Main Idea

 
TOPIC
    A topic is also called the subject.
    The topic of a paragraph is the subject that it's about.  To find the topic, ask yourself this simple question:  In general, who or what is this paragraph about?
     Your answer to this question will be the paragraph's topic.

Read the paragraph below.  As you do so, ask yourself, "In general, who or what is this paragraph about?"

          Several remedies for too much sun can be made right in your kitchen.  For instance, you can soothe a case of sunburn by spreading plain yogurt over the burnt area for ten minutes.  Or you can sit in cool bath water to which you have added a cup of vinegar or baking soda.  If your eyes have been irritated by the sun, cover them for five minutes with chilled tea bags or cotton soaked in milk.

Now, can you choose the letter of the item that you think is the topic.  Your answer should not be too broad or too narrow.
       a.  Using yogurt to soothe sunburn
       b.  Remedies for too much sun
       c.  Remedies

The topic, remedies for too much sun, is general enough to include all of the other ideas in the paragraph.
Using yogurt to soothe sunburn is too narrow to be the topic of the paragraph.  It covers only one of the remedies mentioned.
 Remedies is too broad.  It includes remedies other than those for getting too much sun.

MAIN IDEA (Central Idea)
     The main idea is a general idea.  It states the chief point of a paragraph. Very often, the main idea appears in a sentence called the topic sentence.  The rest of the paragraph consists of specific ideas and details that support and explain the main ideas.

   To find the main idea, ask yourself,  what is the author telling us about the topic?

     Think of the main idea as an "umbrella" statement.  Under the main idea fits all the other material of the paragraph.  The other material is specific ideas in the form of examples, reasons, facts, and other supporting evidence.

     The topic sentence will state the main idea: a general idea that includes, or covers the other material in the paragraph.