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Reading and All That Jazz: Tuning Up Your Reading, Thinking, and Study Skills, 2/e

Peter Mather, Glendale Community College
Rita McCarthy, Glendale Community College

Topics, Main Ideas, and Details

Multiple Choice


1	What question can you ask to identify the topic of a paragraph?
		A)	"What is this all about?"
		B)	"Who is this all about?"
		C)	"Why did the author write this?"
		D)	Both a and b.


2	What question can you ask to identify the main idea of the paragraph?
		A)	"What is this all about?"
		B)	"Why did the author write this?"
		C)	"What key point does the author want me to know about the topic?"
		D)	None of the above.


3	Where is the main idea usually found?
		A)	always in the first sentence
		B)	always in the second sentence
		C)	always in the last sentence
		D)	usually but not always in the first or last sentence


4	What must the reader do if the main idea is not directly stated in a paragraph?
		A)	Keep searching for a clear statement of the main idea.
		B)	Find another source of information, because this one is not complete.
		C)	Assume the first sentence contains the main idea.
		D)	Come up with a general statement that unites the author's key details.


5	What information can you gain from supporting details?
		A)	facts and examples
		B)	reasons that explain or elaborate on the main idea
		C)	question words about the topic: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
		D)	All of the above


6	How can you tell the difference between a main idea and supporting details?
		A)	The main idea is general and supporting details are specific.
		B)	While a main idea can be directly stated in the paragraph or implied, supporting details are always directly stated.
		C)	A main idea is at the beginning of the paragraph, and supporting details are in the middle of the paragraph.
		D)	Both a and b.


7	What are you doing when you paraphrase?
		A)	identifying the purpose of the paragraph in a specific phrase
		B)	asking questions about the meaning of certain terms
		C)	expressing the author's meaning in your own words
		D)	determining the author's purpose for writing the paragraph

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