identifying topics

7/23/2019 Identifying Topics

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https://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/308.HTM

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and SupportingDetails

Understanding the topic , the gist , or the larger conceptualframework of a textbook chapter, an article, a paragraph, asentence or a passage is a sophisticated reading task. Being ableto draw conclusions, evaluate, and critically interpret articles orchapters is important for overall comprehension in college reading.Textbook chapters, articles, paragraphs, sentences, or passages all

have topics and main ideas. The topic is the broad, general themeor message. It is what some call the subject. The main idea is thekey concept being expressed. Details, major and minor, supportthe main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much,or how many. !ocating the topic, main idea, and supporting detailshelps you understand the point"s# the writer is attempting toexpress. Identifying the relationship between these will increaseyour comprehension.

Applying Strategy

The successful communication of any author$s topic is only as goodas the organi%ation the author uses to build and define his&hersubject matter.

Grasping the Main Idea:

' paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, orcentral theme. (very paragraph has a key concept or main idea.

The main idea is the most important piece of information theauthor wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph.

)hen authors write they have an idea in mind that they are tryingto get across. This is especially true as authors composeparagraphs. 'n author organi%es each paragraph$s main idea and



supporting details in support of the topic or central theme, andeach paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it.

' writer will state his&her main idea explicitly somewhere in the

paragraph. That main idea may be stated at the beginning of theparagraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which themain idea is stated is the topic sentence of that paragraph.

The topic sentence announces the general theme " or portion ofthe theme# to be dealt with in the paragraph. 'lthough the topicsentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first* and for a very good reason. This sentence provides the focus forthe writer while writing and for the reader while reading. )hen youfind the topic sentence, be sure to underline it so that it will stand

out not only now, but also later when you review.

Identifying the Topic:

The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main idea of aparagraph is to identify the topic * the subject of the paragraph.Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic being the hub *the central core around which the whole wheel "or paragraph#spins. +our strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself the uestion, )hat is this about- eep asking yourself thatuestion as you read a paragraph, until the answer to youruestion becomes clear. /ometimes you can spot the topic bylooking for a word or two that repeat. Usually you can state thetopic in a few words.

!et us try this topic*finding strategy. 0eread the first paragraph onthis page * the first paragraph under the heading Grasping theMain Idea. 'sk yourself the uestion, )hat is this paragraphabout- To answer, say to yourself in your mind, The author keepstalking about paragraphs and the way they are designed. Thismust be the topic * paragraph organi%ation. 0eread the secondparagraph of the same section. 'sk yourself )hat is thisparagraph about- 1id you say to yourself, This paragraph isabout different ways to organi%e a paragraph- That is the topic.2ext, reread the third paragraph and see if you can find the topicof the paragraph. 3ow- )rite the topic in the margin next to this



paragraph. 0emember, getting the main idea of a paragraph iscrucial to reading.

The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supportingsentences "major and minor details#, which help to explain or

prove the main idea. These sentences present facts, reasons,examples, definitions, comparison, contrasts, and other pertinentdetails. They are most important because they sell the main idea.

The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concludingsentence. It is used to sum up a discussion, to emphasi%e a point,or to restate all or part of the topic sentence so as to bring theparagraph to a close. The last sentence may also be a transitionalsentence leading to the next paragraph.

4f course, the paragraphs you$ll be reading will be part of some

longer piece of writing * a textbook chapter, a section of a chapter,or a newspaper or maga%ine article. Besides expositoryparagraphs, in which new information is presented and discussed,these longer writings contain three types ofparagraphs5 introductory, transitional , and summarizing.

Introductory paragraphs tell you, in advance, such things as "6#the main ideas of the chapter or section7 "8# the extent or limits of the coverage7 "9# how the topic is developed7 and ":# the writer$sattitude toward the topic. Transitional paragraphs are usually

short7 their sole function is to tie together what you have read sofar and what is to come * to set the stage for succeeding ideas ofthe chapter or section. Summarizingparagraphs are used torestate briefly the main ideas of the chapter or section. The writermay also draw some conclusion from these ideas, or speculate onsome conclusion based on the evidence he&she has presented.

'll three types should alert you5 the introductory paragraph ofthings to come7 the transitional paragraph of a new topic7 and thesummari%ing paragraph of main ideas that you should have gotten.

Exercise:

Read the following paragraph and underline the stated mainidea. Write down in your own words what you are able toconclude from the information.



The rules of conduct during an examination are clear. 2o books,calculators or papers are allowed in the test room. ;roctors will notallow anyone with such items to take the test. 'nyone caughtcheating will be asked to leave the room. 3is or her test sheet will

be taken. The incident will be reported to the proper authority. 'tthe end of the test period, all materials will be returned to theproctor. <ailure to abide by these rules will result in a failing gradefor this test.

Answer:

+ou should have underlined the first sentence in the paragraph *this is the stated main idea. )hat can be concluded from theinformation is5 If you do not follow the rules, you will automatically

fail the test. This concluding information is found in the lastsentence.

You can't comprehend the subject matter if you haven't identifyied the topic, the main idea, and the supporting details.

Making Inferences and Drawing onclusions

!ead with purpose and "eaning1rawing conclusions refers to information that is implied orinferred. This means that the information is never clearly stated.

)riters often tell you more than they say directly. They give youhints or clues that help you read between the lines. Using theseclues to give you a deeper understanding of your reading iscalled inferring. )hen you infer , you go beyond the surfacedetails to see other meanings that the details suggestor imply "not stated#. )hen the meanings of words are not statedclearly in the context of the text, they may be implied * that is,suggested or hinted at. )hen meanings are implied, youmay infer them.

Inference is just a big word that meansa conclusion or udgement . If you infer that something has



happened, you do not see, hear, feel, smell, or taste the actualevent. But from what you know, it makes sense to think that it hashappened. +ou make inferences everyday. =ost of the time you doso without thinking about it. /uppose you are sitting in your car

stopped at a red signal light. +ou hear screeching tires, then a loudcrash and breaking glass. +ou see nothing, but you infer thatthere has been a car accident. )e all know the sounds ofscreeching tires and a crash. )e know that these sounds almostalways mean a car accident. But there could be some otherreason, and therefore another explanation, for the sounds.;erhaps it was not an accident involving two moving vehicles.=aybe an angry driver rammed a parked car. 4r maybe someoneplayed the sound of a car crash from a recording.=aking inferences means choosing the most likely explanation

from the facts at hand.

There are several ways to help you draw conclusions from what anauthor may be implying. The following are descriptions of thevarious ways to aid you in reaching a conclusion.

General Sense

The meaning of a word may be implied by the general sense of its

context, as the meaning of the word incarcerated is implied inthe following sentence5

Murderers are usually incarcerated for longer periods of time thanrobbers.

+ou may infer the meaning of incarcerated by answering theuestion )hat usually happens to those found guilty of murder orrobbery- Use the text box below to write down what you haveinferred as the meaning of the word incarcerated .

If you answered that they are locked up in jail, prison, or apenitentiary, you correctly inferred the meaning of incarcerated.

Exa"ples



)hen the meaning of the word is not implied by the general senseof its context, it may be implied by examples. <or instance,

Those who enjoy belonging to clubs, going to parties, and invitingfriends often to their homes for dinner are gregarious.

+ou may infer the meaning of gregarious by answering theuestion )hat word or words describe people who belong toclubs, go to parties a lot, and often invite friends over to theirhomes for dinner- Use the lines below to write down what youhave inferred as the meaning of the word gregarious.

If you wrote social or something like5 people who enjoy thecompany of others, you correctly inferred the meaningof gregarious.

Antony"s and ontrasts

)hen the meaning of a word is not implied by the general sense of its context or by examples, it may be implied by an antonym or bya contrasting thought in a context. !ntonyms are words that haveopposite meanings, such as happy and sad. <or instance,

Ben is fearless, but his brother is timorous.

+ou may infer the meaning of timorous by answering the uestionIf Ben is fearless and >im is very different from Ben with regard tofear, then what word describes >im- )rite your answer on thefollowing line.

If you wrote a word such as timid , or afraid , or fearful , youinferred the meaning of timorous.

' contrast in the following sentence implies the meaningof credence"



Dad gave credence to my story, but Mom's reaction was one oftotal disbelief.

+ou may infer the meaning of credence by answering theuestion If =om$s reaction was disbelief and 1ad$s reaction wasvery different from =om$s, what was 1ad$s reaction- )rite youranswer on the following lines.

If you wrote that 1ad believed the story, you correctly inferred themeaning of credence7 it means belief.

#e areful of the Meaning $ou Infer%

)hen a sentence contains an unfamiliar word, it is sometimespossible to infer the general meaning of the sentence withoutinferring the exact meaning of the unknown word. <or instance,

hen we invite the !aulsons for dinner, they never invite us totheir home for a meal" however, when we have the Browns todinner, they always reciprocate.

In reading this sentence some students infer that the Browns are

more desirable dinner guests than the ;aulsons without inferringthe exact meaning of reciprocate. 4ther students conclude thatthe Browns differ from the ;aulsons in that they do something inreturn when they are invited for dinner7 these students concludecorrectly thatreciprocate means to do something in return.

In drawing conclusions &"aking inferences', you are really getting at the

ulti"ate "eaning of things ( what is i"portant, why it is i"portant,

how one e)ent influences another, how one happening leads to

another* Si"ply getting the facts in reading is not enough ( you "ust

think a+out what those facts "ean to you*

Interpreting hat $ou !ead

-act or .pinion



Because writers don$t always say things directly, sometimes it isdifficult to figure out what a writer really means or what he or sheis really trying to say. +ou need to learn to read between thelines * to take the information the writer gives you and figure

things out for yourself.

+ou will also need to learn to distinguishbetween fact and opinion. )riters often tell us what they think orhow they feel, but they don$t always give us the facts. It$simportant to be able to interpret what the writer is saying so youcan form opinions of your own. 's you read an author$s views, youshould ask yourself if the author is presenting you with anestablished fact or with a personal opinion. /ince the two mayappear close together, even in the same sentence, you have to be

able to distinguish between them.

The key difference between facts and opinions is that facts can beverified, or checked for accuracy, by anyone. In contrast, opinionscannot be checked for accuracy by some outside source. 4pinionsare what someone personally thinks or how he&she feel about anissue. 4pinions by definition are subjective and relative.

Defining A -act

<acts are objective, concrete bits of information. They can befound in official government and legal records, and in the physicalsciences. <acts can be found in reference books, such asencyclopedias and atlases, textbooks, and relevant publications.4bjective facts are what researchers seek in laboratories orthrough controlled studies. <acts are usually expressed by precisenumbers or uantities, in weights and measures, and in concretelanguage. The decisions of ?ongress, specific technological data,birth records, historical documents, all provide researchers withreliable facts.

/ince anyone can look up facts, facts are generally not the subjectof disputes. 3owever, not all facts are absolutes. 4ften theproblem is that facts are simply not readily available * such asbattles like the !ittle&Big 3orn where all the witnesses who couldgive information on what happened died in the disaster.



In 6@A, !ieutenant ?olonel Ceorge 'rmstrong ?uster and his Ath

?avalry engaged in a fight with /ioux Indians along the !ittle&Big

3orn 0ivers in =ontana. ?uster and his entire company were wiped

out7 no one survived to tell what really happened.

In this instance, we can only read opinions on how this disasterbefell ?uster.

To sum up, facts

• can be verified in reference books, official records, and so

forth.

• are expressed in concrete language or specific numbers.

• once verified, are generally agreed upon by people.

Deter"ining An .pinion

4pinions are based on subjective judgment and personal valuesrather than on information that can be verified. 'n opinion is abelief that someone holds without complete proof or positiveknowledge that it is correct. (ven experts who have studied thesame issue carefully often have very different opinions about thatissue.

4pinions are often disputed, and many times involve abstractconcepts and complex moral issues such as right or wrong,fairness and loyalty. 'bstract concepts, because they are not easilyunderstood, can never be defined to everyone$s satisfaction. <orexample, each of us holds a personal opinion about what fairnessor loyalty is, about gun control and abortion, and these issuesalways remain a matter of opinion, not fact.

'lthough opinions cannot be verified for accuracy, writers should,nevertheless, back their opinions with evidence, facts, and reason* by whatever information supports the opinion and convinces thereader that it is a valid opinion. ' #alid opinion is one in which thewriter$s support for his or her opinion is solid and persuasive, andone in which the writer cites other respected authorities who are inagreement. If a writer presents an extreme or unconvincingopinion, the reader should remain wary or unconvinced.



)riters often slip their personal opinions into a piece of writing,even when it is suppose to be a factual account7 alert readerscan identify subjective opinions by studying the writer$s language.

• 4pinions are often expressed as comparisons "more,

strongest, less, most, least efficient, but#5

The painter ;ablo ;icasso was far more innovative than any of hiscontemporaries.

• 4pinions are often expressed by adjectives "brilliant,

vindictive, fair, trustworthy#5

0onald 0eagan was a con#incing speaker when he read a

prepared address but was noteffecti#e at press conferences.

• 4pinions often involve evaluations5

The excellence of her science project was a model for otherstudents.

• 4pinions are often introduced by verbs and adverbs that

suggest some doubt in the writer$s mind5o It appears she was confused.

o /he seems to have the ualifications for the position.o They probably used dirty tricks to win.

/ome opinions obviously deserve more attention than others do.)hen expert economists, such as >ohn enneth Calbraith or ;aulDolcher, discuss the U./. economy, their opinions are moreinformed and therefore more reliable than the opinions of people

who know very little about economic policy. /imilarly, whensomeone is a specialist on the poet >ohn eats, that person$sopinion of eat$s poems should be given considerable weight.

Become an alert and critical reader. Understand the differencesbetween facts and opinions, and interpret and apply both into yourcritical thinking.



Techni/ues -or oncentrating and !e"e"+ering

oncentrating takes discipline% !e"e"+ering takes practice%

#etter oncentration:

'ny organi%ed attempt on your part to remember more of whatyou read involves your ability to concentrate on the material youare reading. Intense concentration increases the time you spendattending to the task, an important element in reading. /tudentswho are impulsive in their actions often find it difficult toconcentrate for any length of time. !ikewise, students who are

passive in their approach to learning * those who are not activelyengaged and thinking about what they are reading * often fail toget involved with the material enough to concentrate for longperiods of time. 3ere are some ways to improve yourconcentration5

• Impro#e your attitude $ /ome subjects you will encounter incollege may not be of high interest to you. 2ot only that, somesubjects may not seem relevant to your field of study. +oumust maintain a positive attitude however and reali%e there is

a job to be doneE To get your degree, you must pass all thesecourses, not just the ones you like.

• !ttend to the tas% $ ?oncentration is a must for successful

reading. +et many distractions may be encountered whichlessen your ability to stick to the task and concentrate for longperiods of time. ' good idea is to keep a distraction list oftimes you were interrupted from concentrating on yourreading. The list may include items such as5 a# type of bookbeing read7 b# number of minutes reading before distraction7c# type of distraction7 d# amount of time taken by thedistraction7 and e# a goal to improve. ?oncentration isimproved if you study when you are the most alert, least tiredand in good physical condition. 1uring your scheduled breaks,get up from your desk and walk around or do somethingphysical for about 6F minutes.



• &stablish a purpose $ If you first determine a purpose for

reading, you then have a reason for thinking as well as forcompleting the reading assignment. ;urpose helps focus yourattention and improve your concentration. )rite out some

uestions that pertain to the subject matter you are about toread. <or instance, what specifically do you want to know orneed to know about this subject- By pre*selecting uestions toanswer, you become an active participant in thelearning&reading process.

• &liminate emotional stress $ 0id yourself of impulsive and

avoidance behavior due to overwhelming daily stress bykeeping a blame list. This is a list of all the people,situations, circumstances, etc., that you blame for youravoidance behavior. +our blame list can be a benefit in getting

you to face your problems suarely. Today$s world is highlycomplex, technocratic, and impersonal. It is no wonder youfeel emotionally stressed and drained at times. If you findyourself in the middle of a brief depression or emotionalupheaval, do something physical or any activity that is notmind taxing.

In summary, remember to maintain a positive attitude, avoidnegative people and influences, stay active in the learning process

without being hyperactive about it, keep a list of distractions tohelp eliminate some impulsive behavior, choose carefully yourplace and time to study, and try physical activity to burn off stressand to maintain an alert mind.

Techni/ues for !e"e"+ering:

• ! push from short$term to long$term memory $ To

transfer information from short* term to long* term,permanent memory, the brain has to perform several

functions. The brain by nature is a selective organ, committingto permanent memory only those items it deems areabsolutely necessary to retain. +ou must determine what isimportant and what is just fluff. If the information is importantand needs to be stored, you must perform an essentialoperation to insure transfer into permanent memory. This



process is called recitation or #erbalization. +ou help totransfer the information through the recitation process byrepeating the information over and over again, or bysummari%ing the information in your own words. This process

of reciting important information enables the brain topermanently store the information. 0ecitation is the best wayto commit large amounts of information to long*term memory.

• Sorting Information $ /orting large amounts of information

into categories can help you remember information moreaccurately and retrieve information faster. <or instance,suppose you had to learn the following concepts for a businessclass5 tools, labor, trees, wildlife, human resources, minerals,machinery, capital resources, factories, tractors, water, power plants, manpower, natural resource, typewriters. These

concepts would be difficult to learn and remember if you weremerely trying to memori%e the individual terms. If you sortthese terms into major categories, you will place a value onthe terms and give them meaning. These individual termscould be held in short*term memory long enough for you topush them into long*term memory by using the recitationprocess. <or example5

Natural Resources Capital Resources Human Resources

Minerals tools labor

Water machinery manpower Trees power plants

Wildlife factories

tractorstypewriters

If you stop your reading often to review and categori%e, it willbe easier to verbali%e the information at the end of thereading, thereby, improving your long*term memory.

• 'nemonic De#ices $ =nemonic aids "from the Creek word

meaning $to bring to mind$# are specific memory enhancingtechniues which can be useful in learning enormous amountsof seemingly unrelated information. =nemonic devices are bestsuited for remembering facts and least helpful in the



interpretation of facts or in relating learned material to yourlife situations. /ome mnemonic examples are5

6. rhymes78. 'cronyms7

9. catch phrases7:. association by image7G. peg words

• 0isuali1e the word you want to spell

• The human brain is divided into two hemispheres7 left and

right. (ach hemisphere has speciali%ed capabilities and eachprocesses different types of information. The left hemisphereoperates in a rational, analytical manner. It processes verbalinformation. It is the seat of language and logical thinking. It

organi%es and categori%es information. The right hemisphereoperates in an intuitive, holistic manner. It processes visualand spatial information. It is the seat of creativity andimagination. It combines separate elements to form coherentwholes.

• 2ote taking, lecturing, reading, and analytical thought are left*

brain skills. 0ecogni%ing patterns, configurations, shapes, andforms7 intuitive thought7 and visuali%ation are right*brainskills. /tudents spend most of their time developing left*brain

"verbal# skills. Those students who are also thinking pictorially,focusing on the whole instead of on separate parts, andtrusting intuition, are taking advantage of both of the ways inwhich the brain makes learning possible.

• 'ccording to 'llan ;aivio of the University of )estern 4ntario,

who has done a great deal of research on memory, if youcommit facts and ideas to memory through words only, youare using only half of your brainpower.6 )hen a fact or ideathat you memori%ed through words "and stored in the left

hemisphere of your brain# is also memori%ed through a pictureor sketch "and is stored in the right hemisphere of your brain#,you set up a powerful combination in your memory. +ou candraw on this combination later when you need to recall the factor idea.



• <or holistic learning to take place, the left side of your brain

must cooperate and harmoni%e with the right side. Thiscooperation is easy to gain if you make it a habit to convertwords into actual pictures or diagrams in your notes, or to

convert words into mental pictures or images on theblackboard of your mind. Derbal descriptions often lendthemselves uite easily to visual representation. Unfortunately,in many textbooks, pictures and diagrams are not asnumerous as they should be. )hen a key concept lacks apicture, you can act as your textbook$s illustrator by drawingwhat you read.

.rgani1ational 2atterns of 2aragraphs

The +asic unit of thought

;erhaps one of the best ways to improve your reading ability is tolearn to read paragraphs effectively. =any experts believe theparagraph, not the sentence, is the basic unit of thought of aselection. If one can uickly grasp the meaning of each of thesethough units while reading, then comprehension will beheightened.

It is important to identify with the author$s perspective bydiscovering the way the message is being sent. (very writer has apurpose for writing and some plan of action for getting a messageacross. This plan of action is the order in which the material will bepresented in the text. This order, often called a pattern oforgani%ation, should be present in acceptable writing from thesmallest to the largest unit of writing5 the paragraph, groups ofparagraphs, sub*chapters, chapters, groups of chapters, wholebooks, and even series of books. (ach of these, then, contains acertain pattern of organi%ation.

'nticipating the order in which the material will be presented helpsyou put the facts into perspective and to see how the parts fit intothe whole. <or example, if the selection begins by indicating thatthere are four important components of management, you arealert to look for four key phrases to mark and remember. !ikewise,if a comparison is suggested, you want to note the points that are



similar in nature. <or material that shows cause and effect, youneed to anticipate the linkage and note the relationship.

The importance of these patterns is that they signal how the factswill be presented. They are blueprints for you to use.

In textbook reading the number of details can be overwhelming.The mind responds to logical patterns7 relating the small parts tothe whole simplifies complexities of the material and makesremembering easier.

'lthough key signal words help in identifying the particular typeof pattern, a single paragraph can be a mixture of differentpatterns. +our aim is to anticipate the overall pattern and then

place the facts into a broad perspective.

The following six examples are the patterns of organi%ation thatare most freuently found in textbooks.

Si"ple 3isting

Items are randomly listed in a series of supporting facts or details.These supporting elements are of eual value, and the order inwhich they are presented is of no importance. ?hanging the orderof the items does not change the meaning of the paragraph.

Signal words often used for simple listing are5

• in addition

• another

• for example

• also

• several

• a number of

Description

1escription is like listing7 the characters that make up adescription are no more than a simple listing of details.



Definition

<reuently in textbook reading an entire paragraph is devoted todefining a complex term or idea. The concept is initially definedand then further expanded with examples and restatements.

Signal words often used for definition are5

• is defined as

• means

• is described as

• is called

• refers to

• term or concept

hronological &Ti"e' .rder or Se/uence

Items are listed in the order in which they occurred or in a

specifically planned order in which they must develop. In this case,the order is important and changing it would change the meaning.

Signal words often used for chronological order or seuence are5

• first, second, third

• before, after

• when

• later

• until

• at last

• next

o"parison ( ontrast

Items are related by the comparisons "similarities# that are madeor by the contrasts "differences# that are presented. The author$spurpose is to show similarities and differences.

Signal words often used for comparison*contrast are5

• similar, different

• on the other hand

• but

• however

• bigger than, smaller than

• in the same way

• parallels

ause and Effect

In this pattern, one item is showed as having produced anotherelement. 'n event "effect# is said to have happened because of



some situation or circumstance "cause#. The cause "the action#stimulates the event, or effect "the outcome#.

Signal words often used for cause and effect are5

• for this reason• conseuently

• on that acount

• hence• because

• made

identifying topics

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