Reading Comprehension
🔒 Log in to trackMain idea, central theme and best-title questions
🔒 Log in to trackThe main idea is the one big point the whole passage makes. The author keeps coming back to it. A title is the main idea squeezed into a short heading. The purpose is why the author wrote the passage. Check every option for three faults: too narrow, too broad and too extreme.
What the main idea is
The main idea (also called the central idea or theme) is the one big point the whole passage makes. Every paragraph helps to support it.
A title is the main idea squeezed into a short heading. The purpose is why the author wrote the passage: to inform, to argue, to warn or to encourage.
Take a friend who talks for five minutes about late trains, crowded coaches and dirty platforms. The main idea is not "trains are late". It is "the railway service in our town is poor". Each complaint supports that one point.
Where to find it
- The first paragraph usually introduces the topic or the problem. The main idea often sits in its first or last sentence.
- The last paragraph usually gives the conclusion or a suggestion, and often repeats the main idea.
- Middle paragraphs give reasons, examples, data and objections. They are rarely the theme.
Rule: Main idea = topic (from the start) + the author's point about it (often at the end).
Three tests for the right option
- It covers the whole passage. An option about one paragraph or one example is too narrow.
- It stays inside the passage. An option that adds ideas the passage never argues is too broad.
- It matches the author's strength. An option with always, only, never is too extreme when the author is moderate.
Worked example
Passage: "Many old stepwells lie full of garbage. Yet a few towns that cleaned them found they still collect rainwater and raise groundwater. Reviving them costs little."
- "Stepwells are full of garbage." Too narrow. It covers only the first line.
- "India faces a water crisis." Too broad. The passage talks only about stepwells.
- "Only stepwells can solve water shortage." Too extreme.
- "Cleaning old stepwells is a cheap way to improve water supply." Correct. It covers every line.
Option types and how to remove them
| Option type | What it looks like | How to remove it |
|---|---|---|
| Out of scope | true in real life, never said | ask where it is stated |
| Too extreme | uses always, never, only, must, completely | passages argue in a moderate way |
| Reversal | says the opposite of a stated line | re-read the line it is built on |
| Too narrow or too broad | one example, or ideas beyond the passage | it must cover the whole passage |
| Verbatim bait | copies a phrase but changes its use | theme options paraphrase, they rarely quote |
Title questions
A good title is short and covers the whole passage. It often shows both sides when the passage has both. Titles with a colon, such as "Gig Work: Freedom with a Price", are often right because they hold two halves of the idea.
Watch: A catchy title that names only the first example is wrong. If the passage opens with a farmer's story but is really about water policy, "A Farmer's Story" is too narrow.
Titles are noun phrases, like "The quiet comeback of the public library". Do not reject a title for having no verb. Reject it for the wrong scope.
Purpose questions
Look at the verbs the author uses.
| The author mainly... | Purpose word |
|---|---|
| gives facts, explains how something works | to inform, to explain |
| gives reasons for one side, says should or must | to argue, to persuade |
| points out a danger | to warn |
| praises something and asks readers to do it | to encourage |
| points out faults | to criticise |
A neutral explanation is never "to criticise" or "to persuade", even if the topic is serious.
Method for a whole passage or one paragraph
- Before you look at the options, say the main idea in about ten words.
- Remove options that are too narrow, too broad or too extreme.
- Between two options that remain, pick the one that includes the author's conclusion.
For one paragraph, use the same tests on that paragraph only. Its first sentence, the topic sentence, usually states the point.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Central idea or main theme of the passage
'The central idea or main theme of the passage is...', 'The passage is primarily concerned with...', 'Which option sums up the passage?'
Say the topic (from para 1) and the author's point (usually in the last para) in one line.
Remove options that cover only one paragraph.
Remove options about a bigger subject than the passage.
Remove options with only, always or never that the author did not use.
The main idea must be supported by every paragraph, so partial or inflated options fail.
"Many families now buy bottled water. Yet a simple home filter gives safe water at a tenth of the cost, and it creates no plastic waste." The central idea is: (a) Bottled water is unsafe (b) Home filters are a cheaper, cleaner alternative to bottled water (c) Plastic waste is rising in India (d) All families should stop drinking tap water
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Topic: bottled water. Author's point: a home filter is cheaper and makes no plastic.
(a) is never said.
(c) is too broad. (d) is extreme and unrelated.
(b)
Most suitable title
'Which of the following is the most appropriate or suitable title for the passage?'
Build your ten-word summary first.
Reject titles that name only an example from one paragraph.
Reject dramatic titles that go past the author, such as 'The End of...' or 'The Only Way...'.
Prefer the title that covers both the problem and the answer if the passage has both.
A title must cover the whole passage, no more and no less.
A passage describes how a village built check dams, how its wells refilled and how farmers now grow two crops. Best title? (a) Check Dams Bring a Village Back to Life (b) How to Build a Wall (c) Farming in India (d) The Monsoon Always Fails
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(b) misses the effect.
(c) is too broad.
(d) is extreme and not discussed.
(a)
Author's primary purpose
'The author's main purpose is to...', 'The passage has been written mainly to...'.
Notice the author's verbs: explains (inform), should or must (argue), danger or risk (warn), praises and asks readers (encourage).
Match the purpose to the whole passage, not to one sentence.
Reject purposes that are too strong, such as demand or prove, if the author only suggests.
The purpose is the reason for the whole passage, and the verbs give it away.
"Fifteen minutes of reading to a child each evening builds vocabulary. It needs no costly books; a folk tale works as well. Busy parents can surely spare this time." The author's purpose is to: (a) criticise schools (b) encourage parents to read or tell stories to children daily (c) sell children's books (d) compare folk tales
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The author explains a benefit.
Then the author urges parents: 'can surely spare this time'.
That is encouragement.
(b)
Main point of one paragraph or best summary
'The second paragraph is mainly about...', 'What is the main point of the last paragraph?', 'Which option best summarises...'
Read the first sentence of that paragraph, the topic sentence.
Check that the option fits every sentence in that paragraph.
Reject options that describe another paragraph.
A paragraph has one point, and all its sentences support it.
Para 2: "Discarded phones add to e-waste. Workers burn wires to get copper and breathe the fumes. New phones need fresh metals and energy." Para 2 is mainly about: (a) new phone features (b) the hidden costs of throwing gadgets away (c) the price of copper (d) government rules on repair
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Sentence 1 names waste, sentence 2 names fumes, sentence 3 names fresh resources.
Each one is a cost of discarding.
(b)
What would the author discuss next?
'The paragraph that follows most likely deals with...', 'What is the author likely to write about next?'
Find the last paragraph's job: problem, cause, or one solution among several.
Ask what a reader would want to know next.
Choose the option that continues the same line of thought, not a new topic.
Passages move in steps. The next step follows from the last line.
The last paragraph says: "Rainwater tanks are one way to save water at home. Another way is to fix leaking taps." What comes next? (a) Other simple ways to save water at home (b) A history of taps (c) The cost of buying a car (d) Why rain falls
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The passage is listing ways to save water.
The list has just begun, so more ways should follow.
(a)
Shortcuts that save time
Read the opening and closing sentences of the passage, plus the first sentence of each middle paragraph. This skeleton usually states or implies the theme. Build your ten-word summary from it before you read the options.
Opening: 'Critics announced the death of the public library. The prediction has aged badly.' Closing: 'Libraries are one of the few public institutions succeeding in both worlds.' What is the theme?
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The opening says libraries were written off.
It adds that this prediction was wrong.
The closing praises libraries for doing well.
Libraries remain vital public institutions, not relics
The idea the author repeats in different words across paragraphs is the theme. If an option's core idea appears in only one paragraph, it is a detail, not the theme.
Titles are noun phrases. Theme options are full claims. Judge both by scope, not by grammar.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Picking a title that names only the first paragraph's example.
Pick the title that covers the whole passage.
Choosing the broadest-sounding option.
An option with no support in the passage is a trap, not a strength.
Confusing the author's closing suggestion with the theme.
A suggestion supports the idea. It is not the whole idea.
Selecting an option because its words appear in the passage.
Theme options paraphrase. Check the meaning, not the words.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Main idea = topic + the author's point about it.
Check the first and last paragraphs first.
Three killers: too narrow, too broad, too extreme.
A title is the whole passage in a few words. Colon titles often fit two-sided passages.
Purpose = why it was written: inform, argue, warn, encourage, criticise.
Make your own summary before you read the options.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 8 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.