Reading & Writing · Information and Ideas
Central Ideas and Details
A central idea summarizes the passage's main point across its sentences. A detail answer must match the particular fact requested, including who did what, when, and under what conditions.
Summarize the change in the passage
Consider: "A museum long attributed a painting to Mara. Examination of its pigments found a material introduced after Mara's death. The museum now attributes the work to a later follower." The central idea is that new material evidence changed the painting's attribution.
An answer about the painting's colors is too narrow. An answer saying every museum attribution is unreliable is too broad. Cover the main finding and its consequence without extending beyond this case.
Use the ending to check the opening
An opening can supply background that the rest of the passage revises. In the museum example, the old attribution is background; the later evidence and changed attribution are the point.
Words such as "however," "instead," and "therefore" reveal turns in the argument. Read the main idea as the whole passage's claim rather than selecting the first sentence by default.
Retrieve the specific fact for a detail question
If asked why the attribution changed, the answer is the pigment's date. The later follower is the new attribution, which answers who now receives credit, not why the decision changed.
Locate the relevant sentence and compare its subject, action, and qualifiers with the choice. A choice that swaps the cause and result can use familiar words while reporting the wrong fact.
Eliminate unsupported additions
A detail choice claiming the museum deliberately deceived visitors introduces motive not supplied by the text. A central-idea choice claiming new technology always solves art mysteries introduces a universal conclusion.
For review, mark whether a distractor was narrow, broad, reversed, or invented. Then write a short main idea with only the passage's central relationship and necessary qualifiers.
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Sample central ideas and details questions
Central Ideas and Details · Easy
Thistles are a kind of weed found in North America. Although thistles are unwelcome in gardens and on farms, weeds like this do provide some benefits. For example, they can be helpful to pollinators.
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Central Ideas and Details · Easy
When people think of dinosaurs with feathers, they typically think of winged dinosaurs, such as the bat-like Ambopteryx. However, many dinosaurs that didn't have wings also had feathers on their bodies. For instance, research indicates that the wingless, large Yutyrannus likely had feathers.
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Central Ideas and Details · Easy
At the Larkspur Conservatory, horticulturists found that several native orchids opened their flowers more reliably when the greenhouse lights dimmed gradually rather than switching off at once. The finding has prompted the staff to reconsider how evening lighting is managed for plants whose flowering responds to subtle changes in light.
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Practice this skill
- Write one sentence covering the passage's main change or claim.
- For details, locate the supporting sentence before choosing.
- Remove any motive, cause, or generalization that the text does not supply.
Print the central ideas and details worksheet and worked answers.
Then use a mixed practice module to check whether you can choose this method among other question types.
Source and question labels
The bank label for this guide is "Central Ideas and Details" in Information and Ideas. The worked examples above are written for this guide.