Topic, Main Idea and Supporting Details

Topic,MainIdeaandSupportingDetailsByLiuRongWhatwillyoulearntoday?1.whattopic,mainideaandsupportingdetailsare2.Howtodistinguishtopic,mainideaandsupportingdetails3.howtofindouttopicsentenceandimpliedmainidea4.HowtoidentifythepatternsofdetailsWhatistopic?Topicissubjectofaparagraph,itmaybethetitleofanarticle,Itanswersthequestion:whoorwhatisthearticleorparagraphabout.Whatismainidea?Mainideaistheshortexplanationforthetopic,itistheauthor’sviewpointonthesubject.Whatissupportingdetails?SupportingdetailsarethosetodetailthemainideaTopicsareexpressedinwordsorphrases.Atitleofareadingpassagemaybeatopic.Anissuethatisdiscussedmaybeatopic.Mainideaisalsocalledcontrollingidea,thecore,orthecentralfocusofapieceofwriting.Notice!Onceyouhavedeterminedthetopicofapassage,youcanmoveastepfurthertogetthemainidea.Themainideaisthereasonorpurposefortheauthortowritethepassage.Itisnotthesubject;itistheauthor’sviewpointonthesubject.Ifyouaskyourself“Whatistheauthortellingmeaboutthissubject?”or“Whatdoestheauhtorwantmetorememberaboutthissubject?”Youareaskingaboutthemainidea.Somebooksreadinchildhoodaretrulyunforgettable.Someofthecharacters,theplaces,theadventuresexperiencedwithsomuchexcitementwhenoneisquiteyoung,stayinone’smindaslongasmemorylasts.SuchacharacterisLongJohnSilverinRobertLouisStevenson’sTreasureIsland.Whocouldeverforgethimashewalkedalongthedecksofhisshipasquicklyonhiscrutchasothermenwithtwogoodlegs?AsforAlice,whocouldeverforgetherasshetalkedwiththecaterpillarandarguedwiththeill-temperedqueen?Sheremainsforeverasachildinmemory.ChildhoodmemoryofTomSawyerandthejoyTomandhispalshadremainclearinspitethepassageoftime.Whowouldgiveuptheseperfectchildhoodmemories?(129words)2minutes!!!ReadingPractice:Readthefollowingpassageandtrytofindoutthetopic,themainideaanditssupportingdetails.Thepopularideaofsnowisthatitconsistsoffrozenraindrops.Thisisnotthecase.Itistruethatsometimesraindropsfreezeintheirpassagefromthemothercloudtoearth.Suchfrozenraindropsarecalledsleetorhail.Butsnowissomethingelseagain.Itismadeupofwatervaporparticlesthathavebeentransformedintocrystalswithoutfirstpassingthroughtheliquidstate.Suchcrystalscanformonlywhenthedewpointisbelow0centigrade.(81words)TheTopicsentenceandMainIdeaThetopiciswhattheparagraphabout.Thesentence,whichstatesthemainideaoftheparagraph,iscalledthetopicsentence.Forexample:Everyonehopesthatheorshecanhaveahealthybody.Beingyourowndoctoristhemostimportantthingyoumustdoduringyourdailylife.Youshouldtakeyoursymptomsseriously.Don’tautomaticallydismissanythingas“hypochondria”,“oldage”or“mycrosstobear”.Thisisespeciallytrueifasymptombeginsinterferingwithyourabilitytowork,getaroundtoenjoylife.Foryears,MelindaDemerius,38,keptthinkinghersymptoms—headaches,shronicfatigue,hippain—weren’tseriousenoughtojustifyavisittothedoctor.Finally,shewenttothedoctorforherindividualsymptom,andshegotsingle–symptomdiagnoses.(105words,finishreadingwithinoneminute!)topicTopicsentenceHonestyismostnecessaryinexperimenting.Theverypurposeofexperimentationistodiscovertruths,whichwillansweraquestion.Toooften,studentsdisregardedthisfactandtendtodependonotherpeoplefortheirinformation.Scientistshavenotmadetheirwonderfuldiscoveriesbydependingentirelyonwhatothershavesaid.Newthingsarealwayslikelytohappen.Thescientisthopeshistheoryiscorrect,buthedoesnotmakeitturnoutashewishes.Heobservescarefully,recordswhathefindsaccurately,andinthiswaycontributestotheprocessofknowledge.Wherecanyoufindthetopicsentence?ThefirstsentenceAkidismuchmorelikelytochooseabicyclebyitscolorbywhatmodelafriendthantothinkoutmorerelevantconsiderationslikeprice,durabilityorperformance.Moreominously,saysYaleeducationalpsychologistRobertJ.Sternbergsomeproblems,includingdruguse,mayoccurbecauseyoungpeoplehavenotlearnedtomeasureactionsagainstconsequences.Actually,Americankidscan’tapplyreasonablethoughttoeverydaysituationsWherecanyoufindthetopicsentence?ThelastsentenceWherecanyoufindthetopicsentence?Twoboysandgirls,studentsofTonasketHighSchool,hadbeen“cruising”foracouplehours,talkingandlaughing.Atasharpcurve,thepickupsomehowwentofftheroad,rolleddownthesteep,rockymountainsideandtwistedaroundapinetree.Allfouroccupants—nonewearingaseatbelt—weretossedoutofthecab.Motor-vehicleinjuryisthegreatestthreattothelivesofadolescentsinAmerica.Duringthe1980s,over74000teenagerswerekilledinsuchaccidents,morethandiedfromalldiseasescombined.Onaverage,everytwoorthreeweekstheequivalentofaseniorclassatatypicalhighschooliswipedoutonourstreetsandhighways.InthemiddleoftheparagraphWherecanyoufindthetopicsentence?Becausetheirreactiontimeandattentionspanareaffected,sleepypeoplemaybemorepronetomakingmistakesonthejob.ReportingtoCongressin1989,theDepartmentofTransportationcitedsurveyssuggestingthatonetotenpercentoftrafficaccidentsmaybesleep-related,andthatperhapsasmanyas20percentofalldriveshavefallenasleepatwheelatleastonce.Recentstudiedhavealsofoundthatsleep-deprivedpeopleareimpairedbysmallerquantitiesofalcoholthanrestedpeopleare.ThefirstandlastsentencesTheTopicSentencesmaybe:ThefirstsentenceThelastsentenceInthemidd