What is the Central Idea of this Passage? Find the Main Point in SAT Texts for Beginners with Practice Exercises
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What is the Central Idea of this Passage? SAT readers often see this question and feel unsure what to look for. This guide will help students find the central idea quickly, using tips, examples, and simple strategies.
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Find the main idea or the most important thing the author is saying as this is the clear central idea that you need to link to the answer. Many students write their own overview or very brief summary of the message from the author in their own words. This is one option but remember the test has limited time.
What is the Central Idea of this Passage?
Examples of Central Ideas Questions
Type 1. Microplastics are pieces of plastic that are smaller than a grain of rice. These small plastics can be found in large quantities in ocean waters. Ecologist Jessica Reichert and her team are studying the role reef-building corals have in capturing microplastics from ocean waters. Through research, her team has found that these corals may be storing up to 20 million kilograms of microplastics each year in their skeletons and tissues.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Choose 1 answer:
- A Ecologists are interested in learning more about how certain corals build large reefs.
- B Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that can be found in ocean waters.
- C Questions remain around the impact certain corals have on ocean ecosystems.
- D Ecologists predict that corals store large amounts of microplastics from ocean waters.
Type 2. The following text is adapted from Christina Rossetti’s 1881 poem “Monna Innominata 2.”
I wish I could remember that first day,
First hour, first moment of your meeting me,
If bright or dim the season, it might be
Summer or Winter for [all] I can say;
So unrecorded did it slip away,
So blind was I to see and to foresee,
So dull to mark the budding of my tree
That would not blossom yet for many a May.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Choose 1 answer:
- A As the anniversary of the beginning of an important relationship approaches, the speaker feels conflicted about how best to commemorate it.
- B After years of neglecting a once valuable relationship, the speaker worries it may be too late for her to salvage the relationship.
- C The speaker celebrates how the passage of time has strengthened a relationship that once seemed unimportant.
- D Because the speaker did not anticipate how important a relationship would become, she cannot recall how the relationship began, which she regrets.
Type 3. Paleontologists searching for signs of ancient life have found many fossilized specimens of prehistoric human ancestors, including several from the Pleistocene era discovered in a geological formation in the Minatogawa quarry in Japan. However, to study the emergence of the earliest multicellular organisms to appear on Earth, researchers must turn elsewhere, such as to the Ediacaran geological formation at Mistaken Point in Canada. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 146-hectare reserve contains more than 10,000 fossils that together document a critical moment in evolutionary history.
What does the text indicate about the geological formation at Mistaken Point?
Choose 1 answer:
- A It holds a greater number of fossils but from a smaller variety of species than the formation in the Minatogawa quarry does.
- B It has provided evidence that the earliest human species may have emerged before the Pleistocene era.
- C It contains specimens from an older time period than those found in the formation in the Minatogawa quarry.
- D It is widely considered by paleontologists to be the most valuable source of information about prehistoric life forms.
Type 4. In a study of new technology adoption, Davit Marikyan et al. examined negative disconfirmation (which occurs when experiences fall short of one’s expectations) to determine whether it could lead to positive outcomes for users. The team focused on established users of “smart home” technology, which presents inherent utilization challenges but tends to attract users with high expectations, often leading to feelings of dissonance. The researchers found that many users employed cognitive mechanisms to mitigate those feelings, ultimately reversing their initial sense of disappointment.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Choose 1 answer:
- A Research suggests that users with high expectations for a new technology can feel content with that technology even after experiencing negative disconfirmation.
- B Research suggests that most users of smart home technology will not achieve a feeling of satisfaction given the utilization challenges of such technology.
- C Although most smart home technology is aimed at meeting or exceeding users’ high expectations, those expectations in general remain poorly understood.
- D Although negative disconfirmation has often been studied, little is known about the cognitive mechanisms shaping users’ reactions to it in the context of new technology adoption.
Type 5. Having written the impassioned call to arms “Letter to the Spanish Americans” in 1791, Peruvian intellectual Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzmán is often considered a forerunner for the independence movements in Latin America. But Viscardo’s role in history would have remained insignificant were it not for Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda, who was handed the unpublished letter after Viscardo’s death. Miranda not only helped circulate the letter, but his edits and footnotes to the text position Miranda as a central figure in the text’s creation.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Choose 1 answer:
- A Miranda played a crucial role in influencing the content and distribution of “Letter to the Spanish Americans.”
- B “Letter to the Spanish Americans” persuaded many people in Latin America to pursue national independence.
- C The majority of the most eloquently stated arguments in “Letter to the Spanish Americans” were written by Miranda.
- D The original authorship of “Letter to the Spanish Americans” is disputed by contemporary historians.
Source of the official questions: Khan Academy
LESSON 3
Digital SAT Reading
9 steps to go from beginner to understanding the digital SAT questions, improving your knowledge, skills and ability to do your best in the SAT text.
The first lesson focused on the SAT reading area of textual and quantitative evidence. The second lesson introduces our lessons on SAT grammar with subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Now complete the information and ideas section with the central ideas and inference questions.
Text Summary - Identifying the Central Idea
- Some central ideas and details questions will ask you about the “main idea” of a text. The main idea will include the central focus of the text and its major details. It won’t introduce new information or contradict information from the text.
- When looking for a main idea, you can start by summarizing the text in your own words. How would you summarize the text here?
- Reef-building corals store huge quantities of the microplastics in ocean waters.
- I wish I could remember when I first met you. I can’t even remember what season it was! At the time, I had no idea that our relationship would grow and blossom.
- Paleontologists have found prehistoric human ancestor fossils at Minatogawa quarry. However, to study the earliest multicellular organisms, researchers must turn to places like Mistaken Point, which contains more than 10,000 fossils from an important time in evolutionary history.
- Marikyan et al have studied the phenomenon of negative disconfirmation in users of smart home technology. People usually have high expectations about smart home tech, but it’s a pain to use, so they’re disappointed at first. But Marikyan found that many smart-home tech owners worked through the disappointment and ended up feeling happy with their purchases.
- Viscardo wrote “Letter to the Spanish Americans,” but Miranda played a crucial role in its creation and distribution. Miranda edited the letter and added footnotes, and he helped circulate it after Viscardo’s death.
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Answers (Main Point in the Sentences)
1
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This is too broad. While the researchers are studying “reef-building corals”, the focus of their study isn’t how the corals build the reefs. Rather, they’re studying how corals may be storing microplastics from ocean waters.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) The text does say this, but it’s a detail—not the main idea. The main idea of the text is about the study that found that corals may be storing microplastics from ocean waters in their skeletons and tissues.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) The text doesn’t say this. It doesn’t mention any questions about the impact of corals on ocean ecosystems—rather, the study assesses one impact that microplastics have.
- (Choice D, Checked, Correct) This is the best choice. The text describes a study about how reef-building corals capture microplastics from ocean waters, which found that these corals are storing 20 million kilograms of microplastics in their skeletons and tissues.
2
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This doesn’t match the text. The speaker doesn’t mention an anniversary—in fact, the speaker can’t remember when they met the person they’re talking about!
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This doesn’t match the text. The speaker doesn’t say that they neglected the relationship. In fact, the speaker suggests that the relationship has become very important to them—that’s why the speaker wishes that they could remember their first meeting!
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This misinterprets the text. The speaker does say that the relationship has “blossomed” over time, but only briefly at the end—and they don’t really “celebrate” that fact. Rather, the text has a more regretful tone: it’s about how the speaker can’t remember first meeting this person, and they wish they could.
- (Choice D, Checked, Correct) This is the best choice. The speaker says that they wish they could remember when they first met someone, but they can’t remember the meeting at all, because they didn’t know at the time that the relationship would “blossom” later on.
3
- (Choice A, Incorrect) The text doesn’t say this. It says that the formation at Mistake Point contains “more than 10,000 fossils”, but it doesn’t compare this number to the number of fossils in the Minatogawa quarry. It also doesn’t say anything about the variety of species in either formation.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) The text doesn’t say this. It says that the formation at Mistaken Point contains fossils of “the earliest multicellular organisms”, but it never says that the site contains early human fossils too. Rather, the early human fossils mentioned in the text were found in the formation at Minatogawa quarry.
- (Choice C, Checked, Correct) This is the best choice. The text says that the formation at Mistaken Point contains fossils of “the earliest multicellular organisms”, which implies that these fossils are from an older time period than the fossils of “prehistoric human ancestors” found in the Minatogawa quarry.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) The text doesn’t say this. It says that the fossils at Mistaken Point “document a critical moment in evolutionary history”, but it never says that Mistaken Point is the most valuable source of information about prehistoric life forms.
4
- (Choice A, Checked, Correct) This is the best choice. The passage begins by describing the study, and concludes with its results: “many users employed cognitive mechanisms to mitigate those feelings [of negative disconfirmation]”.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This is the opposite of what the text claims. Rather, the researchers found that “many users” reversed “their initial sense of disappointment”.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This choice doesn’t reflect the text. What the expectations of smart home tech users are is not discussed.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) This choice doesn’t reflect the text. How often these topics have been studied is not mentioned.
5
- (Choice A, Checked, Correct) This is the best choice. The text describes how Miranda circulated, edited, and added footnotes to “Letter to the Spanish Americans”, and it claims that the letter and its author would have “remained insignificant” if it weren’t for Miranda’s efforts.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This is outside the scope of the text. The paragraph describes Miranda’s role in the creation and distribution of the letter, but it doesn’t get into the effects of the letter on other people.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This contradicts the text. The text says that Miranda edited and footnoted the letter, but it identifies Viscardo as the letter’s author. It also never identifies certain arguments as more eloquent than others.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) The text doesn’t say this. It only says that Viscardo wrote the letter and that Miranda edited it: it never suggests that the original authorship of the letter is up for debate.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Central Idea in SAT Texts
What is the central idea of a passage?
The central idea of a passage is the most important idea the author is trying to convey. It’s often expressed in one or two sentences and unifies the entire piece of writing.
How can I find the central idea in a paragraph?
Start by reading the text carefully. Look for the topic sentence and important details that support the main point. These clues help you figure out the central idea of the paragraph.
What is the difference between a central idea and a theme?
A central idea is a specific point the author wants to inform or explain in informational texts. A theme is a broader message or generic truth found in literature or stories.
What is a central idea statement?
A central idea statement is a concise summary that expresses the key message of a text. It is also called the main idea and is often found near the beginning or end of a passage.
How can I explain the central idea in one sentence?
You can uncover the central idea by asking: What is the author trying to tell me? Then restate that answer in a clear, concise manner using your own words.
Is the central idea the same as a thesis statement?
Yes, in many informative or speech texts, the thesis statement serves as the central idea. It outlines the specific purpose and helps the reader understand the structure of the content.
What supporting details help identify the central idea?
Look for information from the text that directly supports the central point. These include facts, examples, or statements that the author uses to clarify or prove the main idea.
Can a story have a central idea?
Yes, a story’s central idea is the key message or insight the author wants to convey. It may be revealed through characters, events, or dialogue throughout the text.
How do I analyze the central idea in literature?
To analyze the central idea in literature, identify what the author wants to tell through the plot and characters. Then explain how the idea connects across the story.
Why is determining the central idea important for the SAT?
Understanding the central idea is an essential skill for SAT reading comprehension. It helps students answer inference questions and understand why the author wrote the text.
Helpful Tips and Further Guidance
When trying to figure out the central idea of a text, start by writing a quick summary after reading. You can jot down notes and brainstorming key points will help you uncover the idea in the first sentence, or near the start. Remember, the central idea serves as the foundation of the passage—it is what the author wants you to understand after reading.
There are several ways to analyze the ideas in a story, such as looking for the story’s main point, or the specific purpose the author had in writing. Whether the passage is informative, informational, or literary, the central idea in any text must be supported with important details and written in a logical order.
The central idea and a theme may feel similar, but the central idea is more direct, especially in nonfiction. A well-written central idea should be concise, clear, and relevant to the rest of the passage.
You can also practice with SAT inference questions to improve your ability to put it all together and see what message the author is trying to convey. The heading, examples, and structure of the passage can all help the reader.
Understanding the central idea is relevant to the central idea of any good reading comprehension task. Whether you’re analyzing a speech, article, or piece of writing, the goal is to clearly articulate the author’s message and purpose.