You are on your way to your class, and your friend asks you about movie you saw last night. Your friend doesn’t have time to hear about the whole two hours of the movie, but you can tell you friend in a few sentences what the movie is about.
What’s it all about?
The answer to this question is the main idea. The Main idea refers to what a paragraph or an article is about. “Main” means what is important, or key, the heart of the matter. “Idea” means the thought, the thesis or the topic.
Where are main ideas found?
It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text.
Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the
subject being discussed in the passage.