Liberal Arts Seminar
FINDING THE TOPIC AND MAIN IDEA
This handout outlines a step-by-step approach to helping students develop their ability to identify and state the
general topic and main idea of assigned readings. Although the first steps are too elementary for most college
students, they illustrate principles that will be applied to more complicated passages. Unless otherwise stated,
the information and sample exercises below are taken directly from The Reader’s Handbook, by Brenda D.
Smith, Emerita, Georgia State University.
Step 1. Recognizing General and Specific Ideas (p. 70)
To lay the groundwork for finding the main idea of a passage, begin by having the students identify the
general topic in a group of words or simple phrases, as in the following examples:
Circle the phrase that could be the topic for each group below:
1. flatten dough
make a pizza
sprinkle cheese on top
spread tomato sauce
2.
collect kindling
strike a match
build a fire
add logs
Step 2. Recognize the General Topic for Sentence Groups
The following exercise contains a group of numbered sentences from a paragraph. Select a phrase that best
describes the topic or subject for each group of sentences.
1. The American game of baseball has become a favorite sport in Japan.
2. In America, a baseball player can exercise unique talents and stand out as an individual.
3. For Japanese fans, “team spirit” is essential, which means subordinating individual needs for the benefit
of the group.
Enthusiastic Japanese fans
Cultural differences in baseball
Unique talents for baseball
Step 3. Recognize the Topic and General Sentence within a Sentence Group
Circle the number of the sentence that best expresses the general subject. Then circle the phrase that best
describes the subject of the sentences.
1. In 1950 businessman Frank McNamara was embarrassed that he did not have enough cash to pay the
bill for a client dinner at a popular New York restaurant.
2. McNamara’s wife drove to his rescue with cash.
3. Spurred by this incident, McNamara started the first plastic credit card for use in restaurants, which was
called the Diner’s Club card.
McNamara’s error
Cash policy in restaurants
The birth of plastic money
Prepared by Mrs. Janet Ruddy Spring, 2010
Liberal Arts Seminar
Step 4. Create a General Topic and a General Sentence Stating the Main Idea.
In The Reader’s Handbook (2007, pp. 81-82), Dr. Smith provides a three-step method for determining the main
idea of a paragraph.
1. Establish the topic.
Question: Who or what is this about?
2. Identify the key supporting terms.
Question: What are the major details or key terms?
3. Focus on the message of the topic.
Question: What main idea is the author trying to convey about the topic?
The student needs to understand that the main idea might appear at the beginning, middle or end of a
paragraph, or it might not be stated at all. Both Bridging the Gap and The Reader’s Handbook provide
information and exercises to assist students in figuring out the main idea when it is not stated directly. The three
questions listed above also apply to determining main ideas when they are not stated. The excerpts below from
The Reader’s Handbook (p. 86) provide examples:
Example #1: In the passage below the main idea is not stated, but it may be determined by answering the three
questions that follow.
In Western cultures psychotherapists or counselors promote the idea that people should be happy. They
believe that all change is possible, and that change is relatively easy. On the other hand, Eastern cultures
are more tolerant of conditions regarded as outside human control. Thus they have a less optimistic view of
change. Western therapists want to fix problems, whereas Eastern therapists teach clients to live with and
accept troubling emotions.
1. Who or what is the topic of this passage?
___________________________________________________________________
2. What are the key terms or major details? Underline them.
3. What major idea is the author trying to convey about the topic?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Example #2: The following numbered sentences make up a short paragraph that lacks a general sentence
stating the main idea. Write a general topic and a sentence which states the main idea.
1. The Suez Canal was a manmade assault on nature that dramatically shortened the voyage between the
Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
2. In 1914 engineers completed the Panama Canal, which united the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and cut
the voyage from New York to California by 7,800 miles.
3. By 1994 cars were able to whiz through the Chunnel and thus travel under the English Channel without
waiting for a ferryboat to go from France to England.
General topic? ________________________________________________________________
General sentence stating the main idea? ___________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Prepared by Mrs. Janet Ruddy Spring, 2010
Liberal Arts Seminar
Step 5. Differentiate Topic, Main Idea, and Supporting Details
Sample Exercises:
Compare the sentences or phrases in each group and indicate which is the topic (T), the main idea (MI), and the
supporting detail (D).
Group 1
____1. The original French recipe combined the mallow root with sugar, but now the mallow has been replaced
with gum arabic and egg whites to save money.
____ 2. The mallow plant, marsh vegetation eaten in ancient Egypt, is no longer used in the production of
marshmallows.
____ 3. No longer any mallow in the marshmallow
Group 2
____ 1. A new trick in one state has police with radar guns disguised as construction workers or line workers
who radio their back-ups about approaching speeding vehicles.
____ 2. New tricks to catch speeders
____ 3. In some states the police are trying unusual ways to apprehend speeding motorists.
Finding the Main Idea in Longer Selections
Dr. Brenda Smith, in The Reader’s Handbook (pp. 90-91), gives the students the following suggestions to use
when trying to find the main idea of longer texts. (To avoid confusion, you might want to use the term “central
thought” or “thesis statement” when you are referring to the main idea of longer passages.)
1. Think about the significance of the title.
2. Read the first one or two paragraphs to see what the author asserts about the topic. Is the author
expressing an opinion or position on the topic?
3. As you read, decide what each paragraph contributes. What is the main idea of each individual
paragraph, and how does it develop the overall message?
4. Consider the main ideas of the individual paragraphs as supporting details, and determine how the
thoughts combine to support a single focus for the selection. Rather than write a summary of all the
paragraph details, focus on formulating a general sentence that captures the point of the reading and
answers the question “What main idea is the author trying to convey in this long selection?”
Suggested Group Activity
Assign a longer passage of at least three substantial paragraphs. Assign the students to small groups and ask
them to find and state the main idea for each paragraph and the overall main idea (“central thought” or “thesis
statement”) for the passage. Have the students underline the major details in each paragraph. Each student
could write his or her own summary based on the group work.
Source: Smith, Brenda. The Reader’s Handbook: Reading Strategies for College and Everyday Life. 3rd ed. New York:
Pearson Longman, 2007, 72-91
Prepared by Mrs. Janet Ruddy Spring, 2010