Cuesta College's
Textbook Study Strategies
Clues to Finding the Main
Idea in Textbooks and Articles
- Titles, heads, and subheads. These
announce major subjects and ideas in boldface type.
- Purpose sentence. Look for a sentence in
the first paragraphs of a book, chapter, or article that states what
the rest of the text will be about.
- Pre-outline. Look for sentences listing
the ideas that will be developed in the coming paragraphs.
- Topic Sentence. Recognize the sentences
in paragraphs and sections of material that state the subject and focus
of the rest of the discussion.
- Italics. Sometimes main ideas appear in
italics as well as boldface type to make them stand out from the rest
of the text.
- Repetition. Repetition of a key word or
idea throughout a text is a signal that it is a major topic in the
discussion.
- Questions. Questions invite readers to
look for answers, and the answer is often one of the major ideas being
developed.
- Numbering. Ideas that are numbered are
important. Either write them or make them into a mental list and put a
label or title at the top.
- Visuals. Pictures, graphs, diagrams,
figures, and other materials are often used to highlight and emphasize
main ideas. Study them carefully.
- Details. The use of examples,
statistics, and other details always signals a main idea is being
clarified, proved, or developed. Look back or ahead and discover the
idea.
- Organizational Patterns. The major parts
of the pattern, such as the topics, the divisions in time, the two
objects being compared, the cause and the effect, or the problem and
the solution are the main ideas. Recognize the pattern and look for the
ideas.
- Summary. Summaries restate the main
ideas in brief form.
Reference:
Adapted from College Reading and Study Skills,
Nancy V. Wood, 1996.
