2.

Finding the Main Idea/Topic Idea/ Topic Sentence

Finding the main idea oI a paragraph is one oI the most important speciIic
comprehension skills. Ophelia Hancock (1987: 54) deIines that the main idea is the
essence oI the paragraph, or rether what the author is trying to get across to the
reader. In other words, that is what the author wants a reader to know about. So, the
main idea is the important idea that the author develops throughout the paragraph.
Then, the Iunction oI the entire paragraphs is to explain, develop, and Support the
main idea.
Practically every pargraph has (or should have) a topic idea. As has been
pointed out beIore, it is usually included in a general statement. II it is not so
included, it can he expressed by such a statement. OI ten it is about a number oI
things or people, or a rule, or a principle oI some sort. it is always more general, and
includes more than the details which support it. The topic idea, as has been said
beIore, is the thing the paragraph is about; it is the point the paragraph makes.

The Topic ldea is Usually In The First Sentence
Where should you look Ior the topic idea? The Iirst sentence usually states it. II
it does, this sentence may be a summary sentence, telling in general what the
paragraph is about; pointing out what is to be discussed; a brieI deIinition or a
statement to be explainet.

Example I
Amoung the people who suIered most aIter the revolution where the small
Iarmers. (Summary sentence) During the want many oI them, believing the prosperity
would come with peace, had borrowed many on their Iarms. In the years Iollowing
the Revolution they were unable to get enough many Ior their produce to pay their
dehis. they were in danger oI losing their homes and going to prison. courts were
crowded with lawsuits and many homesteads were sold.

Example 2
iI you wish to enter busines. there are three good reasons why you should study
English. (introductory sentence) First, your ability to secure a position may depend on
your English. Your prospective employer will notice how well you write the answers
to the questions on your application blank. And when you are interviewed, he will
notice how well you speak second, your success on the job will depend partly on your
English you will need to talk eIIectively with your IeIlow workers, with your
superiors, and perhaps with the public.you will need to write reports accurately and
interestingly. Third, your promotion may be hastened iI you can use English
competently. A General Electric educational publication says, 'As you move up the
success ladder, what you write and what you say will determine in part your rate oI
climb.

Example 3
Ozone is an unusually active Iorm oI oxygen produced by the discharge oI
dectricity in the air (orieI deIinition). The Iresh, pungent odor oI the air aIter a
thunderstorm is partly due to the presence oI ozone produced in the air by lightning.
The slightly irritating odor near rays and other high-voltage machines is also due to
the presence oI ozone.

Example 4
One man`s meat is another man`s poison. (Statement to he explain) Meat in this
sentence may mean Iood; hence one meaning oI this statement could be One mans
Iood is another man`s poison. To realze that this is true, we need only to think oI
allergies. Lemons are good Iood, especially valuable Ior their vitamin C content. But
there are people so allergic to them that tasting even one drop oI lemon juice brings
on a painIul skin rash. Quite literally what is meat (Iood) Ior most people is poison
Ior them. But this statement can have a wider meaning. It can mean that anything
good Ior one person can be harmIul to another. Take trying to speed up reading, Ior
example, most people can beneIit Irom reading more pupidly. But not harry! he is in
the habit oI trying to read everything at the rate oI 500 to 600 WPM He never
slackens his pace Ior diIIicult words or Ior other matters he does not understand. And
he rarely makes a comprehension score more than 50. Trying to read more rapidly,
which is helpIul to most people, would be poisonous (harmIul) to Harry: What he
needs is to slow down.

The Topic Idea May Be In the Last Sentence
II the Iirst sentence does not contain the topic idea, the next place to look is in
the last sentence. II it is in this sentence, it may be a repetition oI the Iirst, either in
the same or in diIIerent words. Or the last sentence may contain a conclusion to
which a set oI speciIic details or a chain oI reasoning has led.

Example
The chemist is essential in our liIe today. (First statement oI topic idea)
Aviation uses lightweight aluminum, magnecium, high-octane gasoline-all proceses
or created by the chemist. The automotive industry uses plostics, improved gasoline
and oils, improved rubber, and other creations or discoveries oI the chemist. The
clothing industry uses rayon, nylon, Dacron, orlon-all chemically made Iibers. From
the chemist, too come dyestuII. Iarming depends on the chemist Ior many Iertilizers
and insecticides. Medicine has received the miracle drugs and synthetic vitamins
Irom the chemist. Our national security, our Iurture power resources, and our advance
in other scientiIic Iields, such as geology and biology, depend in large part on our
progress in nuclear chemistry. The housewiIe, too, has giIts Irom the chemist-among
them Ioam rubber and Dacron pillows, detergents Ior cleaning, plastic Iorniture and
dishes, and cosmetics to protect her beauty. indeed. the chemist today is irreplaceable.
(Repetition oI topic idea in somewhat diIIerent words.)

The Topic Idea My Be In The Second Sentence
The second sentence may contain the topic idea. When it does, the Iirst
sentence may point back to something in preceding paragraph; it may contain a more
general idea than the paragraph develops; or it may contain an idea qualiIying, or
even contradicting, the idea developed in the paragraph. When the topic idea is in the
second sentence, it oIten contains Some word (usually a pronoun) which depends Ior
its meaning on the Iirst sentence.

Example
Certainly money should not be your chieI aim in liIe. But you ought not to
despise it, Ior it can help you and your Iamily obtain many oI the good things oI liIe.
It can buy an adequate diet, one oI the bases oI good health. When necessary, it can
provide medicine and medical care. It can provide medicine and medical care. It can
be the means Ior a comIortable house, Ior travel, Ior good books, and Ior hobbies and
recreation. it can make it easier Ior your children to secure an education. Finally, it
can oIIer a great opportunity Ior you to help others.
Notice that the Iirst sentence in this paragraph could easily reIer to a preceding
paragraph about money, perhaps about the high salaries in a certain Iield or
proIession, and that it (the Iirst sentence) contains idea almost contradicting what is
said in the remainder oI the paragraph. Notice also the two it`s in the second sentence,
which contains the topic idea. These it`s reIer to money, in the Iirst sentence.

The Topic Idea May Be Foun In Any Sentence Of The Pragraph
Any sentence may contain the topic idea. Any sentence which tells what the
paragraph is about, no matter where it Iound, contains the topic idea.

Example
(1) The widespread illusion on this subject (working ones way through
college) is due to several misconceptions. (2) The Iirs oI these is the popular idea that
the great objective is to 'get through college. (3) Getting through college is oI no
value whatsoever. (4) many men have 'gotten through college who would be better
oI iI they had never seen a college. (5) so would society. (6) Which is to say that there
are many oI getting through college and some oI them mean nothing. (7) What counts
is what a man gets out oI college as goes through. (8) iI he gets what he should, he
will he immediately enriched and society will be blessed by his ability and his
service. (9) But iI he does get these proper values, he has nothing. (10) The Iact,
thereIor, that a man earnedhis way through collec means nothing unles the man got
something as he went through (11) Many oI the earning man get little or nothing. (12)
They are in some cases like the playboys. (13) In one case play interIeres with
education. (14) In the other, menial, driving, all-absobing remunerative work does the
same.
The underlined sentence (the tenth) in this paragraph contains the topic idea.
Why is this so? The Iirst sentence does not contain the topic idea Ior it speak oI
'several inisconceptions, and only one misconception is treated in this paragraph, and
it is not Iully treated. But all oI the sentences Irom the Iirst through the ninth do lead
to the conclosion in the tenth sentence. And sentences eleven through Iourteen give
Iurther reasons Ior the conclusion in he tenth sentence.

The Topic Idei May be Repeated

Example
Reading can give you vicarious experience. That is, reading can give you the
Ieeling oI actual participation in experience you may never have in your so-called real
liIe. You may never visit the Arctic Circle or live in Nome, Alaska, but through
reading you can her the chime oI dry. Irozen wood; you can experience vicariously
the Iight with the deadly cold You may never have the thrill oI skin diving in the
Mediterranean, but through reading you can experience it vicariously. Trough
reading, you can become greater that yourselI You can give your very liIe Ior those
you love. Indeed reading can bring you almost any experience vicariously. Thus you
can Ieel-and so understand-the Iear oI the hunted, the passion and remorse oI the
murderer, and the urparalleled and glorious exaltation oI the martyr.
In this selection, as the italicized sentences show, the topic idea is stated Iour
times in similar words. The second sentence states the topic idea in diIIerent words.

Other Places For The Topic Idea
Other places Ior the topic idea are in two sentences taken together, such as the
Iirst and the second sentences, the Iirst and the last, or a question and its answer; part
oI a sentence, such as an independent clause; and parts oI two or more sentences.

Example
You may question whether a poor mark in chemistry, Ior example, will look
bad to the Iuture employer who is considering you Ior a sales position. It will. Or at
least it will throw some doubt into his mind. he will reason something like this; 'He
(you) was given a job to do, but he didn`t give that job a good eIIort. I wonder iI he
will postpone calling on a tough customer until a worker Irom sonic other company
has clinched the sale.
In this selection the topic idea is in the Iirst and second sentences taken
together. Summarized Irom these sentences it is: A poor mark in chemistry will look
bad to an employer who is considering you Ior a sales position.

The Topic Idea May Not Be Stated
Sometimes the topic idea is not stated at all. Instead, details supporting it are
given and the reader is expected to express it Ior himselI.

Example
The 1950 Cencus Retort tells us that in 1949, oI all men 25 years and older,
those who completed eight years oI grade school received a median income oI $2533.
Those with Iour years oI high school received a median wage oI 3285. Those who
stuck out Iour year oI college received a median wage $ 4407.
In this selection the topic idea is not stated, but it is implied that the longer one
stays in school the more salary he is like to receive. This, then, is the topic idea.

The Topic Idea of A Paragraph May be Outside The paragraph
Finally, a topic idea may lepend upon a topic idea in another paragraph, either a
preceding or a succeeding one. This occurs when a paragraph is part oI a larger unit.



Exmple 1
You must never Iorget though, that it takes a lot oI hard work to become a good
lawyer. (Topic idea)
A boy mast Iirst spend at least three years in college; in some states Iear. And
he muss get high grades or he won`t be accepted by an accredited law school. II he is
admitted to law school, he next must put in three years oI still more intensive eIIort in
order to win they cherished degree oI Bachelor oI laws.
Even then his hard work is not done.
He has to 'Pass the bar. This an examination given by the various states to
determine whether a man has a through knowledge and understanding oI the law.
In this selection above it takes a lot oI hard work to become a good lawyer is
the topic idea Ior the whole group oI paragraph.

Example 2
In my opinion, you would be well counseled to make the same points to your
son iI he is wondering what to do will his liIe. I realize modern psychologist hold that
a parent should never urge a child to enter any Iield which he doesn`t like. And I
agree. Still, a little sound advice can do a child a lot oI good. I say that on the basis oI
my own experience.
When I was a senior at the University oI Nebraska-that was quite a while ago.
In 1988, to be exact-I started to think very seriously oI botany as a career. The reason
Ior this was simple. I was todaying under an exceptional old proIessor oI botany who
had me all exited about his subject. Luckily, I asked my Iather what he thought oI it.
Father was a man oI practical good sense and he quickly convinced that I was better
suited Ior law than Ior botany. I have been deeply grateIul to him ever since.

The topic idea Ior the second paragraph oI this selection is contained in the last
two sentences oI the Iirst paragraph Summarized, that topic idea is: On the basis oI
my own experience I say that a little sound advice can do a child a lot oI good.

Since the topic sentence which tells the main idea could be Iound anywhere in
the paragraph, we should have a plan to Iacilitate Iinding the topic sentence. This
could be done by asking the Iollowing questions to the passage we have read.

1. What is the subject oI the paragraph?
The subject oI the paragraph or passage is what the paragraph tells about or topic
being discussed. One helpIul way to determined the exact subject would be to
give a topic or a heading to they material we are reading. This is an essential step
because we will be able to deterrnine the main point aIter we know that the author
is talking about.
2. What is the purpose oI dicussing the subject?
Usually, the purpose oI writing paragraphs is to inIorm, discuss, deIine, explain,
deIend and criticize the subject.
3. What idea is the author trying to make us understand about the subject?
AIter we have determined the subject and the purpose then ask what the author
wants us to know about the subject in relation to the purpose.
By asking the three kinds oI questions above they will lead or guide us to Iind the
main idea.