Chapter 3: Thesis, Main Ideas, Supporting Details, & Transitions Reading Across the Disciplines: College Reading and Beyond, 2/e Kathleen McWhorter © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

In this chapter you will learn how to: Identify the thesis of a reading assignment. Distinguish main ideas and supporting details. Recognize transitions that writers use to link ideas together. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Identifying the Thesis The thesis is what the entire reading selection is about; it is the one most important idea that the entire article is written to explain. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Main Ideas A paragraph is a group of related sentences that express a single idea about a single topic—the main idea. Main Idea Detail © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

The topic sentence is the one sentence that expresses the main idea. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

The Topic Sentence First The author first states his or her main point and then explains it. Main Point Detail Most common © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Topic Sentence Last The author leads up to the main point and then directly states it at the end. Detail Main Point © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Topic Sentence in the Middle Some details lead up to or introduce the main idea while others follow the main idea to further explain or describe it. Detail Main Point © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Topic Sentence First & Last Writers may emphasize an important idea at the beginning and then again at the end. Or, the first and last sentence together express the paragraph’s main point. Main Point Detail © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Finding the Implied Main Idea Identify the topic. Decide what the author wants you to know about the topic (main idea) and look at the supporting details. Express this idea in your own words. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Recognizing Supporting Details Supporting details are those facts and ideas that prove or explain the main idea of a paragraph. Identify the main idea. List supporting points for the main idea. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

Recognizing Transitions Transitions are linking words or phrases used to lead the reader from one idea to another. © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

© 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Common Transitions Time-Sequence—first, later, next Example—for instance, such as Enumeration —first, second, next Continuation—also, in addition Contrast—however, in contrast Comparison—similarly, like Cause-Effect—because, therefore © 2005 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

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