Beginning to Write Main Idea ◊ Details ◊ Introduction ◊ Body Paragraph ◊ Conclusions ◊

Topic Sentence  What the passage, essay or article is about.  A specific event, object or person etc..  Is a bit more general than the main idea.  Topics should be limited to one word or short phrase. Example: Topic is : Dogs Main Idea is : Dogs can be trained properly.

Main Idea the argument or debate (may not always be 1 sentence) The important point the writer is trying to convey to the reader Reason for the article, passage or essay -Example: Education is my topic -What ABOUT Education? -Education should be funded with more money is my main idea and/or argument.

Find the topic and Main Idea All main ideas or topics may not be plain and simple so as a reader you must infer based on context clues what the story and/or passage is about. Identify: “A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra- rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny. These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that’s a pretty penny. “

Inferences Inferences or “to infer” means to use the given information or supporting details to make an informed decision of an outcome. Example: “She came home to a door unlocked; peered inside and saw the living room destroyed, furniture thrown everywhere. The television and stereo was gone.” Based on the details what can you infer from the 2 sentences?

Context Clues On the previous slide the details you used to make an informed decision were called context clues. Context clues gives the reader details about a story or word without telling exactly what is happening or what something is. Example: “ It has a long neck, eats grass, when it is born it is over 6ft tall, they are one of the tallest land animals.” Using context clues what animal is being described?