TABE Level A Verbal: Reading for Main Ideas

You may have noticed that reading for main ideas and details is always one of the first skills taught in any reading improvement course. Of course, the reason is simple. How much can we get out of reading if we’re missing the main point?

A reader should prepare himself or herself for reading just as an athlete prepares for an athletic event. Athletes need to warm up before a practice session, and so does a reader before a reading session. Your warm-up involves getting your brain “warmed up” to the subject matter. How do you do that?

Look first for the main idea.

Tips:
- Look at the title of the passage if there is one. The title should, at least, suggest the topic. Does it give clues to the main idea?
- Ask yourself, before you read the passage, whether you already know something about the topic. You may be able to predict what it is about.
- Ask yourself what you can expect to learn from the reading. After you finish reading, go back and check to see if you were right.
- Look for graphic information and pictures for clues to the main idea before you start reading.
- As you read, actively look for the main idea.

This warm-up will take very little time. The more often you practice this skill, the faster you will become, and it is well worth it. At the end of a reading, you won’t hear yourself saying, “I just read two pages and I have no idea what they were about!”

When you read for a main idea, you actively look for the most important thought in the passage. You ask yourself what idea the writer wanted you to know after reading the passage. For example, in the paragraph that follows, what is the main idea? Look for the sentence that tells what the paragraph is about. Is there a clue to the main idea before you even read the first sentence?

Example: The Changing Employment Picture
Today, workers know that what they can expect from employers has changed. Employees used to expect to work for the same company for a very long time. It was not unusual for a person to start working for a company after high school or college and to work there until retirement. Now, young people can expect to change jobs many times during their working years.

Your first clue to the main idea is in the title. After reading the title, you knew the topic of the paragraph. The passage would be about working and about change. Did you know something about this topic? If you did, your mind was jogged to predict what it might be about. You thought it might be about how many people were working. Or, it might be about the different kinds of jobs and where they were available. However, once you read the first sentence, the main idea became clearer. The change you might expect had to do with employers and what workers might expect from them.

Clue: Topic—The Changing Employment Picture
Main Idea: Today, workers know that what they can expect from employers has changed.

Now look at the next paragraph in the passage. Remember to keep your mind active as you read: What is the writer’s main idea? Where is it placed in the paragraph?

Job change may occur in the company for which a person has been working; or, job change may mean finding a job in a different company. For example, a person may be hired to do a certain job. A while later, the employer has a different need and asks the worker to do a different job. Or, a person may be hired to do a certain job and, later, the company goes out of business. Either case requires a job change.

Main Idea: Which sentence states the main idea?
In the preceding paragraph, you found the main idea in the first sentence. If the main idea is not found in the first sentence, where might it be? Sometimes a writer starts a paragraph with a transitional sentence, tying the first sentence to the previous paragraph. You will read more about that later. Or, the writer might want to build evidence in the paragraph. In that case, the writer might start with supporting ideas and work up to the main idea, placing it in the last sentence.

Example:  Keep a portfolio of your accomplishments at work and carry that into any meeting about a salary or a raise. If this is a first job, list any internships you may have had during school. These work experiences may add to your salary level. Of course, know what the typical salary level is for a job in your field. If you apply for a job or ask for a raise, certain preparations will help you get a better salary.
Main Idea: Which sentence states the main idea?
In the preceding paragraph, the writer summarized or added up all the details in the last sentence. That is where you found the main idea. All of the sentences before the last one included a technique for getting a higher salary or a raise.

Other times, the main idea is not stated at all. If that is the case, the reader has to add up the clues and ideas in the reading and reach a conclusion about the main idea. For now, you should know that the main idea is most often found in the first sentence.