1. A Community of Readers, 4/e Roberta Alexander and Jan Lombardi
Chapter 3
Topics and Main Ideas
Our Food, Our Culture
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2. Topics and Main Ideas: Chapter Overview
In this chapter, you will learn to
Recognize topics in readings
Identify stated and implied main ideas in paragraphs and short passages
Recognize thesis statements in longer passages
Put main ideas and thesis statements into your own words
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3. “Oh, the Flavor of Your Fries” by Eric Schlosser
Reading 1
What is your favorite food? What food do you most dislike?
What do you think of fast-food restaurants?
What are your personal eating habits?
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Topics
The topic is the subject of a reading; it answers the question “What is it about?”
The topic, or a word that has the same meaning as the topic, is often repeated in a reading.
Example: Topic = McDonald’s
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Main Ideas
To identify the main idea, ask yourself the following questions:
What is the reading about? (Identify the topic.)
What is the general point that is being made about the topic? (Identify the main idea.)
Do all of the important ideas in the reading support the main idea you have identified?
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Stated Main Ideas
Stated Main Idea = A main idea that clearly appears in a reading, often near the beginning.
Example: Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. (Chief Seattle, “Speech on the Signing of the Treaty of Port Elliott,” 1855)
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Restating Main Ideas
Paragraph
Humans do not live alone on Earth, nor are we beings above the laws of nature whose actions have no consequences. On the contrary, we have many partners who share Earth with us, and we would not live long without them. Think of the number of animals and plants that had to live in order for you to get through this day: much of the oxygen you breathe was produced by plants, as were the fibers in the paper of this page and in the cloth of your cotton or linen clothing; if you eat meat, it was an animal once,and so was the leather of your shoes; animals produced the wool of your sweaters and socks. (Raven, Berg, and Johnson, Environment)
Write the main idea in your own words:
We must share the Earth well with animal and plant life, or we won’t survive.
People must live harmoniously with other life on Earth or we’ll perish.
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8. Implied Main Ideas in Paragraphs
Implied Main Idea = A main idea that is suggested but not specifically stated by a reading.
Example
It takes more than 500,000 trees to supply a Sunday newspaper to Americans every week. If everyone recycled even one out of ten newspapers, 25 million trees a year could be left standing. Also, recycling paper reduces by 95 percent the air pollutants released by paper manufacture. And recycling takes 30 to 50 percent less energy, compared to making new paper. (Starr and Taggart, Biology.)
Topic = Recycling
Main Idea = Everyone needs to recycle newspapers.
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9. Main Ideas in Short Passages
Main ideas may be presented in several connected paragraphs instead of one single paragraph.
The passage is then unified around one idea.
Stated main ideas in passages are not always at the beginning.
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10. Main Ideas in Longer Passages
Thesis Statement = Main idea in a longer piece of writing, particularly an essay.
Articles and textbooks have main ideas based on facts and data.
Thesis statements are based on arguments and interpretations of the facts.
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11. “Food Pyramids: For Profit or Health?” by Paul Hursel
Reading 2
What are your eating habits and how can you improve them?
Do you agree with Hursel’s conclusion that the current food pyramid recommends too many diary products and too much red meat? Why or why not?
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“Easy Bake Ovens and Fashion Magazines: Women’s Complex Relationships to Food and Eating” by Kelly Mayhew
Reading 3
What image do you have of how the “ideal woman” should look? Where did you get this idea?
Do you think men are also under pressure to conform to an “ideal” image? Explain.
Do you feel that society has conflicting expectations of you? Explain your answer.
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Reader’s Checklist
Topic
Main Idea
Stated Main Idea
Generalization
Implied Main Idea
Thesis Statement
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14. Visit the Alexander/Lombardi Companion Website
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15. “Behind the Counter” by Eric Schlosser
Why do you think fast-food restaurants have organized their food preparation systems like assembly lines?
Have you or anyone you know ever worked in a fast-food restaurant or on an assembly line? Describe the experience.
Mastery Test 3A
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16. “What’s in the Beef?” by Howard F. Lyman
Who is at fault for the health risks to beef eaters? Explain your answer.
Did reading this article change your attitudes about eating beef? Explain your answer.
Mastery Test 3B
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