ATI TEAS Reading Boostprep: Here is an example of how to find the main idea of a reading passage:

In the fourth sentence we learn that fancy kids can make some real cash. So again, the main idea has something to do with kids, lemonade and cash. Parking lot 1. Main idea vs. thesis and topic sentence 1.3 (Where do they go?) 2. Pulling questions from summary 1.1 3. Inference 1.2 Main idea- whole concept the most important thing in the text and the main focus. (what is guiding the passage) Usually the first and last sentence of a paragraph. Strategies-when you are not able to identify in a complex text. Ask yourself what is the one thing I learned? That will usually be the main idea. Thesis-specific sentence is the statement that specifically describes what you will talk about. Note: You want to make your thesis the last sentence of the first paragraph. Topic sentence- what is the paragraph about. Example: Thesis- Women are an integral part of the nation’s success (adding to the thesis) because they: Topics: 1. Are mother’s 2. Can multi-task 3. Manage finances well Subject: women Predicate- (what the subject is doing) integral I. Thesis (intro) A. Topic- is the main idea that describes why it makes women part of integral success. 1. Topic- multi-tasking ex: Statistic show that multi-tasking among woman is more prevailing than men. A recent study…….etc. recent study in the sentence supports the topic sentence Lemonade stands are a great way for kids to make some easy money. The start-up costs are low, and there is little supervision needed in the creation or sales of the product. Kids also enjoy the process of making and selling lemonade as they chat with neighbors and explain the purpose of their stand. In fact, a real child entrepreneur can fancy up their approach and at the end of the day come away with some real cash. But for the moderate kid just wanting a bit of pocket change, a weekend lemonade stand just might be the way to go. Let’s start with our first strategy. Look at the first and last sentences. What are they saying? They are saying that: 1. Lemonade stands are good. 2. Lemonade stands are good for kids. 3. Lemonade stands are good for kids because they can make money. There you have it. The main idea of this paragraph is that lemonade stands can help kids make money. Let’s pretend that we weren’t so sure. Well let’s try our second strategy: Take a moment and step back. Try to sum up what you learned in a single sentence. I learned about kids and lemonade stands. I also learned about making money. So the main idea must be that kids can make money with lemonade stands. Here’s our third strategy. Let’s look at the supporting details. In the second sentence, we learn about to pros associated with lemonade stands. In the third sentence we learn about why kids like the stands.