reading class

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

reading class

What is the difference between

topic or subject of the text/paragraph and the

main idea of the text/paragraph

Topic= what the text or the paragraph is about.

Main idea=what the writer is trying to convey in his entire message

The longer a text is, the more difficult it can be to identify the main idea. Strategies for identifying the main idea of a text include:

Look at the title of the text, as well as any pictures or headings included

Read the first and last sentence of the passage

Note or mark any words or phrases that are repeated throughout the text

Summarize the text as best you can in one sentence (so before looking at the answer options)

Ask yourself – what was this text mostly about?

Finally: what does the writer want me as a reader to know/think/realise about this topic?

How to distinguish supporting details from the main idea?

 A supporting detail is meant to provide evidence for a broader idea. 

If you ask yourself what a passage is mostly about, you will typically find that supporting details given are too narrow to answer that question. 

Supporting details

Supporting details can come in many forms such as:

The 5 W’s and How

Objective facts and historical examples

Comparisons made between different ideas

Definitions of key words or phrases

Appeals to emotion

Examples 

Anecdotes

Lists, charts, or other images

Possible paragraph structures are:

• first sentence = main idea, then supporting details, then conclusion or link to the next paragraph
• first few sentences introduce topic, then main idea, then supporting details
• first few sentence introduce topic, the supporting details, then main idea 
  
  On the next slide you find examples of main ideas in different parts of paragraphs. 

mrhparson.weebly.com

The author's purpose

The author's purpose is his reason or intent for writing.

Some say they're only 3, others distinguish over 20 purposes (interested? https://helpfulprofessor.com/authors-purpose-examples/). 

We'll look at 5 quite common ones.