IXL | Use key details to determine the main idea

Look at these details from a paragraph about the same topic:

Some postage stamps show popular musicians of the past, like Elvis Presley and Billie Holiday.
Famous leaders, like Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr., can appear on postage stamps.
Neil Armstrong and Albert Einstein are two well-known scientists who have been shown on postage stamps.

Choose the main, or central, idea that ties all the details together.

Certain stamps can be worth a lot to collectors.

Postage stamps can have flowers or pretty designs.

Postage stamps often show important people.

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Learn with an example

question

Look at these details from a paragraph about the same topic:

Red River Gorge in Kentucky has enormous natural stone arches to admire.
There are also a number of old caves to explore in Red River Gorge.
Interesting rock formations, cliffs, and waterfalls can be seen throughout the gorge.

Choose the main, or central, idea that ties all the details together.

Visitors to Red River Gorge can see various natural land formations.

There are great outdoor places to explore in Kentucky.

Red River Gorge has rock arches to explore.

key idea

The main, or central, idea of a text is the key point that the author is trying to make. It is the idea you learn from all the parts of the text together.

Details are parts of a text that support, prove, or show the main idea.

You can use the details in a text to figure out the main idea. The main idea should cover all the details, not just some of them.

solution

Look at these details:

Red River Gorge in Kentucky has enormous natural stone arches to admire.
There are also a number of old caves to explore in Red River Gorge.
Interesting rock formations, cliffs, and waterfalls can be seen throughout the gorge.

All three details talk about natural sights in Red River Gorge. So, this is the main, or central, idea that ties the details together:

green checkmark, Visitors to Red River Gorge can see various natural land formations.

These sentences do not tie all of the details together, so they do not show the main idea:

red X symbol, There are great outdoor places to explore in Kentucky.

This sentence talks about many outdoor spots in Kentucky. However, the details from the paragraph are only about Red River Gorge.

red X symbol, Red River Gorge has rock arches to explore.

This sentence only talks about one of the details.

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A.1Use key details to determine the main idea

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