Page 50 - PET 101 EBOOK

TWO TYPES OF

MAIN IDEA

1. STATED MAIN IDEA

It is written directly in the text.

Authors sometimes come right out

and write the main idea in the

passage for a variety of reasons –

they don't want you to miss the

point, they are new writers and have

not figured out the art of subtlety,

they like clear, informational

writing.

2. IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

If the author doesn't directly state the main

idea of the text, it's up to you to infer what

the main idea is.

Finding the implied main idea is easier if

you think of the passage as a box. Inside

the box, is a random group of stuff (the

details of the passage). Pull each item from

the box and try to figure out what they

each have in common, kind of like the game

Tri-Bond. Once you've figured out what the

common bond is among each of the items,

you'll be able to summarize the passage in a

snap.