define main idea in essay writing

How to Find the Main Idea

ThoughtCo / Mary McLain 

• B.A., English, University of Michigan

Questions about the "main idea" of a passage are popular on reading comprehension tests, but sometimes, those questions are pretty difficult to answer, especially for students who are not completely sure they understand what the main idea really is.  Finding the main idea of a paragraph or longer passage of text is one of the most important reading skills to master, along with concepts like making an inference , finding the author's purpose , or understanding vocabulary words in context.

Here are a few techniques to help understand what, exactly, is a "main idea" and how to identify it accurately in a passage.

How to Define the Main Idea

The main idea of a paragraph is the primary point or concept that the author wants to communicate to the readers about the topic. Hence, in a paragraph, when the main idea is stated directly, it is expressed in what is called the topic sentence . It gives the overarching idea of what the paragraph is about and is supported by the details in subsequent sentences in the paragraph. In a multi-paragraph article, the main idea is expressed in the thesis statement, which is then supported by individual smaller points.

Think of the main idea as a brief but all-encompassing summary. It covers everything the paragraph talks about in a general way, but does not include the specifics. Those details will come in later sentences or paragraphs and add nuance and context; the main idea will need those details to support its argument.

For example, imagine a paper discussing the causes of World War I . One paragraph might be dedicated to the role that imperialism played in the conflict. The main idea of this paragraph might be something like: "Constant competition for massive empires led to increasing tensions in Europe that eventually erupted into World War I." The rest of the paragraph might explore what those specific tensions were, who was involved, and why the countries were seeking empires, but the main idea just introduces the overarching argument of the section.

When an author does not state the main idea directly, it should still be implied , and is called an implied main idea. This requires that the reader look closely at the content—at specific words, sentences, images that are used and repeated—to deduce what the author is communicating.

Finding the main idea is critical to understanding what you are reading. It helps the details make sense and have relevance, and provides a framework for remembering the content. Try these specific tips to pinpoint the main idea of a passage.

1) Identify the Topic

Read the passage through completely, then try to identify the topic. Who or what is the paragraph about? This part is just figuring out a topic like "cause of World War I" or "new hearing devices;" don't worry yet about deciding what argument the passage is making about this topic.

2) Summarize the Passage

After reading the passage thoroughly, summarize it in your own words in one sentence . Pretend you have just ten to twelve words to tell someone what the passage is about—what would you say?

3) Look at the First and Last Sentences of the Passage

Authors often put the main idea in or near either the first or last sentence of the paragraph or article, so isolate those sentences to see if they make sense as the overarching theme of the passage. Be careful: sometimes the author will use words like but , however ,  in contrast , nevertheless , etc. that indicate that the second sentence is actually the main idea. If you see one of these words that negate or qualify the first sentence, that is a clue that the second sentence is the main idea.

4) Look for Repetition of Ideas

If you read through a paragraph and you have no idea how to summarize it because there is so much information, start looking for repeated words, phrases, or related ideas. Read this example paragraph :

A new hearing device uses a magnet to hold the detachable sound-processing portion in place. Like other aids, it converts sound into vibrations, but it is unique in that it can transmit the vibrations directly to the magnet and then to the inner ear. This produces a clearer sound. The new device will not help all hearing-impaired people—only those with a hearing loss caused by infection or some other problem in the middle ear. It will probably help no more than 20 percent of all people with hearing problems. Those people who have persistent ear infections, however, should find relief and restored hearing with the new device.

What does this paragraph consistently talk about? A new hearing device. What is it trying to convey? A new hearing device is now available for some, but not all, hearing-impaired people. That's the main idea!

Avoid Main Idea Mistakes

Choosing a main idea from a set of answer choices is different than composing a main idea on your own. Writers of multiple choice tests are often tricky and will give you distractor questions that sound much like the real answer. By reading the passage thoroughly, using your skills, and identifying the main idea on your own, though, you can avoid making these 3 common mistakes : selecting an answer that is too narrow in scope; selecting an answer that is too broad; or selecting an answer that is complex but contrary to the main idea. 

Resources and Further Reading

• How to Find a Stated Main Idea
• How to Find an Implied Main Idea
• Finding the Main Idea Practice
• Finding Main Ideas In Paragraphs,  http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/topic.html
• Finding the Main Idea , Columbia College

Updated by Amanda Prahl 

• How to Find the Implied Main Idea
• How to Find the Stated Main Idea
• Find the Main Idea Worksheets and Practice Questions
• Finding the Main Idea Worksheet 2
• How to Outline a Textbook Chapter
• Top 5 ACT Reading Strategies
• Paragraph Unity: Guidelines, Examples, and Exercises
• How To Write an Essay
• How to Find the Main Idea - Worksheet
• How to Teach Topic Sentences Using Models
• How to Boost Reading Comprehension With Reciprocal Teaching
• How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph
• An Introduction to Academic Writing
• How to Make an Inference in 5 Easy Steps
• What is The Author's Purpose?
• Tricks, Tips, and the Benefits of Pre-Reading Text

Reading to Understand

• Reading to Understand (8 minutes)
• Working with Context Clues (5 minutes)
• The Main Idea

Steps for Identifying the Main Idea

• Knowledge Check
• Academic Reading Challenges (7 minutes)

The main idea is the point or message - what an author presents and what a reader takes from a text. 

Searching for that main idea is a very important activity in understanding a text. It is usually found in the opening paragraph when the author is  setting up the topic  and  expressing the thesis.  

However, the location can vary according to the type of reading. For example, a research article's main idea is toward the end, whereas a persuasive essay's main idea is conveyed at the beginning.

Pre-read to Determine the Overall Topic

Examine the title and then skim the text to determine who or what the reading is about. If you see the same word repeated you know that it is likely the topic or at least an important element of the topic. The topic should be a noun or a noun phrase such as "online education." The topic itself does not convey any meeting us you must read on to determine the main idea.

Ask yourself questions about the text as you read in-depth. Pay close attention to the introduction, the first sentence of body paragraphs, and the conclusion. In these places, the author typically states and supports the main idea. 

Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading : 

• What elements make up this topic?
• What is the author saying about this topic?
• What does the author want me to know or believe about this topic?

Reflect on what you have read. If the main idea is not immediately apparent to you review the introduction and conclusion. The  main idea should be a complete thought  such as "because of its flexibility, comfort, and lower-cost online education is increasing in popularity for younger generations."

Questions to Ask Yourself While Reflecting:

• What is the message I take away from this reading?
• What point does the information add up to?
• What idea does the author reinforce in the conclusion?
• What is the final impression I have about this topic?

Finding the Main Idea

Once you believe you have found the main idea, check that each body paragraph relates to that main idea. The body paragraph should include  supporting ideas  that reinforce and provide greater detail about the main idea. 

Some students find it beneficial to sketch the main idea and supporting ideas in their notes as a concept map.

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Evaluating a Text

Main idea, purpose, & audience.

Text evaluation and analysis usually start with the core elements of that text: main idea, purpose, and audience.  An author needs to consider all three of these elements before writing, as they help determine the author’s content and language.  As a reader, it’s important to ascertain these aspects of a text which exist as a foundation for the author’s content and language.

Always start with the main idea.  Main ideas may be stated directly in the text or implied; you need to read a text carefully in order to determine the main idea. Put the main idea into your own words, so that it’s expressed in a way that makes sense to you.  Then ask and answer the following basic questions about that main idea:

• Is the main idea reasonable/believable to most readers?
• Is the main idea clear and if not, why do you think the author embedded it?
• Is the main idea the author’s opinion, or is it something that the author asserts about an issue?

Asking and answering these questions should help you get a sense of the author’s intention in the text, and lead into considering the author’s purpose.

Main idea and purpose are intricately linked. There are a few basic purposes for texts; figuring out the basic purpose leads to more nuanced text analysis based on its purpose. Basic purposes of a text include:

• to inform – to describe, explain, or teach something to your audience
• to persuade/argue – to get your audience to do something, to take a particular action, or to think in a certain way
• to entertain – to provide your audience with insight into a different reality, distraction, and/or enjoyment

The following video more fully explains these different purposes of a text, and adds a fourth, to share insights or feelings.

Main Idea & Purpose Determine Analysis

The author’s main idea and purpose in writing a text determine whether you need to analyze and evaluate the text.  They also determine the pieces of the text you should analyze—content or language or both.

If the purpose is to persuade or argue

You always need to analyze the text to see if the main idea is justified.  Do the supporting ideas relate to and develop the main idea? Is the supporting evidence taken from recognized, valid sources?  Is the author arguing via language instead of evidence or facts?  Persuasion and argument need to present logically valid information to make the reader agree intellectually (not emotionally) with the main idea.

If the purpose is to inform

You usually need to analyze the text, since the text needs to present valid information in as objective a way as possible, in order to meet its purpose of explaining concepts so a reader understands.

If the purpose is to entertain

You may or may not need to analyze the text. Writing that entertains does not necessarily have to be either logical or complete in order to accomplish its purpose. You may want to analyze the text for language, though, to see how the author manipulates language to accomplish their purpose.

Who are the author’s intended readers?  Figuring out this will help you understand an author’s approach to providing the main idea with a particular purpose. Does the audience know little or nothing about the topic, or are they already knowledgeable?  Is the audience’s knowledge at beginner or expert level, somewhere in between, or mixed? Does the audience include people who may be skeptical of the author’s ideas?  Does the audience include people who outright oppose the author’s ideas? As you can see, asking and answering questions about audience can help an author determine the type and amount of content to include in a text. As a reader, it’s important to figure out the author’s intended audience, to help you analyze the type, amount, and appropriateness of the text’s information.

The following video presents the concept of audience from a writer’s perspective, but the concepts are applicable to you as a reader who needs to consider audience as a foundation for evaluating a text.

You may also want to link to one of Purdue’s Online Writing Lab’s page on Author and Audience to get a sense of the wide array of variables that can influence an author’s purpose, and that an author may consider about an audience.

Read the article “ Forget Shorter Showers ” by Derrick Jensen.

Note that most of the Try It exercises in this section of the text will be based on this article, so you should read carefully, annotate, take notes, and apply appropriate strategies for reading to understand a text.

Then answer the following questions about the article’s main idea, purpose, and audience.

Which selection best represents the author’s main idea?

• We have it in our power and right to take action to stop the industrial economy over-using and wasting our natural resources.
• We are victims of a campaign of misdirection, being told and accepting that our personal use of natural resources is both the cause of scarcity and the solution to preservation.
• Because we have accepted our identities as consumers, we reduce our forms of political existence to consuming and not consuming.
• Simple living is better for the planet than over-consumption.

Sentence 1 is the best answer. Although sentences 2 and 3 extract main ideas from the text, they are key supporting points that help lead to the author’s conclusion and main idea.

Which selection best represents the author’s purpose?

• to inform readers about the actual use of resources by individuals vs. the industrial economy
• to persuade readers to consider taking action against an unjust situation that assigns blame to individuals instead of big business in regard to the depletion of natural resources
• to persuade readers to re-think their personal attempts to live more simply and more “green”
• to entertain readers interested in nature with accusations against the industrial economy

Selection 2 best represents the author’s purpose. The author’s purpose is to get readers thinking about conservation of resources in order to spur them to action against a system that, in his opinion, exploits those resources as well as individuals. His purpose is both to inform and persuade, but persuasion seems to take precedence, as he both starts and ends with a reminder about historically justified instances of activism.

Who comprises the author’s audience and what cues can you use to determine that audience?

The author is writing to an audience of readers who are interested in nature and conservation. If you look on the Orion website and read the “About” section on Mission and History, you’ll see that this publication started as a magazine about nature and grew from there. Based on reading the text, the author’s intended audience has the following characteristics:

• Educated – The author assumes that readers know about WWII, the Civil Rights Act of 1974, and other historic events.  The author also uses language such as “systematic misdirection,” “solar photovoltaics,” and even “consensus” (instead of agreement).
• Concerned about the environment – because they are reading this magazine in the first place
• Willing to entertain the idea of taking action to improve quality of life and preserve resources
• Comfortable enough (with themselves? with their social status? with their personal philosophies?) to feel that their voices might make a difference if they choose to protest the current use of natural resources
• Purpose & Audience. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : Introduction to College Reading & Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• video The Author's Purpose. Authored by : Marc Franco. Provided by : Snap Language. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6H2NLPqWtI . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• video Audience: Introduction & Overview. Authored by : Gracemarie Mike and Daniel Liddle. Provided by : The Purdue Online Writing Lab. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_ypxLRYsrE . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• image of woman with a stack of books instead of a head, facing shelves of books. Authored by : Gerd Altmann. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/books-question-mark-student-stack-4158244/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• image of the word Evaluation. Authored by : Gerd Altmann. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/illustrations/district-evaluation-assessment-1264717/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved

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You can turn a subject into a central idea by focusing. Begin by reviewing what you know about your subject or by looking over notes you have made about it through listing, brainstorming, clustering, freewriting, or other prewriting activities.

With these details fresh in your mind, ask yourself:

What is my purpose in writing about this topic? What main point do I want to make about the topic?

WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?

Let's say you decide to write about high school. You might tell a story about your history class, compare two schools you attended, or argue that high schools should require foreign-language study.

If you want to compare the two high schools you attended, you can include details about their academic programs, athletic teams, students, or teachers. But you probably wouldn't argue that high schools should stay open in summer because doing so would take you outside your declared purpose.

WHAT IS MY MAIN POINT?

The next step in focusing is to decide what to say about your subject. What is the most interesting or important point you want to make about the schools you are comparing? The answer will be your main point, which ties all the details of the essay together.

Again, you turn an abstract subject into a central idea by stating a main point about that subject. If your main point is that entering a new school improved your attitude about education, your central idea might read:

Changing high schools made me a more serious student.

MAKING A POINT ABOUT A SUBJECT

In the box below, main points have been added to subjects to form working topic sentences or thesis statements.

Back to Top

CHECK YOUR WORKING CENTRAL IDEA

After writing a working central idea, check it for qualities that will make it effective as the basis of a paragraph or essay. Ask yourself:

Is my central idea expressed in a complete thought? Is it specific? Does it express an idea that is worth developing in a full-length paragraph or essay? Is it limited enough to discuss in a short piece of writing?

Never confuse a central idea with a simple subject. Central ideas are expressed in complete sentences; subjects are words or phrases. Take these subjects:

The city zoo. Professional athletes. Majoring in foreign languages.

Can you write a paragraph or essay on one of these subjects? Only if you decide on the main point you want to make about it. Try these as working central ideas:

The city zoo is in great need of repairs. Professional athletes are overpaid. Studying foreign languages leads to many career choices.

A CENTRAL IDEA IS SPECIFIC

Make your central idea specific. The key to this step is to focus your main point as precisely as you can. That will give you a clear direction to follow as you develop an essay or paragraph. Take this central idea:

Jogging isn't for everybody.

It is correct, but it leaves questions unanswered. For example, what kind of people should not jog? What ill effects might jogging cause them? Now, try this:

Jogging can be harmful to people who suffer from heart, back, or joint problems.

A CENTRAL IDEA CONTAINS A MAIN POINT THAT IS WORTH DEVELOPING

Make sure your main point is an idea-not just a fact-that is worth developing in a full-length paragraph or essay. Read these two sentences:

The War Memorial is in Ottawa. The War Memorial has been severely vandalized.

The first sentence is a statement of fact; it does not call for discussion. The second lends itself to discussion. For example, you might describe what the vandals did, explain how much repairs will cost, or discuss ways to prevent future problems.

A CENTRAL IDEA IS LIMITED

Essays that beginning college or university students write usually contain approximately five to seven paragraphs of about 50 to 100 words. Therefore, you should limit your working topic sentence or thesis, making it as specific as you can. Otherwise, you won't be able to make your point clearly and completely.

LIMIT THE DISCUSSION TO A MANAGEABLE LENGTH

Let's say you want to convince someone to stop smoking. You might limit yourself to three reasons to stop smoking: the health risks, the costs, and its effects on others.

Here's your working thesis:

Break the habit: otherwise, it will ruin your health, empty your wallet, and annoy your friends.

Your working topic sentences, which will control the three body paragraphs, could be as follows:

Smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease. You can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year by quitting. Smoking is offensive to friends and family.

LIMITING YOUR CENTRAL IDEA FURTHER

You begin a rough draft by discussing illnesses caused by smoking. However, you soon realize that you can't cover all three reasons for quitting and still keep the essay short. So you limit yourself to the issue of health risks.

Your thesis statement becomes:

Break the habit: smoking causes heart disease, emphysema, and cancer.

Your topic sentences become:

Smoking weakens the heart and impairs circulation. Smoking is a major cause of emphysema. Smoking has been linked directly to cancer of the mouth and the esophagus.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A TOPIC SENTENCE AND A THESIS

A topic sentence is the sentence that expresses the central idea of a paragraph. A thesis statement is a sentence that expresses the central idea of an essay.

It's a good idea to decide the topic sentence of a paragraph after writing the working version of an essay's thesis. A topic sentence explains one aspect or point in the thesis and, therefore, should always be more specific and limited than a thesis.

REVISE AND REFINE THE CENTRAL IDEA AS YOU WORK

You can revise a central idea whenever you need to. The working version of a topic sentence or thesis statement provides only a starting point and a sense of direction. Don't be afraid to look back to your central ideas and rewrite them often. As a matter of fact, focusing is something you should do throughout the writing process.

How to find the main idea

Determining the main idea of any text can be tricky. Let’s take a look at some helpful ways to zero in on it.

Author Taylor Hartley

Published January 19, 2024

Published Jan 19, 2024

• Key takeaways
• Think of the main idea as the point – The main idea is the primary argument or claim discussed by the author, around which all other supporting details and explanations revolve.
• Make sure you read the full text – You can determine the main idea by reading the full text, annotating its key points, summarising, and looking for any repeating ideas or statements.
• There are a few key questions to ask – While reading, it’s always important to look for the Who, What, Where and Why. These details will help explain why the author believes what they do.

Table of contents

What exactly is the main idea?

How to find the main idea in five easy steps.

• Questions to ask when trying to find the main idea​
• Watch out for distractors​

The main idea of a text can be a difficult thing to nail down, but it’s the most important detail of any passage you come across. As you travel along your journey towards mastering reading comprehension, you’ll need to build a habit of figuring out what the main idea is. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ll have a better chance at consistently understanding even the most complicated of paragraphs. 

The main idea is the central argument or point a paragraph is trying to communicate. It’s often the first claim an author makes when they begin their work but it can also be formed based on key details and facts dispersed throughout the body of a paragraph, too. Think of the main idea as the anchor of a paragraph, holding the passage steady and providing a foundation for other important points. 

Is there a difference between the central idea and the main idea?

You might be a bit confused if you discover people referencing a “central idea,” of a paragraph or essay. But fear not! The central idea and the main idea are one and the same. The central idea represents the same key talking points and details as the main idea–the primary argument an author is trying to make. 

Is there a difference between a supporting detail and a main idea?

Even though the central idea and the main idea are the same, there are a few differences between the main idea and it various supporting details. Supporting details are another important part of reading comprehension, as they provide some much needed context, or explanation of the overall main idea. 

A supporting detail might go into greater detail on a specific topic, and give you a bit more understanding of the main point the author is trying to drive home. However, these supporting details don’t exist as their own main ideas, they’re simply there to support the main idea and reinforce it.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what the main idea is, you’ll need to start learning ways to identify it when you encounter it in the wild. Follow along as we walk through some helpful tips on pinpointing the main idea of a passage.  

1. Identify the topic.

One of the first tools you can use for locating the main idea is referencing the title of a paper or any subtitles used throughout. Titles are a great way of gaining a grasp on the central topic of an author’s argument. Take the title of this article, “How to find the main idea.” We can learn a lot about what a piece of writing is about by looking at its title. 

2. Read the entire passage.

The second step in finding the main idea? You guessed it, thoroughly read the passage so you can get a firm handle on what it’s trying to say. You might be tempted to skim the writing to save time, but it’s important to read each sentence with intent so no details go unseen. Remember, even the smallest detail can provide you with the extra confidence and understanding you need to define the main idea. 

3. Annotate as you go, underlining key points or ideas you see.

One helpful tip to help guide your understanding of the main idea is to annotate, or take notes, while you read the text. Doing this will give you a brief but helpful outline of the main points the passage makes. You can look back through your notes once you’re done reading and use them to solve the main idea puzzle. Remember to write down any details you find particularly impactful.  

4. At the end, summarise the passage and what you think it’s arguing.

When you’re finished reading and annotating, use what you’ve learned from the text to form a summary of the entire passage. Your summary should include the main arguments and supporting evidence the author used to get their point across. By creating a summary, you’ve reinforced the main ideas of the text in your head, making it easier to discover what the author is really trying to say. 

5. Read the first sentence and last sentence and look for repeating ideas in your annotations.

The main idea is often expressed in the first few lines of a text and reiterated in the closing lines of a passage. Knowing this, take a good look at both the first and last lines of a paragraph, and see if there are any recurring details or statements within each one. If there are similarities, there’s a good chance that these statements reflect what the main idea is. 

Questions to ask when trying to find the main idea

Although it’s important to take note of each detail you come across in a passage, some can be more valuable when trying to determine the main idea. These details are key parts of the summary you’ll need to create. They’re known as the Who, the What, the Where, and the Why. 

The Who relates to the subject of the text; the person or thing the passage is describing. It’s most often a person or group of people, but it can also range from animals to robots to insects! Identifying the Who is an important part of grasping the main idea, because you’ll need to determine just who the author is writing about if you’re going to figure out what the author is trying to say about them.

What is happening within the passage? What actions are taken by the Who? These actions, or reactions, are known as the What. This is the meat of the paragraph, the behaviours or movements of characters and people that the author uses to describe what’s happening in their writing.

The When is another important detail you’ll need to define as you discover the main idea. The When of a passage is the time period the paragraph itself takes place in or references. Think of the When as a date on a calendar. The Who and What you’ve already defined, but on what date – or at what time of the day – do they appear?

What is the setting or location of the paragraph? Where does the action take place? Is it in a specific state or country, or maybe a specific city or neighbourhood? By defining the Where, you’ll be able to determine how the setting influences the main idea. Maybe there are specific laws or rules tied to the setting that affect the main idea, or maybe the geography of the setting affects what the author is trying to say about the region and the people who live in it. No matter what the Where is, you need to define it so that you can understand how the setting of a passage relates to the main idea. 

And most importantly, why?

The Why is perhaps the most important piece of the main idea puzzle. To define the Why, ask yourself how the author explains the reasoning behind their argument. Why do certain things work the way they do? Why do people act in the ways that they do? The answer to these questions are within the text, and they’re probably the most important facts regarding the main idea. If you can define the Why, or the explanation for why the author thinks the way they do, you can find the main idea. 

Watch out for distractors

As you work your way through a multiple-choice test, reading comprehension questions will normally ask you to pick the main idea out from a collection of possible answers. The creators of these tests can be tricky, and might try to mislead you with answers that don’t actually align with the true main idea.

Because of this, it’s important that you read the passage carefully, paying close attention to the little details throughout that might clue you in to the main idea’s meaning. Make sure to come up with your own main idea, and don’t rely on the answers provided to you by the test. Wrong answers are often either too narrow in their description of the text, too broad, or make claims that are contrary to the argument posed by the author.

Creating your own outline of the passage once you’ve carefully read it will help you summarise the text, pick out its key arguments, and determine the best answer for what the main idea is.

Explore the main idea with DoodleEnglish

DoodleEnglish  is an app that’s filled with thousands of fun, interactive exercises covering grammar, punctuation, spelling and more!

Designed by teachers, it creates each child a unique work programme tailored to their needs, boosting their confidence and skills in English.  Try it for free  today!

FAQs about the main idea

The main idea should include the main talking points of a paragraph. Think of it as a summary of the author’s writing that represents their central argument. The main idea includes the key statements, facts, or opinions the author chooses to include that embody what they’re trying to say. 

There are several strategies you can use to help you find the main idea. Techniques such as looking at the title of the work, or any subtitles, writing down your own summary of the text, looking at the first and last sentences of a paragraph, and identifying recurring ideas are ways to discover the main idea. You can also take notes throughout your reading so that you have a brief outline of key details. 

Yes, it’s extremely important for you to read the passage in its entirety if you want the best chance at understanding its main idea. You may feel tempted to skim or speed-read your way through an essay, but be wary that you might miss certain details or key ideas that could have helped you define the central argument. The best way to go about defining the main idea is to read each sentence intently. 

The central claim and the main idea are synonymous with one another, meaning they represent the same thing. If you’ve identified the central claim of a passage, you’ll be happy to know that you’ve also found the main idea!

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Identifying Main Ideas

Explicit main idea.

A main idea is the author’s controlling point about the topic.  It usually includes the topic and the author’s attitude or opinion about the topic.  To identify the main idea, ask yourself:

• Who or what is the paragraph about?  The answer is the topic .  The topic can be stated in just a few words.
• What does the author think about the topic?  The answer is the  point. The point can also be stated in just a few words.

Once you’ve identified these pieces, you can combine them to state the author’s main idea in a single sentence.

Topic = the cool-down period

Point  = important parts of exercise workouts

The cool-down period is an important part of an exercise workout .

Topic + Point = Main Idea

Often, but not always, the main idea of a paragraph is written as that paragraph’s topic sentence .  A topic sentence is a single sentence that states the topic and words that qualify the topic by revealing the author’s opinion about the topic or the author’s approach to the topic and also reveal the author’s thought pattern or organizational strategy. When you’ve identified both the main idea and the thought pattern, you can identify the topic sentence.

Main Idea = The cool-down period is an important part of an exercise workout

Thought Pattern  = several reasons

The cool-down period is an important part of an exercise workout for several reasons .

Main Idea +    Thought Pattern = Topic Sentence

Placement of Main Ideas & Topic Sentences

General to specific.

The topic sentence is the one sentence that is general enough to include all the ideas in the paragraph.  Therefore, a topic sentence that begins a paragraph or appears within the first few sentences of a paragraph signals a move from general ideas to specific ideas.  

Specific to General to Specific

At times, an author begins a paragraph with details to stir the reader’s interest in the topic.  The flow of ideas moves from the specific to the general and back to the specific.

Specific to General

Sometimes, an author waits until the end of the paragraph to state the topic sentence and main idea.  This allows the details to build up to the main idea and is sometimes called “climactic order.”

Implicit Main Idea

Implied Main Idea

This is a main idea that is not stated directly but is strongly suggested by the supporting details in the passage.  Many paragraphs in college textbooks do not provide a topic sentence, instead using supporting details to imply the main idea.  To determine the implied main idea, look at:

• The supporting details : facts, examples, descriptions, and explanations given
• The author’s thought pattern
• The author’s purpose

Read the sample paragraph below:

Egypt’s pyramids are the oldest existing buildings in the world.  These ancient tombs are also among the world’s largest structures.  The largest pyramid stands taller than a 40-story building and covers an area greater than that of ten football fields.  More than 80 pyramids still exist, and their once-smooth limestone surfaces hide secret passageways and rooms.  The pyramids of ancient Egypt served a vital purpose: to protect the pharaoh’s bodies after death .  Each pyramid held not only the pharaoh’s preserved body , but also all the goods he would need in his life after death .  

1.The topic of the paragraph is pyramids

2.There are three groups of supporting details , discussing: age, size, and purpose

3.The author has organized the supporting details into “characteristics” or “traits” of the pyramids.

4.The author purpose seems to be trying to define a pyramid.

→ Implied Main Idea: Pyramids are structures with several distinctive traits.

Remember, the main idea must be broad enough to cover all the details in the paragraph without being so broad that it includes details not mentioned.  

By Vanessa Flora-Nakoski |  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

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Posted on 26 July, 2018 by McDaniel College Writing Center

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Finding the Main Idea

The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. It is often expressed directly or it can be implied. Knowing how to find main ideas allows you to understand and think critically about what you're reading. And that benefits you regardless of your chosen profession.

Where Are The Main Ideas Found?

It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text. Main ideas are often found:

• at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage.
• in the concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.

The main idea is not always clearly stated.   It is more difficult to identify a main idea when it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An implied main idea can be found in several ways.

• Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about the topic before actually stating the topic.
• Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover the main idea in the selected text.
• Try the passage below to see if you can pick out the main idea. "To many parents, the infant's crying may be mainly an irritation, especially if it continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory system. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry, they indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information for parents."

Use the hints below to determine the correct main idea of this paragraph.

After reading a paragraph ask, "What point is the author making in this passage?"

Ask the following questions:

• Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group of people?
• When - Does the information contain a reference to time?
• Where - Does the text name a place?
• Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for something that happened?
• How - Does this information indicate a method or a theory?

How To Determine If I Have Selected the Correct Main Idea of a Paragraph?

If you are able to summarize the information in the passage in your own words,you have absorbed the correct main idea. To accomplish this goal, try the steps listed below after reading a short section of your textbook.

• Write a short summary in your own words about what you have read.
• Does your summary agree with this general topic?
• Does your summary contain the same ideas being expressed by the author?
• Could you write a headline (or textbook subheading) that would express your summary in less than five words?

If you are able to rephrase your choice of a topic sentence into a question and then determine if the passage answers your question, you have been successful at selecting a main idea.

Other Writing Resources

Enhance your academic writing skills by exploring our additional writing resources that will help you craft compelling essays, research papers, and more.

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ENGL000: Pre-College English

The main idea and supporting sentences.

In this course, you will practice writing analytical paragraphs in which you state the main idea clearly in a topic sentence and support the main idea with evidence and examples. Read this lecture and complete the included activities, in which you identify the main ideas and supporting details of different paragraphs. When you are done, check your work against the Answer Key .

Last time we covered what a main idea sentence is: a sentence that tells the reader what the paragraph is about. The rest of the sentences in the paragraph support the main idea sentence. "Support" means that the sentences either explain a detail of the main idea or give an example. Read the paragraph below. The main idea is underlined . The "support" that explains is bolded , and the "support" that offers an example is in italics. 

My parents were very strict when I was growing up . My mother in particular was always correcting my behavior. One day when I forgot to look both ways as I was crossing the street, my mother made me go back home; she said that I could not go out at all if I could not be safe.  My father was more concerned with my grades.  Every night he would make me go to my room before I could watch television. 

Let's examine this paragraph.

The first sentence (1) presents the main idea: "my parents were very strict". The second sentence (2) explains what I consider "strict" by saying that my mother frequently corrected my behavior. The third sentence (3) offers an example of how she would correct my behavior. The fourth sentence (4) explains further that my father was strict when it came to schoolwork, and the fifth sentence (5) offers an example of how he was strict. 

If we were going to diagram the paragraph, it would look like this:

One way to talk about whether sentences directly support the main idea (as the second level does), or indirectly support the main idea (the bottom level) is to call them MAJOR  detail sentences and MINOR detail sentences. Major details directly explain something about the main idea. Minor details offer examples that illustrate major details.

Practice I: Read the paragraphs, and then identify each sentence as a main idea, a major detail, or a minor detail.

Paragraph 1:

Single parents have to overcome many obstacles to return to school. If their children are very young, finding quality babysitting can be difficult. Many babysitters are unreliable, and that can mean that the parent has to miss many classes, which can hurt their grades. It is also hard to find enough time to study. Children require a lot of attention, and that can interfere with a parent being able to complete their homework. Finally, raising children is expensive. Many single parents discover that they can't meet the costs of both raising children and paying for tuition, books, and fees.

Sentence #1:

Sentence #2:

Sentence #3:

Sentence #4:

Sentence #5:

Sentence #6:

Sentence #7:

Paragraph 2:

My grandmother turned 70 last year and celebrated by going skydiving. She said she always wanted to skydive and figured it was now or never. Many people think that when you get older you can no longer do fun things, but this is not true. The senior center in town offers dance lessons and also takes groups to the art museum. The classes are always full because so many people want to try new things. Towns are even developing senior living communities around activities such as golf and tennis. Those communities are very popular because people like to live with others who share their interests.

Practice II: Below you will find several main idea sentences. Write your own supporting sentences by using major and minor details.

1. It is not a good idea to watch a lot of television.

2. Coaches have good reasons to be firm with the players on their team.

3. Many people believe it is a bad idea to spank children.

4. There are several steps I can take to be successful in college.

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3.8: Main Ideas and Supporting Details

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• Page ID 31307

• Athena Kashyap & Erika Dyquisto
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

Analyze Thesis or Main Ideas of Texts

Being able to identify the purpose and thesis of a text, while you’re reading it, takes practice. Questioning the text you’re reading is a good place to start. When trying to isolate the thesis, or main idea, of your reading material, consider these questions:

• What is the primary subject of this text?
• Is the author trying to inform me, or persuade me?
• What does the author think I need to know about this subject?
• Why does the author think I need to know about this subject?

Sometimes the answer to these questions will be very clearly stated in the text itself. Sometimes it is less obvious, and in those cases, the techniques on the following page will be useful.

Implicit vs. Explicit Main Idea/ Thesis Statements

According to author Pavel Zemliansky,

Arguments then, can be explicit and implicit, or implied. Explicit arguments contain noticeable and definable thesis statements and lots of specific proofs. Implicit arguments, on the other hand, work by weaving together facts and narratives, logic and emotion, personal experiences and statistics. Unlike explicit arguments, implicit ones do not have a one-sentence thesis statement. Instead, authors of implicit arguments use evidence of many different kinds in effective and creative ways to build and convey their point of view to their audience. Research is essential for creative effective arguments of both kinds.

Even if what you’re reading is an informative text, rather than an argumentative one, it might still rely on an implicit thesis statement. It might ask you to piece together the overall purpose of the text based on a series of content along the way.

The following video defines the key terms explicit and implicit, as they relate to thesis statements and other ideas present in what you read. It also introduces the excellent idea of the reading voice and the thinking voice that strong readers use as they work through a text.

To help keep you on your toes, the author of this video challenges you to find her spelling mistake in one of her cards along the way!

Explicit v. implicit . Authored by: Michele Armentrout. All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license.

Take the quiz about implicit and explicit thesis statements to see how well you have understood the information.

Thesis and Topic Sentences

You’ll remember that the first step of the reading process, previewing, allows you to get a big-picture view of the document you’re reading. This way, you can begin to understand the structure of the overall text. A later step in the reading process, summarizing , allows you to encapsulate what a paragraph, section, or the whole document is about. When summarizing individual paragraphs, it’s likely that your summary ends up looking like a paraphrase of that paragraph’s topic sentence .

A paragraph is composed of multiple sentences focused on a single, clearly-defined topic. There should be exactly one main idea per paragraph, so whenever an author moves on to a new idea, he or she will start a new paragraph. For example, this paragraph defines what a paragraph is, and now we will start a new paragraph to deal with a new idea: how a paragraph is structured.

Paragraphs are actually organized much like persuasive papers are. Just like a paper has a thesis statement followed by a body of supportive evidence, paragraphs have a topic sentence followed by several sentences of support or explanation. If you look at this paragraph, for example, you will see that it starts with a clear topic sentence letting you know that paragraphs follow a structure similar to that of papers. The next sentence explains how a paragraph is like a paper, and then two more sentences show how this paragraph follows that structure. All of these sentences are clearly connected to the main idea.

The topic sentence of a paragraph serves two purposes: first, it lets readers know what the paragraph is going to be about; second, it highlights the connection between the present paragraph and the one that came before. The topic sentence of this paragraph explains to a reader what a topic sentence does, fulfilling the first function. It also tells you that this paragraph is going to talk about one particular aspect of the previous paragraph’s main idea: we are now moving from the general structure of the paragraph to the particular role of the topic sentence.

After the topic sentence introduces the main idea, the remainder of the sentences in a paragraph should support or explain this topic. These additional sentences might detail the author’s position on the topic. They might also provide examples, statistics, or other evidence to support that position. At the end of the paragraph, the author may include some sort of conclusion or a transition that sets up the next idea he or she will be discussing (for example, you can see this clearly in the last sentence of the third paragraph).

The Three Parts of a Paragraph

The topic is the subject of the paragraph. It can be:

• A few words long
• These words (or words related to the topic) are typically repeated throughout the paragraph
• Answers the question: What is this paragraph about?

2) Main Idea

This is the writer’s overall point. It can be:

• If stated in the paragraph, it’s called a “topic sentence”
• If unstated in the paragraph, the reader must figure it out (infer it) from details
• General enough to cover the more specific supporting details
• Usually (but not always!) near the beginning of the paragraph
• Answers the question: What is the overall point being made about the topic?”

3) Supporting Details

These are the details in the paragraph that support the main idea. They can be either major or minor supporting details.

Tips for Identifying Main Ideas

Although you are learning to put the main idea first in your own paragraphs, professional writers often don’t. Sometimes the first sentence of a paragraph provides background information, poses a question, or serves as a bridge from a previous paragraph. Don’t assume it is the main idea. Use these tips instead:

• Look for a general statement that appears to “cover” the other information.
• Figure out the general topic of the paragraph first. Then ask yourself, “What point is the writer trying to make about this topic?”
• Look for clue words. Main ideas sometimes have words such as “some” or plural nouns like “ways” or “differences” that signal a list of details to come.
• Is this statement supported by most of the other information?
• If I turn this statement into a question, does the other information answer it?

SPECIAL NOTE: Sometimes a main idea covers more than one paragraph. This may happen in newspaper articles or when the writer has a lot to say about one topic.

Difference Between the Topic and Main Idea

To understand the difference between a main idea and the topic, imagine that you are listening to your friends talk about their pets. The TV is on, so all you can make out are the name of their pets. If someone asked you what the topic was, you would say “pets.” But because you couldn’t hear the whole thing, you didn’t understand the “main idea” was whose pet was the best. The topic is very broad – the main idea is more specific. The sentences that follow in the paragraph exercise offer examples or descriptions to illustrate or explain the main idea. Note the reading-writing connection--while we are finding the main idea as readers, we will be using the main ideas to write topic sentences in paragraphs.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Read the following paragraph and then decide what the main idea is.

One myth about exercise is that if a woman lifts weights, she will develop muscles as large as a man’s. Without male hormones, however, a woman cannot increase her muscle bulk as much as a man’s. Another misconception about exercise is that it increases the appetite. Actually, regular exercise stabilizes the blood-sugar level and prevents hunger pangs. Some people also think that a few minutes of exercise a day or one session a week is enough, but at least three solid workouts a week are needed for muscular and cardiovascular fitness.

Choose the Main Idea:

a) Women who lift weights cannot become as muscular as men.

b) There are several myths about exercise.

c) Exercise is beneficial to everyone.

d) People use many different excuses to avoid exercising.

Explain why you did or did not choose each possible answer above.

a) ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________________________________

c) ________________________________________________________________________

d) ________________________________________________________________________

Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\)

“To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results.“

The main idea of this paragraph is the first sentence. The first sentence identifies the two characters that the rest of the paragraph is going to describe, and suggests at their relationship. Each sentence that follows either describes the woman, Sherlock Holmes, or how he felt about her or her effect on him.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Here is another example from the same story, see if you can find the main idea:

One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story. He was at work again.

a. One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street.

b. As I passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers

c. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind.

d. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him.

The correct answer is a. The first sentence gives you the point-of-view, or who is the person explaining what is happening, and it lets you know that this person is going into a particular place. Each of the other sentences describes the place where he, Dr. Watson, entered, what it looked like, and who was in there.

B is not as strong a choice as a, because it refers to Study in Scarlet and Holmes’ powers, which are not described in the rest of the paragraph. Choice B is too specific to be the main idea of this paragraph. Choices c and d are not correct because they are describing Holmes’ actions, and his walking is not what the whole paragraph is about.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{4}\)

Let’s try one more. Read the following and select which one is the main idea from the list below:

“At three o'clock precisely I was at Baker Street, but Holmes had not yet returned. The landlady informed me that he had left the house shortly after eight o'clock in the morning. I sat down beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him, however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and strange features which were associated with the two crimes which I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own. Indeed, apart from the nature of the investigation which my friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to enter into my head.”

a. At three o'clock precisely I was at Baker Street, but Holmes had not yet returned.

b. The landlady informed me that he had left the house shortly after eight o'clock in the morning.

c. I sat down beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him, however long he might be

d. I was already deeply interested in his inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and strange features which were associated with the two crimes which I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own.

The way to figure out that the answer, this time, is d, is to look at each sentence that follows and ask, does this refer back to the location, Baker Street? Do they refer back to the landlady? Do they refer back to Dr. Watson’s waiting? Or, do they refer back to the case? They both refer back to the current investigation, by talking about Holmes’ way of untangling mysteries, and that Watson’s belief that the investigation would be a success.

The introduction to this paragraph may have thrown you off so be careful to read through the entire paragraph each time, and look at each sentence and its role within the paragraph. Mostly the main idea comes right up front – but not always!

Reading-Writing Connection: Thesis Statements

Exercise \(\PageIndex{5}\)

I. Develop a paragraph. Your paragraph must include the following:

• Between 7-9 sentences
• A main idea sentence
• Each sentence must be developed, and checked for correct spelling and grammar
• Have at least three of the four different types of sentences (simple, complex, compound, compound-complex)
• Attach your pre-writing practice after the paragraph, to identify which sentences are major and minor detail sentence

Supporting Details

Earlier we covered what a main idea sentence was: a sentence that names the topic, and allows the reader to understand the focus of the paragraph to follow. It is logical then that the rest of the sentences in the paragraph support the main idea sentence. Support means that they either explain something about the topic, or they offer an example.

We’ve examined the relationship between a text’s thesis statement and its overall organization through the idea of topic sentences in body paragraphs. But of course body paragraphs have a lot more “stuff” in them than just topic sentences. This section will examine in more detail what that “stuff” is made of.

First, watch this video that details the relationship between a topic sentence and supporting details, using the metaphor of a house. The video establishes the difference between major and minor details, which will be useful to apply in coming discussions. (The video has instrumental guitar for audio, but no spoken words, so it can be watched without sound if desired.)

Video: Supporting Details . Authored by: Mastering the Fundamentals of College Reading and Writing. All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license.

The following image shows the visual relationship between the overall thesis, topic sentences, and supporting ideas:

This next image shows where a topic sentence might reside in the paragraph, in relation to the rest of the supporting details:

In #5 of the sequence above, the topic sentence is rephrased between the opening and closing of the paragraph, to reinforce the concept more strongly.

Point, Illustration, Explanation (P.I.E.)

Many authors use the PIE format to structure their essays. PIE = point, illustration, explanation to structure their body paragraph and support their thesis. The point furthers a thesis or claim and is the same as the main idea, the illustration provides support for the point, and the explanation tells the audience why the evidence provided furthers the point and/or the thesis.

For example, in his argument against the +/- grading system at Radford, student-writer Tareq Hajj makes the Point that “Without the A+, students with high grades in the class would be less motivated to work even harder in order to increase their grades.”

He Illustrates with a quote from a professor who argues, “‘(students) have less incentive to try’” (Fesheraki, 2013).

Hajj then Explains that “not providing [the most motivated students] with additional motivation of a higher grade … is inequitable.”

Through his explanation, Hajj links back to his claim that “A plus-minus grading scale … should not be used at Radford University” because, as he explains, it is “inequitable.” The PIE structure of his paragraph has served to support his thesis.

All Claims Need Evidence

Ever heard the phrase “everyone is entitled to his opinion”? It is indeed true that people are free to believe whatever they wish. However, the mere fact that a person believes something is not an argument in support of a position. If a text’s goal is to communicate effectively, it must provide valid explanations and sufficient and relevant evidence to convince its audience to accept that position. In other words, “every author is entitled to his opinion, but no author is entitled to have his opinion go unchallenged.”

What are the types of evidence?

Any text should provide illustrations for each of its points, but it is especially important to provide reliable evidence in an academic argument. This evidence can be based on primary source material or data (the author’s own experience and/or interviews, surveys, polls, experiments, that she may have created and administered). Evidence can also stem from secondary source material or data (books, journals, newspapers, magazines, websites or surveys, experiments, statistics, polls, and other data collected by others).

Let’s say, for example, that you are reading an argument that college instructors should let students use cell phones in class. Primary source material might include a survey the author administered that asks students if policies forbidding cell phone usage actually stop them from using their phones in class. Secondary sources might include articles about the issue from Faculty Focus or The Chronicle of Higher Education .

Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Writers are generally most successful with their audiences when they can skillfully and appropriately balance the three core types of appeals. These appeals are referred to by their Greek names: logos (the appeal to logic), pathos (the appeal to emotion), and ethos (the appeal to authority). All of these are used in one way or another in your body paragraphs, particularly as it relates to the support or information in the paragraph.

Logical Appeals

Authors using logic to support their claims will include a combination of different types of evidence. These include the following:

• established facts
• case studies
• experiments
• analogies and logical reasoning
• citation of recognized experts on the issue

Authoritative Appeals

Authors using authority to support their claims can also draw from a variety of techniques. These include the following:

• personal anecdotes
• illustration of deep knowledge on the issue
• testimony of those involved first-hand on the issue

Emotional Appeals

Authors using emotion to support their claims again have a deep well of options to do so. These include the following:

• impact studies

As you can see, there is some overlap on these lists. One technique might work simultaneously on multiple levels.

Most texts rely on one of the three as the primary method of support, but may also draw upon one or two others at the same time.

Check your understanding of supporting details by doing this quiz.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{6}\)

Read the paragraph below and find the main idea and supporting details.

My parents were very strict when I was growing up. My mother in particular was always correcting my behavior. One day when I forgot to look both ways when I was crossing the street, my mother made me go back home; she said that I could not go out at all if I could not be safe. My father was more concerned with my grades. Every night he would make me go to my room before I could watch television.

Let’s examine the pattern for this paragraph. The first sentence (1) presents the main idea, that my parents were strict. The second sentence (2) explains what I mean by “strict,” by saying that my mother was strict in correcting my behavior. The third sentence (3) offers an example of how she would correct my behavior. The fourth sentence (4) explains further, that my father was strict when it came to schoolwork, and then the fifth sentence (5) offers an example of how he was strict.

If we were going to diagram the paragraph above, it would look like this:

EXPLAIN (2)-___________________EXPLAIN (4)

EXAMPLE (3) EXAMPLE (5)

Major and Minor Supporting Details

One way to talk about whether a sentence directly supports the main idea (the second level), or indirectly supports the main idea (the third level) is to call them MAJOR detail sentences or MINOR detail sentences. Major details directly explain something about the topic, while minor details offer examples for the Major detail that came right before.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{7}\)

Read the paragraphs, and then identify each sentence as either a main idea, a major detail, or a minor detail sentence.

Single parents have to overcome many obstacles to return to school. If the child is very young, finding quality babysitting can be difficult. Many babysitters are unreliable and that can mean that the parent has to miss many classes, which can hurt their grades. It is also hard to find enough time to study. Children require a lot of attention and are also noisy, and that can interfere with a parent's ability to complete their homework. Finally, raising children is expensive. Many single parents discover that they can’t meet the costs of both raising children and paying for tuition, books, and fees.

Sentence #1: Sentence #2: Sentence #3: Sentence #4: Sentence #5: Sentence #6: Sentence #7:

My grandmother turned 70 last year and celebrated by going skydiving. She said she always wanted to try and figured it was now or never. Many people think that when you get older you can no longer do fun things, but this is not true. The senior center in town offers dance lessons and also takes groups to the art museum. The classes are always full because so many people want to try new things. Towns are even developing senior living communities around activities such as golf and tennis. Those communities are very popular because people like to live with others who share their interests.

Sentence #1: Sentence #2: Sentence #3: Sentence #4: Sentence #5: Sentence #6: Sentence #7

Exercise \(\PageIndex{8}\)

Below you will find several main idea sentences. Provide appropriate supporting sentences following the pattern of Major-Minor-Major- Minor.

1. It is not a good idea to watch a lot of television. Major: Minor: Major: Minor:

2. Coaches have good reasons to be firm with the players on their team. Major: Minor: Major: Minor:

3. Many people believe it is a bad idea to spank children. Major: Minor: Major: Minor:

4. There are several steps I can take to be successful in college.

Major: Minor: Major: Minor:

Reading-Writing Connection: Supporting Details

Exercise \(\PageIndex{9}\)

Return to the Thesis exercise you did previously. As part of that exercise, you identified two topic sentences from your selected reading. Now, look more closely at the paragraphs where those two topic sentences came from.

• Write a paragraph that identifies the type of support that each paragraph from the reading uses to reinforce each of those two topic sentences. Are they narrative or personal examples? Are they facts or statistics? Are they quotes or paraphrases from research materials?
• Write another paragraph that compares the effectiveness of the supporting claims of one of the selected paragraphs against the other one. Which seems more successful in its goal? Why do you feel that way?

Contributors

• Adapted from English 9Y Pre-College English . Provided by: Open Course Library. CC BY 3.0
• Adapted from Thesis Statements and Topic Sentences . Provided by: Lumen Learning. CC-BY-NC-SA
• Adapted from Methods of Discovery: A Guide to Research Writing . Authored by: Pavel Zemliansky. Provided by: Libretexts. CC BY: Attribution

This page last updated June 6, 2020.

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When writing a single-paragraph essay, it’s important to know what your point is and how you’re going to prove it, because unlike a traditional-length essay, you won’t have the space of several paragraphs to flesh it out. The main idea and support for the main idea should be carefully crafted in a single-paragraph essay so you can say what you need to say in the most direct and concise way. 

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When writing a single-paragraph essay, it’s important to know what your point is and how you’re going to prove it, because unlike a traditional-length essay, you won’t have the space of several paragraphs to flesh it out. The main idea and support for the main idea should be carefully crafted in a single-paragraph essay so you can say what you need to say in the most direct and concise way.

Main Idea And Supporting Detail: Meaning

In a single-paragraph essay, the main idea is the writer’s position or principal concept, and the supporting details are the means by which they develop and prove that idea. This might sound similar to a thesis statement . That’s because a thesis statement should include the main idea and supporting details for an essay.

Remember, a thesis statement is a single declarative sentence that includes the main idea, or position on a topic, and mentions the way(s) you intend to prove or support that idea. A thesis acts as a blueprint for the body of your essay. It lays out the expectation for the audience of what your point is and how you intend to prove it.

If you’re writing a single-paragraph essay, you might be wondering whether you need to include a thesis statement. The short answer is, yes you do! In this case, because your essay will only be the length of a paragraph, the thesis statement will function the exact same way as a topic sentence for a regular paragraph.

A topic sentence functions much the same as a thesis statement. It is a single sentence, usually the first sentence of a paragraph, that introduces the main argument or idea for that paragraph. It’s a helpful technique so your audience knows the principal point of each paragraph because it is expressly stated.

It’s also useful as a way to organize your argument . Each piece of support for your main idea can serve as the topic sentence for an entire paragraph that develops that supporting detail in relation to the main idea. Or, in the case of a single-paragraph essay, the topic sentence is the thesis for the entire essay.

A single-paragraph essay should be concise and to the point. There is no room for filler language or information that is not absolutely necessary. Because of the length of a single-paragraph essay, it is important to state your main point at the very beginning.

In a single-paragraph essay you don’t need to spend much time providing background information on the topic. Your main objective is to express your main idea and support it with concrete details. You can assume your audience already has a working knowledge of the subject.

How To Organize The Main Idea And Supporting Details

There is a basic structure for a single-paragraph essay that is similar to that of the basic multi-paragraph essay. It includes the topic sentence (or thesis statement), at least two pieces of supporting information, concrete evidence for and commentary on the supporting information, and a conclusion. See the layout below.

Fig. 1 - How to organize support for main idea.

Topic sentence (thesis statement)

Body support 1

Concrete details

Body support 2

Closing statement

In a single-paragraph essay, the thesis statement will come first and usher in the main idea. It isn’t always possible to fit the main idea and a reference to the supporting details into a single sentence, but it is a good goal.

In Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) Jules Verne explores the themes of calmness and persistence with his character Phileas Fogg; Mr. Fogg remains calm in the face of extreme circumstances as he travels the world, and remains persistent to his goal despite many setbacks.

This example demonstrates how to include support for the main idea within a single sentence (i.e. thesis statement). In a single-paragraph essay, the segment following the thesis statement is considered the body of the essay. This is where you provide support for the main idea.

What Can Be The Support For The Main Idea?

For a single-paragraph essay, support for the main idea must be specific and brief; you won’t have the space of several paragraphs to expound on the details. Because of this, it’s especially important for your support to be effective.

Below are some of the most constructive pieces of information to include to support your main idea.

Facts and Data

Sometimes the best support of the main idea is simply stating relevant facts. If, for example, you’re discussing why bats are a positive addition to your outdoor living space, you might include that they like to eat mosquitoes. Remember, you’ll need to choose only the most relevant information to make your point in the fewest possible sentences.

Quotes are an effective way to prove a point in a very concise way. This is true whether you’re quoting a text you’re discussing, or quoting an expert or authoritative source on the subject.

An authoritative source is one that can be trusted because it is widely recognized in the field as authentic and/or expert.

Quotes taken from the text under discussion are effective because this is the primary source . Quoting the source directly is the best way to prove your point about a text.

Statistical evidence is numerical data organized to show a trend or some information about a particular subject. This is great evidence because it usually represents large numbers of participants or objects; the larger the group, the more reliable the information. Some statistics you could use in a one paragraph essay are percentages or statistics.

The best places to get statistical data are from government organizations and other trusted sources in the field.

Examples of Relevant Details

Examples are the best way to support your main idea. You can use examples from the text you’re referencing, real life experiences, or anything else that will expand the main idea.

How To Identify The Main Idea And Supporting Details

Identifying the main idea and its supporting details improves your reading and understanding of a text and its topic. Once you’ve identified these elements, you can follow the author’s logic through their use of examples or other support.

Fig. 2 - Neoclassical pillars represent support for main idea.

One way to quickly recognize the main idea is to use these tips:

Scan the title of the text

Look for significance in the pictures included

Note words and phrases that are repeated often

Summarize the text in your own words (in a sentence, if possible)

Ask yourself - what is this text mostly about?

Relationship Between The Main Idea And Supporting Details

The supporting details are not the main idea, but are the pillars that hold up the main idea. These details are kind of like an extension of the main idea, and so can be confused with it sometimes.

Supporting details are meant to offer evidence of the accuracy or truth of the main idea. They offer more specific information about the topic.

The main idea in an article about global warming is, “Global warming is the long-term warming of Earth’s overall temperature and is the most pressing issue facing humanity today.” That is the concept that will be discussed in the body of the article. The following sentence is an example of a supporting detail for that main idea, “Fossil fuels are burned, which produce gasses that trap heat on the earth’s surface.”

The sentence about fossil fuels should not be confused with the main idea of the article. It is a single point that the author is using to explain the concept of global warming and its danger to humanity. It supports the idea that global warming is a danger to the planet, and humanity.

More Examples Of The Main Idea And Supporting Details

Below are a few examples of a main idea and its supporting details. Think about how these interact with one another as you read them.

Main idea: People suffering from neuroticism experience anger, anxiety, self-consciousness, irritability and depression, but their complaints of further physical ailments have largely been discounted by physicians until recently.

Supporting detail a: Research now shows that neuroticism is linked to five physical ailments: arthritis, ulcers, asthma, heart disease, and headaches.

Supporting detail b: Similarly, there is evidence that people who display pessimistic behavior in their teens or twenties or more likely to become seriously ill or die in their forties.

Main idea: Mental illness has been explained in many different ways over the course of the last several hundred years.

Supporting detail a: In ancient times, irrational behavior was thought to be the result of demons or evil spirits.

Supporting detail b: The Greeks believed irrational behavior was an imbalance of body fluids, called “humors,” or some organs being misplaced in the body.

Supporting detail c: After a resurgence in the belief of demons thanks to the highly superstitious Middle Ages, the last one hundred years have finally seen a true medical acceptance and explanation of mental illness.

Can you think of any more supporting details for the two examples above? Use these, or come up with some ideas of your own for more practice.

Support for Main Idea - Key Takeaways

• In a single-paragraph essay, the main idea is the writer’s position or principal concept they would like to express, and the supporting details are the means by which they develop and prove that idea.
• Single-paragraph essays demand a concise and to-the-point main idea and supporting details.
• The thesis statement contains the main idea, and should also refer to the support for the main idea.
• Support for the main idea are like pillars that hold up the main idea when it is scrutinized.
• Support for the main idea can be statistical data, quotes, facts and data, and examples of relevant information.

Frequently Asked Questions about Main Idea and Supporting Detail

--> what is the difference between main idea and supporting details.

The difference between the main idea and supporting details is that supporting details are an extension of the main idea; they are meant to offer evidence of the accuracy or truth of the main idea.

--> How to find main ideas and supporting details in a text?

You can find the main idea and supporting details in a text using the following tips:

--> What is a supporting detail?

A supporting detail is the means by which a writer develops and/or proves their main idea.

--> What is main idea and example?

A main idea is the principal concept an author wishes to express. An example would be, "The advancement of technology has removed us entirely from the use of physical money, and so has made it obsolete."

--> What is an example of supporting details?

An example of supporting details would be any facts, quotes, statistical evidence, or examples of details relevant to the main idea.

Test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards

True or false: a single-paragraph essay doesn't need a thesis statement?

 Because of the length of a single-paragraph essay, it is important to state your main point _____________  

Which of the following is not something recommended to support the main idea?

Your score:

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Why is it important to carefully craft the main idea and supporting details of a single-paragraph essay?

Because you must be concise; unlike a traditional-length essay, you won’t have the space of several paragraphs to flesh these things out.

What is the main idea of a text?

The main idea is the writer’s position or principal concept they would like to express

What does "support for the main idea" mean?

Supporting details are the means by which the author develops and proves the main idea.

True or false: a single-paragraph essay doesn't need a thesis statement?

The thesis statement of a single-paragraph essay will function the exact same way as a ____________ for a regular paragraph.

Topic sentence

At the beginning of the paragraph

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How to Write an Essay Introduction (with Examples)   

The introduction of an essay plays a critical role in engaging the reader and providing contextual information about the topic. It sets the stage for the rest of the essay, establishes the tone and style, and motivates the reader to continue reading. 

Table of Contents

What is an essay introduction , what to include in an essay introduction, how to create an essay structure , step-by-step process for writing an essay introduction , how to write an introduction paragraph , how to write a hook for your essay , how to include background information , how to write a thesis statement .

• Argumentative Essay Introduction Example: 
• Expository Essay Introduction Example 

Literary Analysis Essay Introduction Example

Check and revise – checklist for essay introduction , key takeaways , frequently asked questions .

An introduction is the opening section of an essay, paper, or other written work. It introduces the topic and provides background information, context, and an overview of what the reader can expect from the rest of the work. 1 The key is to be concise and to the point, providing enough information to engage the reader without delving into excessive detail. 

The essay introduction is crucial as it sets the tone for the entire piece and provides the reader with a roadmap of what to expect. Here are key elements to include in your essay introduction: 

• Hook : Start with an attention-grabbing statement or question to engage the reader. This could be a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or a compelling anecdote. 
• Background information : Provide context and background information to help the reader understand the topic. This can include historical information, definitions of key terms, or an overview of the current state of affairs related to your topic. 
• Thesis statement : Clearly state your main argument or position on the topic. Your thesis should be concise and specific, providing a clear direction for your essay. 

Before we get into how to write an essay introduction, we need to know how it is structured. The structure of an essay is crucial for organizing your thoughts and presenting them clearly and logically. It is divided as follows: 2  

• Introduction:  The introduction should grab the reader’s attention with a hook, provide context, and include a thesis statement that presents the main argument or purpose of the essay.  
• Body:  The body should consist of focused paragraphs that support your thesis statement using evidence and analysis. Each paragraph should concentrate on a single central idea or argument and provide evidence, examples, or analysis to back it up.  
• Conclusion:  The conclusion should summarize the main points and restate the thesis differently. End with a final statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. Avoid new information or arguments. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write an essay introduction: 

• Start with a Hook : Begin your introduction paragraph with an attention-grabbing statement, question, quote, or anecdote related to your topic. The hook should pique the reader’s interest and encourage them to continue reading. 
• Provide Background Information : This helps the reader understand the relevance and importance of the topic. 
• State Your Thesis Statement : The last sentence is the main argument or point of your essay. It should be clear, concise, and directly address the topic of your essay. 
• Preview the Main Points : This gives the reader an idea of what to expect and how you will support your thesis. 
• Keep it Concise and Clear : Avoid going into too much detail or including information not directly relevant to your topic. 
• Revise : Revise your introduction after you’ve written the rest of your essay to ensure it aligns with your final argument. 

Here’s an example of an essay introduction paragraph about the importance of education: 

Education is often viewed as a fundamental human right and a key social and economic development driver. As Nelson Mandela once famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” It is the key to unlocking a wide range of opportunities and benefits for individuals, societies, and nations. In today’s constantly evolving world, education has become even more critical. It has expanded beyond traditional classroom learning to include digital and remote learning, making education more accessible and convenient. This essay will delve into the importance of education in empowering individuals to achieve their dreams, improving societies by promoting social justice and equality, and driving economic growth by developing a skilled workforce and promoting innovation. 

This introduction paragraph example includes a hook (the quote by Nelson Mandela), provides some background information on education, and states the thesis statement (the importance of education). 

This is one of the key steps in how to write an essay introduction. Crafting a compelling hook is vital because it sets the tone for your entire essay and determines whether your readers will stay interested. A good hook draws the reader in and sets the stage for the rest of your essay.  

• Avoid Dry Fact : Instead of simply stating a bland fact, try to make it engaging and relevant to your topic. For example, if you’re writing about the benefits of exercise, you could start with a startling statistic like, “Did you know that regular exercise can increase your lifespan by up to seven years?” 
• Avoid Using a Dictionary Definition : While definitions can be informative, they’re not always the most captivating way to start an essay. Instead, try to use a quote, anecdote, or provocative question to pique the reader’s interest. For instance, if you’re writing about freedom, you could begin with a quote from a famous freedom fighter or philosopher. 
• Do Not Just State a Fact That the Reader Already Knows : This ties back to the first point—your hook should surprise or intrigue the reader. For Here’s an introduction paragraph example, if you’re writing about climate change, you could start with a thought-provoking statement like, “Despite overwhelming evidence, many people still refuse to believe in the reality of climate change.” 

Including background information in the introduction section of your essay is important to provide context and establish the relevance of your topic. When writing the background information, you can follow these steps: 

• Start with a General Statement:  Begin with a general statement about the topic and gradually narrow it down to your specific focus. For example, when discussing the impact of social media, you can begin by making a broad statement about social media and its widespread use in today’s society, as follows: “Social media has become an integral part of modern life, with billions of users worldwide.” 
• Define Key Terms : Define any key terms or concepts that may be unfamiliar to your readers but are essential for understanding your argument. 
• Provide Relevant Statistics:  Use statistics or facts to highlight the significance of the issue you’re discussing. For instance, “According to a report by Statista, the number of social media users is expected to reach 4.41 billion by 2025.” 
• Discuss the Evolution:  Mention previous research or studies that have been conducted on the topic, especially those that are relevant to your argument. Mention key milestones or developments that have shaped its current impact. You can also outline some of the major effects of social media. For example, you can briefly describe how social media has evolved, including positives such as increased connectivity and issues like cyberbullying and privacy concerns. 
• Transition to Your Thesis:  Use the background information to lead into your thesis statement, which should clearly state the main argument or purpose of your essay. For example, “Given its pervasive influence, it is crucial to examine the impact of social media on mental health.” 

A thesis statement is a concise summary of the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, or other type of academic writing. It appears near the end of the introduction. Here’s how to write a thesis statement: 

• Identify the topic:  Start by identifying the topic of your essay. For example, if your essay is about the importance of exercise for overall health, your topic is “exercise.” 
• State your position:  Next, state your position or claim about the topic. This is the main argument or point you want to make. For example, if you believe that regular exercise is crucial for maintaining good health, your position could be: “Regular exercise is essential for maintaining good health.” 
• Support your position:  Provide a brief overview of the reasons or evidence that support your position. These will be the main points of your essay. For example, if you’re writing an essay about the importance of exercise, you could mention the physical health benefits, mental health benefits, and the role of exercise in disease prevention. 
• Make it specific:  Ensure your thesis statement clearly states what you will discuss in your essay. For example, instead of saying, “Exercise is good for you,” you could say, “Regular exercise, including cardiovascular and strength training, can improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.” 

Examples of essay introduction 

Here are examples of essay introductions for different types of essays: 

Argumentative Essay Introduction Example:  

Topic: Should the voting age be lowered to 16? 

“The question of whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has sparked nationwide debate. While some argue that 16-year-olds lack the requisite maturity and knowledge to make informed decisions, others argue that doing so would imbue young people with agency and give them a voice in shaping their future.” 

Expository Essay Introduction Example  

Topic: The benefits of regular exercise 

“In today’s fast-paced world, the importance of regular exercise cannot be overstated. From improving physical health to boosting mental well-being, the benefits of exercise are numerous and far-reaching. This essay will examine the various advantages of regular exercise and provide tips on incorporating it into your daily routine.” 

Text: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee 

“Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ is a timeless classic that explores themes of racism, injustice, and morality in the American South. Through the eyes of young Scout Finch, the reader is taken on a journey that challenges societal norms and forces characters to confront their prejudices. This essay will analyze the novel’s use of symbolism, character development, and narrative structure to uncover its deeper meaning and relevance to contemporary society.” 

• Engaging and Relevant First Sentence : The opening sentence captures the reader’s attention and relates directly to the topic. 
• Background Information : Enough background information is introduced to provide context for the thesis statement. 
• Definition of Important Terms : Key terms or concepts that might be unfamiliar to the audience or are central to the argument are defined. 
• Clear Thesis Statement : The thesis statement presents the main point or argument of the essay. 
• Relevance to Main Body : Everything in the introduction directly relates to and sets up the discussion in the main body of the essay. 

Writing a strong introduction is crucial for setting the tone and context of your essay. Here are the key takeaways for how to write essay introduction: 3  

• Hook the Reader : Start with an engaging hook to grab the reader’s attention. This could be a compelling question, a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or an anecdote. 
• Provide Background : Give a brief overview of the topic, setting the context and stage for the discussion. 
• Thesis Statement : State your thesis, which is the main argument or point of your essay. It should be concise, clear, and specific. 
• Preview the Structure : Outline the main points or arguments to help the reader understand the organization of your essay. 
• Keep it Concise : Avoid including unnecessary details or information not directly related to your thesis. 
• Revise and Edit : Revise your introduction to ensure clarity, coherence, and relevance. Check for grammar and spelling errors. 
• Seek Feedback : Get feedback from peers or instructors to improve your introduction further. 

The purpose of an essay introduction is to give an overview of the topic, context, and main ideas of the essay. It is meant to engage the reader, establish the tone for the rest of the essay, and introduce the thesis statement or central argument.  

An essay introduction typically ranges from 5-10% of the total word count. For example, in a 1,000-word essay, the introduction would be roughly 50-100 words. However, the length can vary depending on the complexity of the topic and the overall length of the essay.

An essay introduction is critical in engaging the reader and providing contextual information about the topic. To ensure its effectiveness, consider incorporating these key elements: a compelling hook, background information, a clear thesis statement, an outline of the essay’s scope, a smooth transition to the body, and optional signposting sentences.  

The process of writing an essay introduction is not necessarily straightforward, but there are several strategies that can be employed to achieve this end. When experiencing difficulty initiating the process, consider the following techniques: begin with an anecdote, a quotation, an image, a question, or a startling fact to pique the reader’s interest. It may also be helpful to consider the five W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where, why, and how.   For instance, an anecdotal opening could be structured as follows: “As I ascended the stage, momentarily blinded by the intense lights, I could sense the weight of a hundred eyes upon me, anticipating my next move. The topic of discussion was climate change, a subject I was passionate about, and it was my first public speaking event. Little did I know , that pivotal moment would not only alter my perspective but also chart my life’s course.” 

Crafting a compelling thesis statement for your introduction paragraph is crucial to grab your reader’s attention. To achieve this, avoid using overused phrases such as “In this paper, I will write about” or “I will focus on” as they lack originality. Instead, strive to engage your reader by substantiating your stance or proposition with a “so what” clause. While writing your thesis statement, aim to be precise, succinct, and clear in conveying your main argument.  

To create an effective essay introduction, ensure it is clear, engaging, relevant, and contains a concise thesis statement. It should transition smoothly into the essay and be long enough to cover necessary points but not become overwhelming. Seek feedback from peers or instructors to assess its effectiveness. 

References  

• Cui, L. (2022). Unit 6 Essay Introduction.  Building Academic Writing Skills . 
• West, H., Malcolm, G., Keywood, S., & Hill, J. (2019). Writing a successful essay.  Journal of Geography in Higher Education ,  43 (4), 609-617. 
• Beavers, M. E., Thoune, D. L., & McBeth, M. (2023). Bibliographic Essay: Reading, Researching, Teaching, and Writing with Hooks: A Queer Literacy Sponsorship. College English, 85(3), 230-242. 

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[ meyn ahy- dee - uh ]

Find the main idea in each paragraph.

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Word history and origins.

Origin of main idea 1

Example Sentences

The main idea is that you want all of your images somewhere in your sitemaps.

While the main idea is to get some laughs during a grim time, the goat video calls have managed to keep the 500-year-old farm afloat — and staff members employed.

“The main idea of the museum is to cheer people up,” Wynd says.

It is the myth in its entirety which is alone important: its parts are only of interest in so far as they bring out the main idea.

Fernald got up, and acting as though his main idea was just to stretch his legs, strolled up to the front of the car.

His main idea was, that he would see how much Bella knew before committing himself.

Perhaps the main idea in this was to have a handy refuge in case a sudden need arose.

The writer has already used the main idea of the allegory in the Ancrene Wisse (M 172, 271).

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