Topic: The overall subject of a text.
Main idea: What the author wants to say about the topic.
Main ideas are always supported by details.
Topic sentence: The sentence that states or suggests the main idea of a passage or the entire text.
sequence and chronology
comparison and contrast
cause and effect
problem and solution
description
Some of these details are important. They are called major details . Other details illustrate the major details and are less important, such as examples, jokes and anecdotes. These are called minor details .
Major detail : supports the main idea of a text.
Minor detail : explains a major detail.