{"id":8352,"date":"2013-10-29T21:16:21","date_gmt":"2013-10-29T21:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/?page_id=8352"},"modified":"2026-03-26T11:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:38:27","slug":"topics-and-main-ideas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/topics-and-main-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Topics and Main Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmDeferVideoEncompass_DCULTvNNxaE\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n\t\t\t<picture>\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\">\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"> \n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" id=\"videoThumbnailImage_DCULTvNNxaE\" data-source-videoID=\"DCULTvNNxaE\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" alt=\"Topics and Main Ideas Video\" height=\"720\" width=\"1280\" class=\"size-full\" data-matomo-title = \"Topics and Main Ideas\">\n\t\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<style>img#videoThumbnailImage_DCULTvNNxaE:hover {cursor:pointer;} img#videoThumbnailImage_DCULTvNNxaE {background-size:contain;background-image:url(\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-new-thumb-3.webp\");}<\/style>\n\t\t\t<script defer>\n\t\t\t  jQuery(\"img#videoThumbnailImage_DCULTvNNxaE\").click(function() {\n\t\t\t\tlet videoId = jQuery(this).attr(\"data-source-videoID\");\n\t\t\t\tlet helpTag = '<div id=\"mmDeferVideoYTMessage_DCULTvNNxaE\" style=\"display: none;position: absolute;top: -24px;width: 100%;text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;font-size: small;border-top: 1px solid #fc0;\">Having trouble? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v='+videoId+'\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch on YouTube.<\/a><\/span><\/div>';\n\t\t\t\tlet tag = document.createElement(\"iframe\");\n\t\t\t\ttag.id = \"yt\" + videoId;\n\t\t\t\ttag.src = \"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\" + videoId + \"?autoplay=1&controls=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0&egm=0&iv_load_policy=3&hd=0&enablejsapi=1\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.frameborder = 0;\n\t\t\t\ttag.allow = \"autoplay; fullscreen\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.width = this.width;\n\t\t\t\ttag.height = this.height;\n\t\t\t\ttag.setAttribute(\"data-matomo-title\",\"Topics and Main Ideas\");\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_DCULTvNNxaE\").html(tag);\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_DCULTvNNxaE\").prepend(helpTag);\n\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(function(){jQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoYTMessage_DCULTvNNxaE\").css(\"display\", \"block\");}, 2000);\n\t\t\t  });\n\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><script>\nfunction PkG_Function() {\n  var x = document.getElementById(\"PkG\");\n  if (x.style.display === \"none\") {\n    x.style.display = \"block\";\n  } else {\n    x.style.display = \"none\";\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"moc-toc hide-on-desktop hide-on-tablet\">\n<div><button onclick=\"PkG_Function()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/toc2.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"show or hide table of contents\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>On this page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<nav id=\"PkG\" style=\"display:none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Topic_vs_Main_Idea\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Topic vs. Main Idea<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Topic_and_Main_Idea_Examples\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Topic and Main Idea Examples<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Review\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Differences_between_Topics_and_Main_Idea_PDF\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Differences between Topics and Main Idea PDF<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"accordion\"><input id=\"transcript\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"transcript\">Transcript<\/label><input id=\"factsheet\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"factsheet\">Fact Sheet<\/label>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"transcript-spoiler\">\n<p>Have you ever tried reading a book or an article and felt lost in a sea of information? Or maybe you\u2019ve struggled to identify the key points and concepts in a class presentation.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most important aspects of becoming an analytical reader is being able to identify the topics and main idea of what you\u2019re reading. <\/p>\n<p>To get started, let\u2019s talk about what a topic is.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Topic_vs_Main_Idea\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Topic vs. Main Idea<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe <strong>topic<\/strong> of any piece of writing is what it\u2019s about (the subject). The topic can usually be expressed in one word or a short phrase and is more general. The <strong>main idea<\/strong> of a piece of writing is the point that the author of the text is trying to make. The main idea can typically be expressed as one sentence and is more specific.<\/p>\n<p>A metaphor that might help you understand the difference is imagining an umbrella. The top of the umbrella represents the topic because it \u201ccovers\u201d the entire piece of writing. The handle of the umbrella represents the main idea because it is the thing you\u2019d hold on to when carrying an umbrella, and it supports the topic.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Umbrella-topic-and-main-idea.webp\" alt=\"An umbrella labeled &quot;topic&quot; with the ground labeled &quot;main idea&quot;\" width=\"1807\" height=\"1310\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-216645\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Umbrella-topic-and-main-idea.webp 1807w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Umbrella-topic-and-main-idea-300x217.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Umbrella-topic-and-main-idea-1024x742.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Umbrella-topic-and-main-idea-768x557.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Umbrella-topic-and-main-idea-1536x1114.webp 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1807px) 100vw, 1807px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Topic_and_Main_Idea_Examples\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Topic and Main Idea Examples<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"Example_1\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Example 1<\/h3>\n<p>\nLet\u2019s take a look at a basic example.<\/p>\n<p>If your teacher tells you to write a narrative essay about what you did over the winter break, the topic of the essay will be what you did over the break.<\/p>\n<p>Now, each person\u2019s essay might be a little different, because maybe one student went skiing, maybe one decorated a Christmas tree, maybe one helped make latkes and celebrated Hanukkah. These more specific details will create the main idea of each essay.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what an essay about skiing might look like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"tpassage\">\nOver the winter break, my family and I went to visit my aunt in Colorado. While we were there, we went skiing! It was so much fun to spend the week in the snow, and I got pretty good by the time we left. It was such a fun break from school that I didn\u2019t really want to come back home. I can\u2019t wait to go skiing again the next time we visit my aunt!\n<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nOkay, one method for identifying the topic is to look for repeated words or phrases, and asking yourself \u201cWho or what is this text about?\u201d In this example, the exact words \u201cwinter break\u201d only appear once, but there are other words that refer to \u201cwinter break,\u201d like \u201cthe week,\u201d and \u201cbreak from school.\u201d So, using this strategy, if we ask ourselves what this essay is generally about, it\u2019s pretty clear that it\u2019s about winter break.<\/p>\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve identified the topic, let\u2019s determine the main idea. Ask yourself \u201cWhat is the author trying to show or teach me?\u201d Remember, we\u2019re looking for what the author is trying to tell us, and something that\u2019s more specific than the topic. For this example, we might express the main idea as a sentence like \u201cSkiing was the best part of winter break.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Example_2\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Example 2<\/h3>\n<p>\nAlright, we\u2019ve had a bit of practice. Now let\u2019s look at a more challenging example adapted from <em>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<\/em> by L. Frank Baum.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tpassage\">\nDorothy lived in the great Kansas prairie, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer\u2019s wife. Once, their house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.\n<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nWhen Aunt Em came to live there she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy first came to live with her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child\u2019s laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever the little girl\u2019s merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.<\/p>\n<p>Alright, let\u2019s identify the topic. Who or what is our excerpt about? What words or phrases are repeated? Is there a person or thing that continues to appear in the text?<\/p>\n<p>Using these questions as a guide, we can determine that the topic of the excerpt is Dorothy\u2019s Aunt Em. <\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s think about what the main idea is here. We know the topic is Aunt Em. What is the author trying to show us about Aunt Em? Remember, the main idea is specific and usually requires a full sentence to express. <\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s list out some of the things we\u2019ve learned about Aunt Em in this passage. She:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lives in Kansas<\/li>\n<li>Is married<\/li>\n<li>Used to be young and pretty<\/li>\n<li>Has gray eyes that used to sparkle<\/li>\n<li>Has gray cheeks and lips that used to be red<\/li>\n<li>Has a thin, gaunt face<\/li>\n<li>Never smiles<\/li>\n<li>Was startled\/pained by young Dorothy\u2019s laughter<\/li>\n<li>Is surprised that Dorothy can find anything to laugh at<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Looking at our list, we can see a pretty sad portrait being painted of Aunt Em. A lot of our bullet points focus on the change that has happened in Aunt Em. Let\u2019s try to combine all this into a sentence that expresses the main idea of the passage. Take a minute to jot down a sentence of your own. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what I came up with: \u201cAunt Em used to be a bright young woman, but living in the Kansas prairie has turned her into a sad reflection of the person she once was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, our sentences don\u2019t have to be exactly the same, because we\u2019re different people, and our perspective is different. However, our sentences each need to be rooted in the facts of the passage. Here are a couple of example sentences that would NOT be correct expressions of the main idea, because they\u2019re not factually correct in the passage:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAunt Em loves Dorothy as if she were her very own daughter.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAunt Em has lived a hard life, but tries to stay happy because she knows there\u2019s a lot of good in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another way to make a mistake when identifying the main idea is to misidentify the topic, and then write a main idea sentence about that incorrect topic. Let\u2019s imagine for a moment that we mistakenly identified the topic as Dorothy when we asked ourselves who this excerpt was about. If we had made that error, we might have written a main idea sentence like:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDorothy lives in Kansas and used to laugh a lot when she was young.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The problem here is that, while those are facts from the passage, a list of random facts does not really answer the question \u201cWhat is the author trying to show or tell us?\u201d The main idea usually goes a bit beyond the basic facts of the passage, so it requires more analytical thinking than just simple recall of facts.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><span id=\"Review\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Review<\/h2>\n<p>\nOkay, we\u2019ve talked about a lot today, so let\u2019s go over a basic review.<\/p>\n<p>Being able to tell the difference between the topic and the main idea of a text will help you become a more analytical reader. The topic of a text is what the piece of writing is about. The main idea of a text is what the author is trying to tell or show the reader about the topic. Asking yourself \u201cWho or what is this text about\u201d can help you identify the topic. Asking yourself \u201cWhat is the author trying to teach or show me about who or what this text is about\u201d can help you identify the main idea. <\/p>\n<p>I hope this helps you the next time you\u2019re reading. That\u2019s all for now, so thanks for watching, and happy studying!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"factsheet-spoiler\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center\"><span id=\"Differences_between_Topics_and_Main_Idea_PDF\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Differences between Topics and Main Idea PDF<\/h2>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1358\" height=\"1767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image_2021-12-22_164424.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"An infographic explaining the concepts of topics and main ideas in texts, including definitions, examples, and steps to identify them. The infographic is by Mometrix Test Preparation.\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image_2021-12-22_164424.png 1358w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image_2021-12-22_164424-231x300.png 231w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image_2021-12-22_164424-787x1024.png 787w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image_2021-12-22_164424-768x999.png 768w, https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image_2021-12-22_164424-1180x1536.png 1180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1358px) 100vw, 1358px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"sub_categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Topics-and-Main-Ideas.pdf\"><span id=\"Your_Main_Idea_Topics_PDF_Download\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Your Main Idea &#038; Topics PDF Download<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"home-buttons\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/reading-comprehension\/\">Return to Reading Comprehension Videos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return to Reading Comprehension Videos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":240043,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-8352","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"page_category-reading-comprehension-videos","7":"page_category-video-pages-for-study-course-sidebar-ad","8":"page_category-writing-videos","9":"page_type-video","10":"content_type-fact-sheet","11":"subject_matter-english"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8352"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240046,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8352\/revisions\/240046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}