Topic and main idea
The topic is what a text or paragraph is mostly about. The details are the smaller facts that support it.
| Example (a paragraph about hedgehogs’ food) | |
|---|---|
| Topic / main idea | how hedgehogs find food |
| Details | they eat beetles and worms; they come out at night |
How to find the main idea
- Read the first sentence of a paragraph. It’s often the topic sentence that tells you what the paragraph is about.
- Ask: “What is every sentence in this paragraph talking about?”
- Sum it up in a few words. If your summary only fits one sentence, it’s a detail, not the main idea.
Choosing the best title
The best title covers the whole text, not just one part. A title that only matches one paragraph is too narrow.
Watch out! Wrong answers are often true details from the text. They’re in the passage, but they’re not what it’s mostly about.
Top tip: after each paragraph, jot down 2–4 words in the margin saying what it was about. Then the questions are easy!
📖 Hedgehogs in Your Garden
1Hedgehogs are small, spiky mammals that live in gardens, parks and hedgerows all over Ireland and Britain. Their backs are covered in thousands of sharp spines, and when they are frightened they curl up into a tight, prickly ball.
2Hedgehogs are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and come out at night to find food. They snuffle through leaves and grass looking for beetles, worms, slugs and caterpillars. A hungry hedgehog can walk well over a kilometre in a single night.
3When the weather turns cold and food becomes hard to find, hedgehogs hibernate. They build a cosy nest of leaves, often under a hedge or a pile of logs, and sleep through the coldest months. In spring they wake up very hungry.
4There are simple ways you can help hedgehogs. Leave a small gap at the bottom of your fence so they can travel between gardens. Put out a shallow dish of fresh water, and never give them milk, because it can make them ill. Most importantly, check long grass and bonfire piles before cutting or lighting them.