How to Approach Reading Comprehension Questions

Standardized reading comprehension tests always have questions about the main idea of the passage, and for good reason The main idea is the key concept or thought that the writer wants to convey in the text. 

People often confuse the main idea of a passage with its topic, but they are two very different things. The topic or subject of a passage is what the passage is about. The main idea, on the other hand, is what the writer wants to say about that subject. For example, take a look at this paragraph  

This paragraph is about problems with utilitarianism, but that does not adequately convey the main idea. The main idea must say something more, make a specific assertion about that subject. And there are many things we could say about this topic There are not any problems with utilitarianism, for example, or The problems with utilitarianism are an acceptable tradeoff for happiness, or The problem with utilitarianism is its mathematical approach to happiness. In this paragraph, the writer makes his or her assertion (the main point) in the first sentence  

Although many social policies and much legislation is founded on this greatest good philosophy, there are several problems with utilitarianism as a basis for morality. 

A sentence like this—one that clearly expresses the main idea of a paragraph—is the topic sentence. A sentence that expresses the main idea of a longer text (an essay) is the thesis statement. Of course, main ideas are not always stated in topic sentences or thesis statements, and in much of what you read, main ideas will be inferred. We will deal with that scenario in a moment. 

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