, do Practice Exercise 4, found
on pp. 63-66.
– Identify the mode of discourse
– Give the main idea or dominant
expression of each passage
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
Practice Exercise 4, pp. 63-66 answers.
A. Exposition
The fossil record tells the history of life and
provides evidence of how life forms evolved
from simple to complex forms.
B. Persuasion
To preserve biodiversity and to prevent a
future catastrophic die-off, we need to decide
how best to stop the accelerating trend of
species become extinct.
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
Practice Exercise 4, pp. 63-66 answers.
C. Description
Despite evidence of destruction as a result of
war, the country road, fields, and mountains
the writer observed were still beautiful.
D. Description and exposition
The plants and wildlife in this desert are
poisonous and otherwise harmful to those who
come in contact with them.
The Author’s Purpose and
Modes of Disclosure
Practice Exercise 4, pp. 63-66 answers.
E. Exposition and persuasion
The relationship between blue jeans and
youthful rebellion against the older generation
has been strongly evident for the last 50
years.
Assignments
• Now, reread how to do Assignments
and follow directions for Ch. 2.
• Submit through the Assignment
dropbox as directed. Remember to
head your .doc with your name as
shown in the Assignment directions.