IXL | Determine the main idea of a passage

Read the passage.

Nearsightedness and Farsightedness

Nearsighted people experience blurred vision while looking at distant objects, such as street signs viewed from inside a car. Conversely, farsighted people experience blurred vision while looking at nearby objects, such as words on a page. The causes of these two conditions differ as well. Nearsightedness, or myopia, occurs either when a person's eye is too long from back to front or when the cornea (the clear layer at the front of the eye) is too curved. On the other hand, farsightedness, or hyperopia, results when the eye is too short or when the cornea is not curved enough. Fortunately, corrective lenses can restore normal vision in both cases. As you might expect, these lenses are of opposing types: nearsightedness is improved with a lens that is thinner in the middle and thicker at the edges, while farsightedness is compensated for with a lens that is thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges.

What is the main, or central, idea of the passage?

In nearsightedness, the eye may be too long from front to back, while in farsightedness, the opposite may be true.

Nearsightedness and farsightedness produce contrasting vision problems, have opposite causes, and require different types of lenses.

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

Read the passage.

The Jump Shot: A Game-Changing Move

When Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball at Springfield College in 1891, he incorporated aspects of existing games such as rugby, soccer, and lacrosse and established thirteen rules for play. None of these thirteen rules entailed keeping both feet on the ground; still, for the next several decades, basketball was a sedate game with few fast moves or high jumps. In fact, in the 1930s, when University of Missouri player John Cooper tried an innovative play—jumping while shooting—his coach pulled him out of the game. However, after watching Cooper perform the move in practices, the coach eventually had a change of heart and allowed Cooper to use the jump shot at games. Meanwhile, similar situations were taking place at other colleges. As a result of the tradition-breaking moves of a few unorthodox players, the jump shot caught on and became an integral part of the game.

What is the main, or central, idea of the passage?

Because innovators like John Cooper challenged the conventions of basketball, the jump shot became a popular move.

Because John Cooper's jump shot was an eye-catching move, his coach eventually allowed him to use it during games.

key idea

A main, or central, idea is the most important idea or claim that a text conveys.

The supporting details provide information that develops the main idea. Each detail in a text plays a specific role in supporting or refining readers' understanding of the main idea. For example, a writer might use supporting details to provide a description, explain a process, offer an example, emphasize the significance of a point, define a term, or make a comparison.

solution

The main, or central, idea of the passage is Because innovators like John Cooper challenged the conventions of basketball, the jump shot became a popular move.

Notice the phrase as a result of. It suggests that the main idea involves a cause and its effect. Here, the main idea is that John Cooper's innovative play led to, or caused, a change in basketball.

Looking for more? Try this:

$Confetti$

Excellent!

Now entering the Challenge Zone—are you ready?

Questions
answeredQuestions

Time
elapsedTime

hr	min	sec
00	00	06

SmartScore
out of 100
IXL's SmartScore is a dynamic measure of progress towards mastery, rather than a percentage grade. It tracks your skill level as you tackle progressively more difficult questions. Consistently answer questions correctly to reach excellence (90), or conquer the Challenge Zone to achieve mastery (100)! Learn more

Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

I.2Organize information by topic

J.1Choose the topic sentence that best captures the main idea

A.1Determine the main idea of a passage

Excellent! You got that right!

Jumping to level 1 of 1

Excellent!