DISTINGUISH MAIN IDEA FROM ITS SUPPORTING IDEAS October 5th 2010 What? Main idea of a paragraph is like an umbrella that “covers” the rest of the sentences in the paragraph. The other sentences in the paragraph offer support for support for the main idea. Supporting ideas are also known as supporting details. Kinds of supporting ideas
Major supporting ideas
Minor supporting ideas à sentence (s) indirectly support the main idea. It directly supports the major supporting ideas.
à
sentence (s) directly support the main idea
How? If you’re not sure whether something is a main idea or supporting idea, ask yourself whether the sentence is making a general statement or providing specific information. e.g. (1) Due to increasing costs, there will be two changes in the tuition reimbursement program that will significantly reduce employee benefits. (2) First, reimbursement has been reduced from 100 percent to 60 percent of tuition costs for each course in which the student earns a “C” or better. (3) For example, if you pay $1,000 for a course, and earn at least a C in that course, you will be reimbursed in the amount of $600. (4) Second, employees will now be limited to $2,000 in reimbursement expenses per year. (5) Thus, if your tuition per course equals $1,000, you will be reimbursed $600 per course for each of your three courses but only $200 for the fourth course because you will have reached the $2,000 limit. (6)Any additional courses in that year will not be reimbursed. Analysis Sentence 2,3,4,5, and 6 are not general enough to serve as an umbrella for the whole paragraph. Instead, they are making very specific statements. Therefore, they must be working to support the main idea. Sentences 2 and 4 give the details of the change in the tuition reimbursement program. Sentences 3, 5, and 6 give specific examples of those changes. In conclusion, sentence 1 is the …................... of the paragraph The text Organization Main idea (1) Detail (2) Example (3) Detail (4) Example (5, 6) Now, read the following examples carefully and pay attention to the location of the main idea, and the difference between major and minor detail
Example 1
Main Idea at the beginning
The total number of insect species is greater than the total of all other species combined. About a million insect species are known today, and researchers estimate that at least twice this many exist (mostly in tropical forests) but have not yet been discovered. Insects have been prominent on land for the last 400 4 00 million years. They have been much less successful in aquatic environments; there are only about 20,000 species in freshwater habitats and far fewer in the sea. Neil A. Campbell, Lawrence G. Mitchell, and Jane B. Reece, Biology, 3rd ed., p.382
Main idea
Major Detail
Minor Detail
Jumlah spesies serangga lebih besar dari total dari semua jenis lainnya digabungkan. Sekitar satu juta spesies serangga yang dikenal saat ini, dan peneliti memperkirakan bahwa setidaknya dua kali ini ada banyak (terutama di hutan tropis) tetapi belum ditemukan. Serangga telah menonjol di darat selama 400 juta tahun terakhir. Mereka telah banyak kurang berhasil dalam lingkungan perairan, hanya ada sekitar 20.000 spesies di habitat air tawar dan jauh lebih sedikit di laut.
Example 2
Main Idea at the end
Throughout U.S. history, various groups that believed the government would not respond to their needs have resorted to some form of violence. Analyzing fiftythree U.S. protest movements, William Gamson (1975) found that 75 percent of the groups that used violence got what they wanted, compared with only 53 percent of those that were nonviolent. Violence, it seems can pay off. Alex Thio, Sociology: A Brief Introduction, 4th ed., p.369
Minor Detail
Major Detail
Main Idea
Sepanjang sejarah AS, berbagai kelompok yang percaya pemerintah tidak akan menanggapi kebutuhan mereka telah menggunakan beberapa bentuk kekerasan. Menganalisis lima puluh tiga gerakan protes AS, William Gamson (1975) menemukan bahwa 75 persen dari kelompok yang menggunakan kekerasan mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan, dibandingkan dengan hanya 53 persen dari mereka yang tanpa kekerasan. Kekerasan, tampaknya bisa melunasi. Example 3
Main Idea somewhe re
Children usually experience strong short-term reactions to being sexually abused but are often too confused or frightened to tell. They feel upset, helpless, frightened, and guilty; if physically injured, the pain experienced makes them particularly fearful of future contact. The child’s experience of abuse can be minimized or exacerbated by a nonbusing significant adult’s management of the event. Parents (nonabusers) who handle the event as an unfortunate but
Minor Detail
Main Idea
Major Detail
in between
devastating experience and who can reassure the child that he or she is in no way to blame reduce the impact on the child significantly. On the other hand, the impact of the event may be very mush intensified by the parents’ negating, angry, and hostile responses. Parents often react so strongly and negatively out of their own feeling of anger, powerlessness, and (too often) denial that they cannot focus constructively on the child, thus isolating the child and providing inadequate help to prevent long-term consequences. Kay Johnston Starks and Eleanor S. Morrison, Growing Up Sexual, p. 183
Minor Detail
Anak-anak biasanya mengalami reaksi jangka pendek yang kuat untuk menjadi pelecehan seksual, tetapi sering terlalu bingung atau takut untuk memberitahu. Mereka merasa kesal, tak berdaya, takut, dan bersalah, jika fisik terluka, rasa sakit yang dialami membuat mereka sangat takut menghubungi masa depan. Pengalaman anak dari pelecehan dapat diminimalkan atau diperburuk oleh manajemen orang dewasa yang signifikan nonbusing tentang acara tersebut. Orang tua (nonabusers) yang menangani peristiwa sebagai pengalaman disayangkan tapi merusak dan siapa yang bisa meyakinkan anak bahwa ia sama sekali tidak menyalahkan mengurangi dampak pada anak secara signifikan. Di sisi lain, dampak dari peristiwa yang mungkin sangat bubur diintensifkan dengan meniadakan orang tua ', marah, dan tanggapan bermusuhan. Orang tua sering bereaksi begitu kuat dan negatif dari perasaan mereka sendiri marah, ketidakberdayaan, dan (terlalu sering) penyangkalan bahwa mereka tidak bisa fokus konstruktif pada anak, sehingga mengisolasi anak dan memberikan bantuan tidak memadai untuk mencegah konsekuensi jangka panjang. Two Questions to Ask 1. Is the idea general enough to be a main idea, or is it a specific detail? 2. Is there a transitional word or phrase indicating that it’s probably a supporting idea? Sometimes just one question will make it clear, but be careful. Not every sentence will have a signal word or phrase to tell you that it’s a supporting sentence. Also, you need to be careful to distinguish which main idea a supporting idea actually supports. Assignment 1 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. As you read, see if you can determine: 1. The overall main idea 2. The main idea of each paragraph (major supporting ideas) 3. Minor supporting ideas 1)A new mandatory drug testing policy will take effect at our Detroit office on July 1st. (2) Under this new policy, all employees will be required to take a urine test four times throughout the year. (3) These tests will be unannounced. (4) Employees who refuse to take the tests will be automatically suspended without pay.
(5) An employee who tests positive for substance abuse will face several consequences. (6) To start, the employee will be immediately suspended without pay. (7) In addition, the employee must issue a statement explaining how he or she tested positive for illegal substances. (8) Then, a three-member employee panel will be assigned to review the employee’s case. (9) A “typical” violator might be permitted to return to work on probationary status and be required to attend counseling. (10) The new drug testing policy may seem strict, but it is designed to improve the health and safety of all employees of Data Management Co. (11) Indeed, our attempt to create a drug-free workplace is modeled after the programs that have improved overall workplace safety for other companies around the country. (12) Furthermore, we feel that a drug-free workplace will improve employee morale while it reduces sick days and down time. (13) As part of the policy, we have added a counselor to our staff. (14) Dr. Jennifer Jenkins has extensive experience as a workplace counselor, particularly in dealing with substance abuse. (15) Her office is located next to Denise Robinson’s in Human Resources. Paragraph 1 1)A new mandatory drug testing policy will take effect at our Detroit office on July 1st. (2) Under this new policy, all employees will be required to take a urine test four times throughout the year. (3) These tests will be unannounced. (4) Employees who refuse to take the tests will be automatically suspended without pay.
Sebuah kebijakan obat pengujian baru wajib akan berlaku di kantor Detroit kami pada 1 Juli. (2) Berdasarkan kebijakan baru ini, seluruh karyawan akan diminta untuk mengambil tes urine empat kali sepanjang tahun. (3) Tes-tes ini akan tanpa pemberitahuan. (4) Karyawan yang menolak untuk mengambil tes akan secara otomatis dihentikan tanpa dibayar. Paragraph 2 (5) An employee who tests positive for substance abuse will face several consequences. (6) To start, the employee will be immediately suspended without pay. (7) In addition, the employee must issue a statement explaining how he or she tested positive for illegal substances. (8) Then, a three-member employee panel will be assigned to review the employee’s case. (9) A “typical” violator might be permitted to return to work on probationary status and be required to attend counseling.
Seorang karyawan yang tes positif untuk penyalahgunaan zat akan menghadapi beberapa konsekuensi. (6) Untuk memulai, karyawan akan segera dihentikan tanpa dibayar. (7) Di samping itu, karyawan harus mengeluarkan pernyataan yang menjelaskan bagaimana ia dinyatakan positif zat ilegal. (8) Kemudian, sebuah panel karyawan tiga-anggota akan ditugaskan untuk meninjau kembali kasus karyawan. (9) A "khas" pelanggar mungkin akan diizinkan untuk kembali bekerja pada status percobaan dan diminta untuk menghadiri konseling. Paragraph 3 (10) The new drug testing policy may seem strict, but it is designed to improve the health and safety of all employees of Data Management Co. (11) Indeed, our attempt to create a drug-free workplace is modeled after the programs that have improved overall workplace safety for other companies around the country. (12) Furthermore, we feel that a drug-free workplace will improve employee morale while it reduces sick days and down time.
Kebijakan pengujian obat baru mungkin tampak ketat, tetapi ia dirancang untuk meningkatkan kesehatan dan keselamatan semua karyawan Data Management Co (11) Memang, upaya kita untuk menciptakan tempat kerja yang bebas obat-model setelah program yang telah meningkatkan keseluruhan keselamatan kerja bagi perusahaan lain di seluruh negeri.
(12) Selanjutnya, kami merasa bahwa tempat kerja yang bebas narkoba akan meningkatkan moral pekerja sementara itu mengurangi hari sakit dan down time. Paragraph 4 (13) As part of the policy, we have added a counselor to our staff. (14) Dr. Jennifer Jenkins has extensive experience as a workplace counselor, particularly in dealing with substance abuse. (15) Her office is located next to Denise Robinson’s in Human Resources.
Sebagai bagian dari kebijakan tersebut, kami telah menambahkan konselor untuk staf kami. (14) Dr Jennifer Jenkins memiliki pengalaman yang luas sebagai penasihat tempat kerja, khususnya dalam menangani penyalahgunaan zat. (15) Kantornya terletak di sebelah Denise Robinson dalam Sumber Daya Manusia. Assignment 2
Find three (3) short passages with STATED main ideas (preferably with three different locations).
Analyze the main idea, major details, and minor details for each paragraph
Organize your passage and your analysis as in the example in the following slide.
Temukan tiga (3) bagian pendek dengan ide-ide LAIN utama (sebaiknya dengan tiga lokasi yang berbeda). Menganalisis gagasan utama, rincian besar, dan rincian minor untuk setiap paragraf Mengatur bagian Anda dan analisis Anda seperti pada contoh di slide berikut.
Example
Throughout U.S. history, various groups that believed the government would not respond to their needs have resorted to some form of violence. à Minor Detail
Analyzing fifty-three U.S. protest movements, William Gamson (1975) found that 75 percent of the groups that used violence got what they wanted, compared with only 53 percent of those that were nonviolent. à Major Detail
Violence, it seems can pay off.
à
Main Idea at the end
Sepanjang sejarah AS, berbagai kelompok yang percaya pemerintah tidak akan menanggapi kebutuhan mereka telah menggunakan beberapa bentuk kekerasan. à Minor Detail Menganalisis lima puluh tiga gerakan protes AS, William Gamson (1975) menemukan bahwa 75 persen dari kelompok yang menggunakan kekerasan mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan, dibandingkan dengan hanya 53 persen dari mereka yang tanpa kekerasan. à Mayor Detail Kekerasan, tampaknya bisa melunasi. à Utama Idea di akhir
Due time: Saturday, October 12th 2010 Good Luck!
