Exam (elaborations) NURS C128

Identifying the Main Idea - ANSWER First identify the topic by asking "What is the passage about?" Once this question is answered, then ask "What point is the author making about this topic?" The majority of paragraphs will include information about the main idea. Stop and summaries, and visualize as you read. HESI Hint: Main Ideas - ANSWER Main ideas can be found in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a paragraph or passage. Always check the introduction and conclusion for the main idea. Topic Sentence - ANSWER A sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph. Can be stated in one or two sentences, and are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. Identifying Supporting Details - ANSWER These are details that the writer uses to give a description, a background, or simply more information to support the main idea. They may be examples, facts, or statistics. Often the author's main idea can be confused with the examples or reasons that support the main idea. Hint: Identifying Supporting Details - ANSWER Usually the reader can discover details by the authors use of transition words such as one, next, another, first, or finally, which indicate that a detail is being provided. Finding the meaning of Words in Context - ANSWER Identifying the correct meaning of a word or words may be the key to identifying the authors main idea. The reader should use context clues to identify the meaning of a word. Context Clue - ANSWER The information provided by the author in the words or sentences surrounding the unknown word or words. Definition Context Clue - ANSWER When the author puts the meaning of the word in parenthesis or states the definition in the following sentence. Synonym Context Clue - ANSWER When the author gives the reader another word that means the same or nearly the same as the unknown word. Antonym Context Clue - ANSWER When the author gives a word that means the opposite of the unknown word.