Implied main ideas and a reading strategy to figure them out

To figure out the implied main idea of a paragraph, use this simple reading strategy. Whether the main idea is stated or implied, the supporting details show patterns of information that help you to understand the main idea.
[CC] English | Español | Português.
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MORE CONTEXT
As you read a passage, you must focus on patterns of information. Each sentence in the paragraph gives you new clues as far as what the writer wants you to understand. You get the main points from those ideas or details. These are called the supporting details. If you want to know how to find the main idea in a paragraph, stop looking for that one sentence. Instead, focus on understanding the information the writer put in the paragraph and look for patterns. The main idea of the paragraph will become clear once you start "seeing" those details. This is the main topic of this video.
Don't forget that sometimes the writer does not write that one sentence, which we call the main idea sentence in the paragraph because the main idea is clear enough. That's another reason not to spend too much effort looking for that "magic sentence" because it may not be there. It's implied or an implied main idea. That's the main focus of this video.
FURTHER READING
"Reading Strategy: Figuring out Implied Main Ideas" goo.gl/oZjaFJ
IN THIS PLAYLIST
"Patterns in paragraphs" playlist: • The paragraph: main id...
The main idea... • The main idea as a pat...
Supporting details... • Supporting details and...
Location of the main idea... • Location of the main i...
Implied main ideas... (this video)
RELATED VIDEOS
Vocabulary playlist: • Vocabulary in Reading:...
MUSIC
"And Then We Take Them Down Again" by Dokashiteru (feat. Susan Joseph)
"Holding Hands" by Kevin McLeod #reading #series

[@sergeyfox2298]

This video is absolutely eye opening. A) The implied main idea of the paragraph seems arbitrary, where I am supposed to guess what the author wants me to pick up, and that it appears that multiple main ideas exist. However, it's possible because I can't dissect a paragraph like that, to pick apart a text like this appears to be an abstract ability, where the reader is able to strip the text down into digestible components, and be able to engage in verbal pattern detection and picking up the mental states of the author, when decoding the text. Indeed, the complexity of picking up the main ideas, whether explicit or Implicit, is amazingly high. It can be said that reading ability is different from Intellectual ability, because reading engages different parts of the brain seperate from parts of the brain that triggers Intellectual ability. Looking at this, I have enough sense and maturity to acknowledge that my ability to read to pick up main ideas, supporting details of the text is vastly inferior. My brain looks at texts and I can only see words. I can't detect text structure, elements in the text, despite that when a person describes these processes of reading, I grasp that Analysis of text structure, diction, Argumentation, synthesis of main ideas to derive thesis statement , creation of text in one's head involves bloom's taxonomy but for reading ability. This might explain why folks who are reading disabled can be interpreted as less intelligent, because reading tends to engage abstract thinking. People who can read like this exhibit abstract thinking ability; but this doesn't mean that people with advanced abstract thinking ability can read like that. I definitely understand how easy it is to misdiagnose people's Intellectual ability based on more visible actions like reading.

[@snaplanguage]

Again, that's all about seeing patterns of information. As you saw in the video, when you see keywords or related words being repeated, it tells you the topic is about that... then you move on from there. Sometimes the problem, too, is that not all writers are created equal. I think I'm a very good reader, but sometimes I can't make sense of a paragraph not because I can't read but because the writer didn't do a good job communicating the main point. That is not on me lol Thanks for leaving a great comment! :D

[@sharonturner9843]

At 54 yrs young, I'm just now really understanding main ideas. Thank you so much. I may just start being interested in reading books. Do you have anything for reading comprehension for adults?

[@sycrayt124]

Thanks your videos are so helpful, now instead of reading I can use your advance reading techniques and just look for key points. It’s much faster yet harder but I need a lot of practice, this technique seems a lot of efficient.

[@codingwithkenny6492]

Thank you sir! I’m struggling a lot with implied main idea mainly because language arts is not my subject. I’m more of a math person, but I really appreciate the hard work you put in your videos. I subbed by the ways!

[@snaplanguage]

Just as in math, reading takes a lot of practice. The best way to approach reading is to focus on understanding the content. As you read each paragraph, identify what the topic is, and figure out what the author is trying to say about the topic. That's the main idea of the paragraph. If there is a sentence that summarizes the main idea somewhere in the paragraph, great... if not, you still come out understanding the content even though the main idea was implied. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! :D

[@elissonsilvasantos9716]

This series is very instructive

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I'm glad you find value in these videos. Thank you for being a long-time supporter of the channel

[@dharmalingamgunaratnam1686]

its very helpful..i was too confused about main ideas and implied main idea but now it make sense. thankyou.

[@snaplanguage]

That's great! I hope the other videos will also be helpful. Thanks for watching! :D

[@RLugun]

yes sir I have, but not much .....because I am searching for techniques . When I saw your videos I was taken away ,I really enjoy your study methods .I hope you will give us again some useful methods.

[@snaplanguage]

Well, if you are into literature, the likelihood is that any understanding of language and linguistics would help further your understanding of what you read. I hope Snap Language can meet some of your goals (if not about historical literature directly). Thanks again for the nice comments and the comments! -- Marc Franco :D

[@cyphersoldier]

Doctor Franco, I highly appreciate your videos for I have been having a hard time understanding writing but you made it so easy to comprehend. Also I have developed an interest in phonics and linguistics because of this. I have been developing a growing interest in rap music and writing verses in rhyme, I would love to see if you could come up with a video in relevance to something that explains the structure of rhymes and the vowels. There was a research paper that was written by someone that explains stuff like "coda" , "nucleus" and "rimes" I forgot where I saw it but I think it would be a big help because I like to freestyle rap and I couldn't figure out what it was I learned. (I was stoned and drunk one time and all of a sudden I was able to freestyle without any effort at all) I think it was because I was trying out an impression of T.I. (the rapper's) southern accent and for some reason when I was listening to his words, it seemed like I was hearing him say the general sounding vowels instead of the actual words he was saying, Like "time" for example sounded like "taim" so it made it easier for me to just base my rhyme patterns upon the vowels AI. I hope this makes sense...

[@snaplanguage]

That sounds like an interesting area to go into... It may even have something to do with metacognition and cognitive psychology. I wish I knew more about that. I admire people who can freestyle; the amount of mental processing is amazing. I'm not sure I can help, but keep working on it :D

[@jadejeddaline]

Thank you so much! It all makes sense now, God bless you❤

[@snaplanguage]

You are so welcome! Glad you found it useful

[@bella151710]

Thank you 🙂

[@sandeepkaur-yx1qz]

Thank you so much this is very informative video

[@snaplanguage]

Glad it was helpful! :D

[@sonjamar1625]

Yor videos are outstanding. Thanks so much!

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for leaving such a nice comment! :D

[@Danny_uknow112]

Thanks helped me so much.

[@snaplanguage]

You're welcome! I'm glad it helped. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! :D

[@Danny_uknow112]

no prob

[@krystelleburney8897]

Smart ideas

[@BUONOeSANObySofia]

Thank You so much! I found the video very interesting 🙏

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel

[@keyshaarijaqillah8536]

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@snaplanguage]

You're very welcome! I'm glad the video hit the spot :D

[@datarubik]

it is useful, can you make topic to map headings of paraphrase?

[@snaplanguage]

I'm not sure there's a specific "method" to do that. You need to understand the passage as a whole first. Then, of course, you need to understand the main idea of each paragraph or portions of the text. The headings are phrases (not complete sentences) that summarize the paragraph (or portions of the text). I hope this addresses your comment. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@rha1140]

Thanks ✅

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for watching! I hope you are enjoying the rest of the channel.

[@ngocdoankhanhnguyen4327]

Now, I'm confused! My professor said that the question cannot be a main idea, but in the second paragraph you said that question is a main idea. I don't understand.

[@snaplanguage]

Ngoc Doan Khanh Nguyen Hi! Thanks for the question. ... That's correct; questions don't make good main ideas. In both examples, the main idea is implied. In the second paragraph, the implied main idea is something like "Eating sushi the traditional way takes three simple steps." You may want to watch the video again just to be sure :D

[@alaamousaa8543]

@@snaplanguage Thank you very much,but I want to ask about the topic sentence and topic and main idea in Essay is different about paragraph or the same

[@theresaivy7045]

I bet John is a pain in the ass to live with.

[@snaplanguage]

I've never met John personally but, yeah, he sounds like a "complex character" Thanks for watching and leaving an amusing comment. I hope you're enjoying the channel

[@EnderPerson4478]

Who else here for school stuff. ;-;

[@snaplanguage]

Not me... but I hope the video was helpful. :D

[@elizabethdeaguirredds9131]

HN

[@snaplanguage]

Which do you mean? Horn (French Horn)? Honduras? Hacker News? Honorable? Human Nature? Headline News? Head Nurse? Home Networking? Health Nut? Hahnium? Hardware Node? Hell No? Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! :D

[@auritasisi]

The main idea is connect with the theme, and this video shows it very easy ... thanks for these tools

[@jerlycalvo7820]

The video shows a great example. People can find a fabulous tool here to improve their reading in english. As Marc Franco says in the video is very important to discover the details in a text for achieve the idea.

[@jonathanremus5697]

Hi! Thanks for such a clear explanation. I'd like to ask. Do you need to have a main idea in all sorts of paragraphs? How about the paragraph in a narrative writing?

[@snaplanguage]

Hi, Jonathan. Great question. The short answer is "Yes, everything needs a main idea." Here's the long answer: Some narrative texts (e.g., a novel) does not have the "paragraphs" that we are used to in traditional textbooks. You sometimes see a one-sentence paragraph, and dialog lines are thrown in the mix. However, those lines of text tell a portion of the whole story, which could be reduced to a "main idea sentence." Think of a movie. You may have a lot of scenes telling one part of the story. Then a lot of other scenes telling you the next part, and so on. When you re-tell the story briefly, you can reduce these groups of scenes into "main ideas." For example, (Scenes 1-9) "Pat met Blair at a party and they had an argument about X." (Scenes 10-15) They ran into each other at a work meeting the next day, decided to go out for coffee, and fell in love," (Scenes 16-39) Everything was going well until Pat found out that Blair was plotting to take his job...... and so on until the end of the story. Each of these groups of scenes are like paragraphs in a passage. All the sentences in the paragraph (in the scenes) have a *main message* that the writer (or the movie director) wants to convey. That main message is the *main idea* of the paragraph... or the main idea of each portion that creates the whole movie. I hope this helps. Thanks for watching and for leaving such a great question! :D

[@jonathanremus5697]

@@snaplanguage wow. thanks for answering. Then, is it correct of I say that the writing has to have main ideas, but they don't necessarily have to be put in each paragraph?

[@cristinagudiel3518]

Dear Mr: Can you please make a video about how to write a story? It could include this, the stated main ideas, main ideas, details, topics, supporting details, grammar, author's purpose, contex clues, and more. Yea I know it's late but I would really appreciate a video like that plus it would let me understand more. Your Friend: Camila

[@IrfansVloks11]

Just subscribing ,after looking at the videos several times Thanks

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! Welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy all the videos on the channel. Thank you 😎

[@shangolkhaniannian4649]

In the final text "Do you want learn how to eat..." is grammatically correct? or it should have been "Do you want to learn.."

[@snaplanguage]

Good eyes! Yes, that was definitely a typo. :( The correct way is "Do you want to learn to eat sushi...?" In my latest videos, I'm trying to read and re-read everything several times so these mistakes do not slip by. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! :D

[@sherlinbobby9486]

CRYSTAL CLEAR EXPLANATION 🙂👍

[@snaplanguage]

Glad to hear that. Enjoy the rest of the channel :D

[@dlyay]

whos here for college!

[@snaplanguage]

Nobody, I guess... at least not for the last two days Thanks for watching and leaving a comment

[@Murdous_]

Great explanations

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching and leaving a message! :D

[@abellesgotjen3080]

Im quite late responding to this helpful video but my stupid brain thought Sushi was someone’s name in the text :))

[@shantythomas1243]

very helpful

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you found the information useful. Enjoy the channel! 😎

[@nakeyabrown7454]

👋🏾

[@snaplanguage]

[@diazangeles1305]

me sirve mucho este vídeo, pero espero los subtitulos en español :(

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you liked the video. Casi todos de nuestros vídeos tienen subtítulos en español, portugués y inglés. En la parte inferior derecha del vídeo hay un ícono de una rueda dentada. Son las herramientas... Allá puedes seleccionar el español. :D

[@divagirl2409]

can you do a video on cause and correlations?

[@soodabehmousavi1846]

thanks. It was a great and helpful video.

[@sophiainpali]

Thanks! This helped me a lot! :D

[@snaplanguage]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment :D

[@maniesanders3033]

This video was helpful it broke the Paragraph down so I can Identify the main and it’s detail

[@snaplanguage]

That's the idea. When you start seeing the pattern in paragraphs, it gets easier to understand the content. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel.

[@foxconix8319]

Shouldn't it be.. Do you want to learn how to eat sushi.. instead of Do you want learn how to eat sushi?

[@snaplanguage]

Yes! It should be "do you want to lear..." Is there a typo in the video? :( If so, I apologize... Thanks for watching and leaving a comment :D

[@ammarhusnizulkiffli3988]

A very good explaination on how to identify the implied main ideas of each paragraph

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for watching and commenting on my videos! :D I'm glad you're enjoying the channel.

[@thereadingelf]

I love the video and use it in my classes, but the spelling of the title that appears on the screen is spelled wrong "supportig" details.

[@snaplanguage]

Sorry about the typo. Unfortunately, once a video is published, the only way to "fix" it is to re-upload. Many teachers use the link to the materials in their lessons, and they'd suddenly have a dead link :( Thanks for using our materials in your classrooms! I appreciate your supporting the channel! 🤗

[@ahsankabirnuhel4923]

It helps tremendously in IELTS Match Heading section

[@snaplanguage]

That's great!. Reading is complex, so each skill we develop should help overall comprehension. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel.

[@lankenmaweja8412]

liked it most

[@madesuarjana5311]

The great teacer with the great explanation. Tnks

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the video :D

[@milenacollado1336]

It is a great video. Teaching an easy way to identify the main idea. Thank you.

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for watching and for the cool feedback! :D

[@henry8558]

Yo this video helps me alot it's so easy to understand

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! I'm glad it was helpful and clear. Thanks for leaving a kind comment!

[@lutfunnaherkamini8041]

Great💝

[@comedyjunction3948]

Great Job Sir

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked the video :D

[@abdulwahabkhaskhali2469]

Jhon is a versatile person

[@snaplanguage]

Indeed

[@lubneejkajsiabchannel8538]

Thank you..it's help me to choose the topic and the main idea now. Before I did not understand what it is.

[@RLugun]

Thank you sir for replying my comment.

[@ciwyw_stan]

wdym he didnt-

[@MOAZMOUSSA]

Thank you very much,but I want to ask the main idea and topic sentence in Essay different about paragraph or the same please?

[@entenglishnewspapertrainer6421]

nice Sir ever seen video like this but please Clear is the main idea and topic sentence are two different things.as you explained in this example.thanks

[@Aarsha_22]

Subscribed👍👍❤️

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! I hope you enjoy the channel. New videos come out about once a week. Thanks for supporting Snap Language! :D

[@nurhananasuha3143]

thank you so much. so useful for my test :)

[@snaplanguage]

You're very welcome! I'm glad it was helpful. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel, including the non-reading related videos :D

[@nurhananasuha3143]

@@snaplanguage Yes indeed I enjoy them so much :D Thank you for your time in making them

[@lolofitogia6482]

thank you sir!

[@snaplanguage]

You are very welcome! Thank *you* for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you enjoy the channel.

[@gregoryyang8988]

I subscribed.

[@snaplanguage]

You're awesome! Thanks for watching and subscribing! :D

[@margenelaride8555]

It helps me a lot..thanks sir

[@jaimesantana9029]

Very good!

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! :D I hope you are enjoying the rest of the channel!

[@itrusty427]

thanks great review before a test

[@snaplanguage]

That's the idea... I'm glad it was helpful! :D

[@s33zh3r9]

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! Watching this video has finally made implied main ideas, make sense.

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave an awesome comment :D

[@williamhuynh869]

FINALLY. ONE ABOUT FICTION TEXTS. There arent any where i checked

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! Yes, our videos have a focus on non-fiction. If you understand the concept using non-fiction, you should be able to transfer that understanding to fiction; however, fiction often has its own ways of expressing ideas, so things do not necessarily apply. For example, stories are not necessarily organized in paragraphs and the "topic" and "central point" are often "themes" and "the moral of the story."

[@RLugun]

So nice video sir ......Sir could you please make a video on historicall study .How to study ages of English literature.

[@snaplanguage]

Hi, Ranjeet! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos. Snap Language is devoted to developing effective reading skills and to exploring language- and linguistic-related topics. Literature is beyond the scope of the channel, but I plan to post a video soon about historical linguistics; it should be interesting to you. As a student of literature, I hope that our videos will be useful to you as they raise awareness of language in general, which is an important tool in literary studies. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment! :D

[@snaplanguage]

Have you seen this channel? kzbin.info/door/-HpSKFsF3QN1flPkAsoDag

[@yaboiasian706]

For the sushi one, I got a main idea that sushi is best eaten in the tradition way

[@snaplanguage]

Well, you can infer that perhaps there is a better way to eat sushi but only indirectly. There is information in the paragraph that states that "the other ways of eating sushi" are not good (it does not really mention "other ways"). So, I would stick to the writer's intent, which is simply "To eat sushi the traditional way, you should follow these steps." Thanks for watching and for leaving this comment! I hope you are enjoying the channel! :D

[@CStromP]

The fact that you are trying to get subs that way is a little sad

[@snaplanguage]

What way? Making helpful videos? LOL That's how KZbin works, though. Without subs, comments, and eyeballs on the videos, there is no incentive to make new videos. I'm sorry we made you sad :( Cheers! :D

[@prashantthakran2971]

It is very helpful 😊 thanks alot 🙏😊

[@snaplanguage]

Most welcome 😊 I'm glad it was helpful and hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel :D

[@georgebabu9048]

You are rocking and excellent sir

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you so much 😀 I'm glad you're enjoying the channel.

[@anv.4614]

Thank you dear Teacher.

[@snaplanguage]

You are welcome!

[@JoseAguirre-ri8tg]

John is a stud.

[@snaplanguage]

He's a stud and he knows it! lol

[@munawarshah373]

Lovely

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@ibrahimaljassar1727]

Hey Vsauce, marc franco, PhD here. what if i told you the paragraph always has a main idea but the main idea is not always stated in sentence.

[@snaplanguage]

Okay...... glad to know we got your attention. 😉 I hope you're enjoying the other videos on the channel. You may like the vocabulary series. It's awesome