1. WHAT’S IT ABOUT??

2. IS THE CENTRAL POINT OF A PASSAGE OR TEXT MOST ARTICLES AND ESSAYS HAVE A MAIN IDEA: THESIS STATEMENT INDIVIDUAL PARAGRAPHS ALSO HAVE MAIN IDEAS MAIN IDEA OF A PARAGRAPH: USUALLY A TOPIC SENTENCE THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH SUPPLIES THE SUPPORTING DETAILS: EXAMPLES, EXPLANATIONS, REASONS MAIN IDEA

3. SKIM/ SCAN : LOOK AT THESIS STATEMENT, TOPIC SENTENCES, AND REPEATED WORDS READ CLOSELY : TO IDENTIFY THE KEY POINTS AND SUPPORTING DETAILS LET THE TEXT FEATURES HELP YOU!!!  TEXT IS DIVIDED INTO TOPICS AND IDEAS=READ THE HEADINGS/SUBHEADINGS!!  BOLD/ITALICS/UNDERLINED WORDS=IMPORTANT WORDS YOU NEED TO KNOW IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA

4. The safety rules that apply to biking can help young people when they begin to drive. Many bike programs and bike courts, like the one in Schaumburg, Illinois, have been developed to help cyclists. “The closer they are to driving a car,” Becky Steamer says, “the more likely they’ll end up in bike court. If they haven’t learned safety rules for a bike yet, it’s not too safe to send them out in a car.” IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

5. SUMMARIZING WHAT WAS THE PASSAGE ABOUT AGAIN?

6. SOMEBODY WANTED BUT SO (FICTION) SOMEBODYWANTEDBUTSO CINDERELLAWANTED TO GO TO THE BALL BUT HER STEP- MOTHER WOULDN’T LET HER CINDERELLA’S FAIRY GODMOTHER MAGICALLY GAVE HER ALL OF THE TRIMMINGS AND SENT HER TO THE BALL ANYWAY

7. THAT COULD BE MADE INTO ONE SENTENCE. WE DON’T LEARN ABOUT EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER, HIS/HER THOUGHTS, OR ACTIONS DOESN’T GET BOGGED DOWN IN ALL OF THE DETAILS DOESN’T GIVE AWAY THE ENDING IS NOT A PLOT DIAGRAM!!! NOTICE ANYTHING?

8. WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS WENT ON A MISSION JULY 10, 1986 TO THE MOON TO TRY TO FIND A CURE FOR CANCER WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY (NON-FICTION) COMMON WAY TO SUMMARIZE NON-FICTION IS TO TELL THE BASICS:

9. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? WHO WROTE IT? COMPLETE YOUR OWN SUMMARY OF THAT BOOK USING “SOMEBODY WANTED BUT SO” OR “WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY” MAKE YOUR OWN SUMMARY

10. WHERE DOES THE INFO GO?

12. I.INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH 1.HOOK, TRANSITION, THESIS II.BODY PARAGRAPH 1 1.TOPIC SENTENCE (TRANSITION) A.REASON 1 Supporting detail B.REASON 2 Supporting detail C.REASON 3 Supporting detail III.BODY PARAGRAPH 2 1.TOPIC SENTENCE (TRANSITION) A.REASON 1 Supporting detail B.REASON 2 Supporting detail C.REASON 3 Supporting detail IV.BODY PARAGRAPH 3 1.TOPIC SENTENCE (TRANSITION) A.REASON 1 Supporting detail B.REASON 2 Supporting detail C.REASON 3 Supporting detail V.CONCLUSION OUTLINE FORMAT

13. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN. DO AN OUTLINE OF THE FOLLOWING TOPIC: IDENTIFY ONE IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE. WRITE ABOUT THAT PERSON’S EFFECT ON YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT HIM OR HER. DO AN OUTLINE