Reading for the Key Idea in a Sentence
Although a sentence may give a great deal of information, it usually offers one key idea. Readers should learn to find the key idea in order to understand the meaning of a sentence clearly.
The key idea of a sentence usually tells:
a) what a person or an object is
b) what a person or an object is doing
Look at the following example taken from Reading Passage A:
At the end of each semester, as long as the students pass final exams, American authorities grant a certificate, which is recognized in Brazil. (Para. 3, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
This sentence tells about American authorities. We know that American authorities grant a certificate. All the information about when and under what conditions they grant a certificate, or how the certificate is viewed in Brazil, adds details. The details are helpful in completing the scene for the reader, and we need to rely on these details to make the key idea clearer. But the key idea, or the main thought, in this sentence is simply “American authorities grant a certificate”.
Reading for the Key Idea in a Sentence
The particular reading skill introduced for this unit is reading for the key ideas in sentences. Although a sentence may give a great deal of information, it usually provides one key idea. Readers should learn to find the key idea in order to understand the meaning of a sentence clearly.
The key idea of a sentence usually tells:
a) what a person or an object is
b) what a person or an object is doing
Look at the following example taken from Reading Passage A:
American families, which host foreign students, are not paid, though they are allowed a small income tax deduction. (Para. 5, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
This sentence tells about American families. We know that American families are not paid. All the information about what kind of American families and under what condition they are not paid adds details. The details are helpful in completing the scene for the reader, and we need to rely on these details to make the key idea clearer. But the key idea, or the main thought, in this sentence is simply American families are not paid.
In order to find the key idea of a sentence we have to:
a) ask who or what the sentence is about.
b) ask what the person or object is doing, or what is happening to the person or object.
c) learn to separate details from the key idea. Many words in a sentence describe things about the subject of the sentence and only add details around it. If we ask when, what kind, where, or why, we will find details. As a result it will be easier for us to see the key idea. Now look at the following example taken from Reading Passage A:
Yet for 38 young passengers between fifteen and eighteen years of age, it is the start of a new experience: they will spend 10 months of their lives studying abroad, far from their families. (Para. 2, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
The key idea of this sentence is that it is a start of a new experience. The information as to for whom and why it is a start of a new experience simply adds details.
