DISTINGUISH MAIN IDEA FROM ITS SUPPORTING IDEAS

October 5th 2010

What?
Main idea of a paragraph is like an umbrella that “covers” the rest of the sentences in the paragraph.
The other sentences in the paragraph offer support for the main idea. Supporting ideas are also
known as supporting details.
Kinds of supporting ideas
 Major supporting ideas à sentence (s) directly support the main idea
 Minor supporting ideas à sentence (s) indirectly support the main idea. It directly supports
the major supporting ideas.
How?
If you’re not sure whether something is a main idea or supporting idea, ask yourself whether the
sentence is making a general statement or providing specific information.
e.g.
(1) Due to increasing costs, there will be two changes in the tuition reimbursement program that will
significantly reduce employee benefits. (2) First, reimbursement has been reduced from 100 percent
to 60 percent of tuition costs for each course in which the student earns a “C” or better. (3) For
example, if you pay $1,000 for a course, and earn at least a C in that course, you will be reimbursed in
the amount of $600. (4) Second, employees will now be limited to $2,000 in reimbursement expenses
per year. (5) Thus, if your tuition per course equals $1,000, you will be reimbursed $600 per course for
each of your three courses but only $200 for the fourth course because you will have reached the
$2,000 limit. (6)Any additional courses in that year will not be reimbursed.
Analysis
 Sentence 2,3,4,5, and 6 are not general enough to serve as an umbrella for the whole
paragraph. Instead, they are making very specific statements. Therefore, they must be
working to support the main idea.
 Sentences 2 and 4 give the details of the change in the tuition reimbursement program.
Sentences 3, 5, and 6 give specific examples of those changes.
 In conclusion, sentence 1 is the …................... of the paragraph
The text Organization
Main idea (1)
Detail (2)
Example (3)
Detail (4)
Example (5, 6)
Now, read the following examples carefully and pay attention to the location of the main idea, and the
difference between major and minor detail
Example 1

The total number of insect species

is greater than the total of all other Main
species combined. About a million idea
insect species are known today,
and researchers estimate that at
least twice this many exist (mostly Major
in tropical forests) but have not yet Detail
Main Idea been discovered. Insects have been
at the prominent on land for the last 400
beginning million years. They have been Minor
much less successful in aquatic Detail
environments; there are only about
20,000 species in freshwater
habitats and far fewer in the sea.
Neil A. Campbell, Lawrence G.
Mitchell, and Jane B. Reece,
Biology, 3rd ed., p.382
Jumlah spesies serangga lebih besar dari total dari semua jenis lainnya
digabungkan. Sekitar satu juta spesies serangga yang dikenal saat ini,
dan peneliti memperkirakan bahwa setidaknya dua kali ini ada banyak
(terutama di hutan tropis) tetapi belum ditemukan. Serangga telah
menonjol di darat selama 400 juta tahun terakhir. Mereka telah banyak
kurang berhasil dalam lingkungan perairan, hanya ada sekitar 20.000
spesies di habitat air tawar dan jauh lebih sedikit di laut.

Example 2

Throughout U.S. history, various

groups that believed the Minor
government would not respond to Detail
their needs have resorted to some
form of violence. Analyzing fifty-
Main Idea three U.S. protest movements, Major
at the end William Gamson (1975) found that Detail
75 percent of the groups that used
violence got what they wanted,
compared with only 53 percent of Main Idea
those that were nonviolent.
Violence, it seems can pay off.
Alex Thio, Sociology: A Brief
Introduction, 4th ed., p.369

Sepanjang sejarah AS, berbagai kelompok yang percaya pemerintah tidak

akan menanggapi kebutuhan mereka telah menggunakan beberapa
bentuk kekerasan. Menganalisis lima puluh tiga gerakan protes AS,
William Gamson (1975) menemukan bahwa 75 persen dari kelompok yang
menggunakan kekerasan mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan,
dibandingkan dengan hanya 53 persen dari mereka yang tanpa
kekerasan. Kekerasan, tampaknya bisa melunasi.

Example 3

Children usually experience strong short-term

reactions to being sexually abused but are often
too confused or frightened to tell. They feel upset, Minor Detail
helpless, frightened, and guilty; if physically
injured, the pain experienced makes them
particularly fearful of future contact. The child’s Main Idea
experience of abuse can be minimized or
Main Idea exacerbated by a nonbusing significant adult’s
somewhe management of the event. Parents (nonabusers)
re who handle the event as an unfortunate but Major Detail
 in devastating experience and who can reassure the
between child that he or she is in no way to blame reduce
the impact on the child significantly. On the other
hand, the impact of the event may be very mush
intensified by the parents’ negating, angry, and Minor Detail
hostile responses. Parents often react so strongly
and negatively out of their own feeling of anger,
powerlessness, and (too often) denial that they
cannot focus constructively on the child, thus
isolating the child and providing inadequate help to
prevent long-term consequences.
Kay Johnston Starks and Eleanor S. Morrison,
Growing Up Sexual, p. 183

Anak-anak biasanya mengalami reaksi jangka pendek yang kuat untuk

menjadi pelecehan seksual, tetapi sering terlalu bingung atau takut untuk
memberitahu. Mereka merasa kesal, tak berdaya, takut, dan bersalah, jika
fisik terluka, rasa sakit yang dialami membuat mereka sangat takut
menghubungi masa depan. Pengalaman anak dari pelecehan dapat
diminimalkan atau diperburuk oleh manajemen orang dewasa yang
signifikan nonbusing tentang acara tersebut. Orang tua (nonabusers)
yang menangani peristiwa sebagai pengalaman disayangkan tapi
merusak dan siapa yang bisa meyakinkan anak bahwa ia sama sekali
tidak menyalahkan mengurangi dampak pada anak secara signifikan. Di
sisi lain, dampak dari peristiwa yang mungkin sangat bubur diintensifkan
dengan meniadakan orang tua ', marah, dan tanggapan bermusuhan.
Orang tua sering bereaksi begitu kuat dan negatif dari perasaan mereka
sendiri marah, ketidakberdayaan, dan (terlalu sering) penyangkalan
bahwa mereka tidak bisa fokus konstruktif pada anak, sehingga
mengisolasi anak dan memberikan bantuan tidak memadai untuk
mencegah konsekuensi jangka panjang.
Two Questions to Ask
1. Is the idea general enough to be a main idea, or is it a specific detail?
2. Is there a transitional word or phrase indicating that it’s probably a supporting idea? Sometimes just
one question will make it clear, but be careful. Not every sentence will have a signal word or phrase to
tell you that it’s a supporting sentence. Also, you need to be careful to distinguish which main idea a
supporting idea actually supports.
Assignment 1
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. As you read, see if you can
determine:
1. The overall main idea
2. The main idea of each paragraph (major supporting ideas)
3. Minor supporting ideas
1)A new mandatory drug testing policy will take effect at our Detroit office on July 1st. (2) Under this
new policy, all employees will be required to take a urine test four times throughout the year. (3)
These tests will be unannounced. (4) Employees who refuse to take the tests will be automatically
suspended without pay.
(5) An employee who tests positive for substance abuse will face several consequences. (6) To start,
the employee will be immediately suspended without pay. (7) In addition, the employee must issue a
statement explaining how he or she tested positive for illegal substances. (8) Then, a three-member
employee panel will be assigned to review the employee’s case. (9) A “typical” violator might be
permitted to return to work on probationary status and be required to attend counseling.
(10) The new drug testing policy may seem strict, but it is designed to improve the health and safety
of all employees of Data Management Co. (11) Indeed, our attempt to create a drug-free workplace is
modeled after the programs that have improved overall workplace safety for other companies around
the country. (12) Furthermore, we feel that a drug-free workplace will improve employee morale while
it reduces sick days and down time.
(13) As part of the policy, we have added a counselor to our staff. (14) Dr. Jennifer Jenkins has
extensive experience as a workplace counselor, particularly in dealing with substance abuse. (15) Her
office is located next to Denise Robinson’s in Human Resources.
Paragraph 1
1)A new mandatory drug testing policy will take effect at our Detroit office on July 1st. (2) Under this
new policy, all employees will be required to take a urine test four times throughout the year. (3)
These tests will be unannounced. (4) Employees who refuse to take the tests will be automatically
suspended without pay.

Sebuah kebijakan obat pengujian baru wajib akan berlaku di kantor

Detroit kami pada 1 Juli. (2) Berdasarkan kebijakan baru ini, seluruh
karyawan akan diminta untuk mengambil tes urine empat kali sepanjang
tahun. (3) Tes-tes ini akan tanpa pemberitahuan. (4) Karyawan yang
menolak untuk mengambil tes akan secara otomatis dihentikan tanpa
dibayar.
Paragraph 2
(5) An employee who tests positive for substance abuse will face several consequences. (6) To start,
the employee will be immediately suspended without pay. (7) In addition, the employee must issue a
statement explaining how he or she tested positive for illegal substances. (8) Then, a three-member
employee panel will be assigned to review the employee’s case. (9) A “typical” violator might be
permitted to return to work on probationary status and be required to attend counseling.

Seorang karyawan yang tes positif untuk penyalahgunaan zat akan

menghadapi beberapa konsekuensi. (6) Untuk memulai, karyawan akan
segera dihentikan tanpa dibayar. (7) Di samping itu, karyawan harus
mengeluarkan pernyataan yang menjelaskan bagaimana ia dinyatakan
positif zat ilegal. (8) Kemudian, sebuah panel karyawan tiga-anggota akan
ditugaskan untuk meninjau kembali kasus karyawan. (9) A "khas"
pelanggar mungkin akan diizinkan untuk kembali bekerja pada status
percobaan dan diminta untuk menghadiri konseling.
Paragraph 3
(10) The new drug testing policy may seem strict, but it is designed to improve the health and safety
of all employees of Data Management Co. (11) Indeed, our attempt to create a drug-free workplace is
modeled after the programs that have improved overall workplace safety for other companies around
the country. (12) Furthermore, we feel that a drug-free workplace will improve employee morale while
it reduces sick days and down time.

Kebijakan pengujian obat baru mungkin tampak ketat, tetapi ia dirancang

untuk meningkatkan kesehatan dan keselamatan semua karyawan Data
Management Co (11) Memang, upaya kita untuk menciptakan tempat
kerja yang bebas obat-model setelah program yang telah meningkatkan
keseluruhan keselamatan kerja bagi perusahaan lain di seluruh negeri.
(12) Selanjutnya, kami merasa bahwa tempat kerja yang bebas narkoba
akan meningkatkan moral pekerja sementara itu mengurangi hari sakit
dan down time.
Paragraph 4
(13) As part of the policy, we have added a counselor to our staff. (14) Dr. Jennifer Jenkins has
extensive experience as a workplace counselor, particularly in dealing with substance abuse. (15) Her
office is located next to Denise Robinson’s in Human Resources.

Sebagai bagian dari kebijakan tersebut, kami telah menambahkan

konselor untuk staf kami. (14) Dr Jennifer Jenkins memiliki pengalaman
yang luas sebagai penasihat tempat kerja, khususnya dalam menangani
penyalahgunaan zat. (15) Kantornya terletak di sebelah Denise Robinson
dalam Sumber Daya Manusia.
Assignment 2

 Find three (3) short passages with STATED main ideas (preferably with three different
locations).

 Analyze the main idea, major details, and minor details for each paragraph

 Organize your passage and your analysis as in the example in the following slide.

 Temukan tiga (3) bagian pendek dengan ide-ide LAIN utama (sebaiknya
dengan tiga lokasi yang berbeda).
Menganalisis gagasan utama, rincian besar, dan rincian minor untuk setiap
paragraf
Mengatur bagian Anda dan analisis Anda seperti pada contoh di slide
berikut.

Example

 Throughout U.S. history, various groups that believed the government would not respond to
their needs have resorted to some form of violence. à Minor Detail

 Analyzing fifty-three U.S. protest movements, William Gamson (1975) found that 75 percent
of the groups that used violence got what they wanted, compared with only 53 percent of
those that were nonviolent. à Major Detail

 Violence, it seems can pay off. à Main Idea at the end

 Sepanjang sejarah AS, berbagai kelompok yang percaya pemerintah tidak

akan menanggapi kebutuhan mereka telah menggunakan beberapa bentuk
kekerasan. à Minor Detail
Menganalisis lima puluh tiga gerakan protes AS, William Gamson (1975)
menemukan bahwa 75 persen dari kelompok yang menggunakan kekerasan
mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan, dibandingkan dengan hanya 53
persen dari mereka yang tanpa kekerasan. à Mayor Detail
Kekerasan, tampaknya bisa melunasi. à Utama Idea di akhir
Due time: Saturday, October 12th 2010
Good Luck!