TEAS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
The Main Idea of a Text ANS: Describes the author's main topic and general perspective on that topic. It
is expressed within and throughout the text.
The reader can recognize the main idea in any text by ANS: considering the main topic and how it is
addressed throughout the passage.
On this test, you will be asked ANS: not only to identify the main idea of a text, but to differentiate it
from topic and theme and to summarize it clearly and concisely.
The main idea is closely connected to ANS: topic sentences and how they are supported in a text.
Questions about the main idea may ANS: also deal with finding topic sentences, summarizing ideas in
the text, or finding the supporting details of a text.
In the sections that follow, ANS: determine the distinctions between all these aspects of text and
practice answering questions related to them.
To determine the topic, ANS: ask yourself what you're reading about.
To determine the main idea, ANS: ask yourself how the author feels about the topic.
To identify the main idea, ANS: first identify the topic
The difference between the main idea and topic is simple, ANS: The topic is the overall subject matter
of the passage; the main idea is what the author wants to say about that topic.
The main idea covers ANS: the author's direct perspective about a topic, as distinct from the theme.
,Theme ANS: Generally true idea that the reader might derive from a text.
Most of the time, ANS: a fiction text will have a theme, while a nonfiction text will have a main idea.
In a nonfiction text, ANS: the author speaks more directly about a topic to the audience-his or her
perspective is more apparent.
Analyzing details the author includes ANS: and looking for similarities among them guides the reader to
the conclusion. By identifying the supporting details the author's main idea becomes clear.
Summarizing the main idea requires ANS: focusing on the connection between the different ideas and
how that connection helps the reader draw a conclusion.
A summary is a ANS: very brief restatement of the most important parts of an argument or text.
To build a summary, ANS: start with the most important idea in a text. To continue building a longer
summary, look for supporting details to add.
Remember that when you summarize, ANS: your text should be much shorter than the original.
To build an outline of the text ANS: as you read, jot down words or phrases that describe the main idea
as you're reading and underline important details.
Part of identifying the main idea is ANS: understanding the structure of a piece of writing
,When looking at a short passage of one or two paragraphs, ANS: identifying the topic sentences and
summary sentences will quickly tell the reader what the paragraphs are about and what conclusions the
author wants the reader to draw.
Topic sentences and summary sentences function as ANS: bookends to a paragraph or passage, telling
readers what to think and then keeping the paragraph tightly together.
The topic sentence is ANS: generally the first sentence or very near the first sentence in the paragraph.
It introduces the reader to the topic by making a general statement about that topic, clearly and
specifically directing the reader to access any previous experiences with that topic.
The summary sentence of a paragraph on the other hand, ANS: frequently (but not always!) comes at
the end of a paragraph or passage, because it wraps up all the ideas the passage presents.
The summary sentence ANS: gives the reader an understanding of what the author wants to say about
the topic and what conclusions can be drawn about it.
While the topic sentence acts ANS: as an introduction to the topic, allowing the reader to activate
his/her own ideas and experiences with the topic, the summary statement asks the reader to accept the
author's ideas about that topic.
Finding a summary sentence, ANS: will help to quickly identify the main idea.
Between a topic sentence and a summary sentence, ANS: the rest of a paragraph is built by supporting
details.
Supporting details can ANS: come in many forms; the purpose of the passage dictates the type of
information that will be used to support the main idea.
, A persuasive passage may use ANS: specific facts and data, or it may detail specific reasons for the
author's opinion.
An informative passage ANS: will primarily use facts about the topic to support the main idea.
Even a narrative passage will ANS: have supporting details- the specific things the author says to
develop the story and characters.
The most important aspect of supporting details is ANS: exactly what the name says; they must support
the main idea.
Looking at the various supporting details and ANS: how they work with one another will solidify an
understanding of the author's perspective on a topic and what the main idea of the passage really is.
The supporting details contain important ANS: information key to understanding the passage
Supporting details build ANS: the argument and contain the key ideas upon which the main idea rests.
While finding the supporting details ANS: will help reveal the main idea, it is actually easier to find the
most important supporting details by understanding the main idea first; then the pieces that make up
the argument will become clear.
Signal words ANS: or transitions and conjunctions that explains to the reader how one sentence or idea
is connected to another hint at supporting ideas.
Signal words and phrases ANS: can be anywhere in a sentence, and it is important to understand what
each signal word means
The Main Idea of a Text ANS: Describes the author's main topic and general perspective on that topic. It
is expressed within and throughout the text.
The reader can recognize the main idea in any text by ANS: considering the main topic and how it is
addressed throughout the passage.
On this test, you will be asked ANS: not only to identify the main idea of a text, but to differentiate it
from topic and theme and to summarize it clearly and concisely.
The main idea is closely connected to ANS: topic sentences and how they are supported in a text.
Questions about the main idea may ANS: also deal with finding topic sentences, summarizing ideas in
the text, or finding the supporting details of a text.
In the sections that follow, ANS: determine the distinctions between all these aspects of text and
practice answering questions related to them.
To determine the topic, ANS: ask yourself what you're reading about.
To determine the main idea, ANS: ask yourself how the author feels about the topic.
To identify the main idea, ANS: first identify the topic
The difference between the main idea and topic is simple, ANS: The topic is the overall subject matter
of the passage; the main idea is what the author wants to say about that topic.
The main idea covers ANS: the author's direct perspective about a topic, as distinct from the theme.
,Theme ANS: Generally true idea that the reader might derive from a text.
Most of the time, ANS: a fiction text will have a theme, while a nonfiction text will have a main idea.
In a nonfiction text, ANS: the author speaks more directly about a topic to the audience-his or her
perspective is more apparent.
Analyzing details the author includes ANS: and looking for similarities among them guides the reader to
the conclusion. By identifying the supporting details the author's main idea becomes clear.
Summarizing the main idea requires ANS: focusing on the connection between the different ideas and
how that connection helps the reader draw a conclusion.
A summary is a ANS: very brief restatement of the most important parts of an argument or text.
To build a summary, ANS: start with the most important idea in a text. To continue building a longer
summary, look for supporting details to add.
Remember that when you summarize, ANS: your text should be much shorter than the original.
To build an outline of the text ANS: as you read, jot down words or phrases that describe the main idea
as you're reading and underline important details.
Part of identifying the main idea is ANS: understanding the structure of a piece of writing
,When looking at a short passage of one or two paragraphs, ANS: identifying the topic sentences and
summary sentences will quickly tell the reader what the paragraphs are about and what conclusions the
author wants the reader to draw.
Topic sentences and summary sentences function as ANS: bookends to a paragraph or passage, telling
readers what to think and then keeping the paragraph tightly together.
The topic sentence is ANS: generally the first sentence or very near the first sentence in the paragraph.
It introduces the reader to the topic by making a general statement about that topic, clearly and
specifically directing the reader to access any previous experiences with that topic.
The summary sentence of a paragraph on the other hand, ANS: frequently (but not always!) comes at
the end of a paragraph or passage, because it wraps up all the ideas the passage presents.
The summary sentence ANS: gives the reader an understanding of what the author wants to say about
the topic and what conclusions can be drawn about it.
While the topic sentence acts ANS: as an introduction to the topic, allowing the reader to activate
his/her own ideas and experiences with the topic, the summary statement asks the reader to accept the
author's ideas about that topic.
Finding a summary sentence, ANS: will help to quickly identify the main idea.
Between a topic sentence and a summary sentence, ANS: the rest of a paragraph is built by supporting
details.
Supporting details can ANS: come in many forms; the purpose of the passage dictates the type of
information that will be used to support the main idea.
, A persuasive passage may use ANS: specific facts and data, or it may detail specific reasons for the
author's opinion.
An informative passage ANS: will primarily use facts about the topic to support the main idea.
Even a narrative passage will ANS: have supporting details- the specific things the author says to
develop the story and characters.
The most important aspect of supporting details is ANS: exactly what the name says; they must support
the main idea.
Looking at the various supporting details and ANS: how they work with one another will solidify an
understanding of the author's perspective on a topic and what the main idea of the passage really is.
The supporting details contain important ANS: information key to understanding the passage
Supporting details build ANS: the argument and contain the key ideas upon which the main idea rests.
While finding the supporting details ANS: will help reveal the main idea, it is actually easier to find the
most important supporting details by understanding the main idea first; then the pieces that make up
the argument will become clear.
Signal words ANS: or transitions and conjunctions that explains to the reader how one sentence or idea
is connected to another hint at supporting ideas.
Signal words and phrases ANS: can be anywhere in a sentence, and it is important to understand what
each signal word means
