Lessons · Teaching · the main idea, and the answer that is true but too small
The main idea is what the whole passage is for
A main idea question asks what the passage as a whole is doing. The right answer covers the whole passage and nothing outside it. The wrong answers are usually true: one is a detail from a single paragraph, one is broader than the passage supports, and one is about a related subject the passage never argued.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a state certification officer. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
The commonest wrong answer on a reading test is a true statement. That is deliberate, and it is why 'is this true?' is the wrong question to ask an option. The question is 'does this cover the passage'. A candidate who tests options for truth rather than for scope will pick a detail from paragraph two and be certain they were right.
How to think about it
Before looking at the options, say the passage back in one sentence, in your own words, covering beginning to end. Then hold each option against that sentence and ask two things: does it reach the end of the passage, and does it claim anything the passage did not. Too small and too big are the two ways to be wrong, and they are easier to spot than truth.
Worked example
A four-paragraph passage on why a bridge failed, with one paragraph on its architectAn option about the architect is true and covers a quarter of the passage. It is the detail trap.
An option saying 'engineering projects often fail' reaches beyond the passageThe passage argued about one bridge. Generalising is the too-big trap, and it feels authoritative.
An option naming the cause the passage builds to, across all four paragraphs, is the answerIt covers the whole thing and claims nothing extra.
Say the sentence before reading the options, or the options will write it for youOnce you have read four plausible sentences it is very hard to remember what the passage said.
Your turn
Name the two ways a main idea option is wrong.
An option can be too small or too for the passage
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Picking the option with the most familiar vocabulary. Test writers reuse a striking word from one sentence of the passage inside a wrong option, because recognition feels like comprehension. The option that repeats the passage's most memorable phrase is more often the detail trap than the answer.