Resources › For Students and Parents How to Find the Stated Main Idea Print Getty Images | Tim Robberts For Students and Parents Test Prep Test Prep Strategies Study Skills SAT Test Prep ACT Test Prep GRE Test Prep LSAT Test Prep Certifications Homework Help Private School College Admissions College Life Graduate School Business School Law School Distance Learning View More By Kelly Roell Kelly Roell Education Expert B.A., English, University of Michigan Kelly Roell is the author of "Ace the ACT. " She has a master's degree in secondary English education and has worked as a high school English teacher. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 03, 2020 Sometimes, a reader will get lucky and the main idea will be a stated main idea, which is the easiest to find in a passage. It is written directly in the text. Authors sometimes come right out and write the main idea in the passage for a variety of reasons – they don't want you to miss the point, they are new writers and have not figured out the art of subtlety, they like clear, informational writing. Whatever the reason, it's there waiting for you; you just need to find it. How To Find the Stated Main Idea Read the passage of textAsk this question to yourself: "What is this passage mostly about?"In your own words, explain the answer in one short sentence. Do not include details or examples from the text. Do not extend your idea beyond what is written in the text, even if you know a ton about the topic. It does not matter for this exercise. Look for a sentence in the text that most closely fits with your brief summary. Stated Main Idea Example Because the Internet exists in a world that is already regulated with policies and laws, government officials, upholders of current laws and the voice of the people, should be ultimately responsible for the regulation of the Internet. With this responsibility comes the enormous task of managing the protection of First Amendment rights along with honoring social and public interests across the world. That being said, the ultimate responsibility still rests in the hands of Internet users who vote – they, along with the officials elected to serve them, make up the global community. Voters have the ability to elect responsible individuals to the appropriate posts, and the elected officials have the responsibility to act on the will of the people. The main idea here is "…government officials…should be ultimately responsible for the regulation of the Internet." That is a stated main idea because it is directly written in the text. The sentence fully encapsulates the passage's meaning as a whole. It does not go beyond the text making inferences outside the scope of the passage, nor does it use the specifics of the passage inside it, either. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Roell, Kelly. "How to Find the Stated Main Idea." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/how-to-find-the-stated-main-idea-3211740. Roell, Kelly. (2023, April 5). How to Find the Stated Main Idea. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-find-the-stated-main-idea-3211740 Roell, Kelly. "How to Find the Stated Main Idea." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-find-the-stated-main-idea-3211740 (accessed April 26, 2024). copy citation