Reading for the Main Ideas in Paragraphs
The trick is to be consistently you, at your best. The most effective people never change from one situation to another. They're the same whether they're having a conversation, addressing their garden club or being interviewed for a job. They communicate with their whole being; the tones of their voices and their gestures match their words. (Para. 7, Passage A, Unit 4)
Main idea: How to project yourself as being consistent in whatever you do.
We should be clear that the main idea of a paragraph might be stated clearly in a sentence at any place in a paragraph. However, it is also possible for the main idea to be expressed in more than one simple sentence or even to be implied/suggested.
To begin with, we will only deal with the Main Idea expressed clearly in a sentence.
Reading for the Main Ideas in Paragraphs 
A paragraph is a group of sentences about the same idea, subject or topic. As you read a paragraph, you look for the key idea that each sentence presents. Adding up these key ideas, you see that each sentence helps build the main idea of the paragraph, the basic subject to which all the sentences connect. In order to understand the information you are reading, you must know what the main idea of the paragraph is.
Often one sentence in the paragraph tells the reader exactly what the rest of the paragraph deals with and, therefore, gives the main idea. This main idea sentence may appear in one of several places, such as in the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the paragraph. Here are some examples taken from Reading Passage A. Example 1:
Others will want to be with you and help you if you use your good qualities. They include: physical appearance, energy, rate of speech, pitch and tone of voice, gestures, expression through the eyes, and the ability to hold the interest of others. Others form an impression about you based on these. (Para. 4, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
Main Idea of the Paragraph: Make a good impression on others with your good qualities. Example 2:
The trick is to be consistently you, at your best. The most effective people never change from one situation to another. They're the same whether they're having a conversation, addressing their garden club or being interviewed for a job. They communicate with their whole being; the tones of their voices and their gestures match their words. ( Para. 7, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
Main idea of the paragraph: How to project yourself as being consistent in whatever you do. Example 3:
Use your eyes. Whether you're talking to one person or one hundred, always remember to look at them. Some people start to say something while looking right at you, but three words into the sentence, they break eye contact and look out the window. ( Para. 10, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
Main idea of the paragraph: Use your eyes. Here are some more points for you to consider when you are looking for the main idea of a paragraph:
1. The main idea of a paragraph may be clearly stated or may be only implied or suggested. For the present we are only concerned with the main idea of a paragraph, which is clearly stated. We are not going to deal with the paragraphs whose main ideas are implied or suggested.
2. The main idea may be stated anywhere in a paragraph: at the beginning of a paragraph, in the middle of a paragraph or at the end of a paragraph.
3. Very often one sentence in a paragraph tells the reader exactly what the main idea is. To pick up the main idea, sometimes we can just choose one complete sentence in the paragraph as in the above Example 3 or sometimes we have to write a sentence to summarize the main idea of a paragraph.