1. NON-FICTION UNIT STUDY ISLAND SKILLS
(A) Main Ideas/Supporting Details, (B) Summarization,
(C) Author’s Purpose &Attitude/Tone
*EXTRA CREDIT: Inferences/Conclusions/Generalizations,

2. (A) MAIN IDEAS & SUPPORTING DETAILS
The main idea of a story or article is the primary message that the author wants the reader to understand. A common method of determining the main idea of a short piece of writing, such as a paragraph, is to identify the topic sentence of the paragraph. Or, if it is still unclear or if it’s a larger piece of writing, ask yourself these basic questions:
Why did the author write this passage?
What is the point the author is trying to make?
What is the passage mostly about?
What idea is conveyed in the passage?

3. (A) MAIN IDEAS & SUPPORTING DETAILS
Supporting details are statements, descriptions, and facts (basically any evidence) that support the main idea. After you have identified the topic sentence and/or main idea of a passage, you should be able to recognize the supporting details that back it up.
SAMPLE
Dogs make wonderful pets. They are easily trained and housebroken, and they will love you unconditionally. They are also very protective of their territory and will bark and growl at any unknown people who try to enter your home, offering an inexpensive form of home security. Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, so it should be fairly effortless to find one that fits your lifestyle.
MAIN IDEA: Dogs make wonderful pets.
SUPPORTING DETAILS:
Dogs are easily trained and housebroken.
Dogs are an inexpensive form of home security.
There are many types of dogs to fit many types of living situations.

4. (B) SUMMARIZATION
A summary is a shortened version of a longer work, including the main idea and most important details of the original, but in your own words.
In order for a summary to be effective, we need to:
(1) identify the main idea,
(2) the most important supporting details, and
(3) the underlying meaning of the passage as a whole.

5. (A) AUTHOR’S PURPOSE & ATTITUDE
It is important for you to understand the author's purpose in a text. An author can write for different reasons. The following are different purposes an author may have in mind while writing:
DESCRIBE
INFORM
PERSUADE
NARRATE
ENTERTAIN

6. (A) AUTHOR’S PURPOSE & ATTITUDE
The author's attitude is related to the author's tone. The reader must determine this aspect of a passage by analyzing the author's perspective and point of view—how the author thinks and feels about a particular subject
STEP 1: Consider the purpose…. Why write it?
STEP 2: Consider the tone… feelings toward the topic?
STEP 3: Consider if the author fairly presented all sides…. Was he/she fair or realistic about the issue? Did he/she get emotional?
COMMON TONE/ATTITUDES:
Arrogant compassionate
Critical cynical
Defensive humorous
Impartial inspirational
Ironic moralizing
Nostalgic patriotic
Perplexed pessimistic
Reflective reverent
Satirical sentimental
Serious witty

7. (D) INFERENCES, CONCLUSIONS, & GENERALIZATIONS
For inferences and conclusions, you make guesses about things not directly stated in the passage. You use details provided by the author along with what you know of real life to make conclusions and inferences.
A generalization is a general rule drawn from looking at facts and figuring out what they have in common. In a generalization, a reasoning, is formulated about something specific where some observations are made and then conclusions are drawn concerning the larger category of that specific instance.
*If a generalization is valid, it is well supported by facts, experience and logic.

8. (D) INFERENCES, CONCLUSIONS, & GENERALIZATIONS
TYPES OF/FORMAT OF
QUESTIONS ASKED:
 Which of the following generalizations can you make from line…?
Based on _____, what can you reasonably conclude?
Which of the following evidence supports the conclusion that…?
Based on the qualities the characters have shown in this selection, what generalization can you make about his/her character?
Which of the following might lead you to predict that…?
Which of the following clues tell you that…?
TIPS FOR INFERENCES/CONCLUSIONS:
Read a passage carefully.
Look for details…
about what a person does. What do the person’s actions tell you? What can you conclude about the person’s traits?
that describe a place or event. Based on real life, what do those details tell you?
Look for facts given in a nonfiction passage. Ask yourself, what do those facts mean overall? What do the facts tell me about the subject?
Analyze the way the author discusses and describes the topic. What can you tell about the author from his or her writing? How does the author probably feel about the topic?
Make an inference or conclusion about something in the passage that led you to that conclusion.