General Vs. Specific Ideas

The main idea in a paragraph is a general idea. In contrast, the supporting information in a paragraph is made up of specific ideas and details. To improve your skill at finding main ideas, you need to practice distinguishing between general and specific ideas.

First, try it on the three groups of words below.  Each group of words has one general idea and three specific ideas.

The general idea includes all the specific ideas.  

See if you can identify the general word in each group.

Then read the Answers and Explanations that follow:

	a)  jealousy  hatred  emotion  worry
	b)  bees  cockroaches  mosquitoes  insects
	c)  chemistry  science  physics  biology

Answers and Explanations

	a)  The general idea is "emotions" because it includes all of the others as examples.
	b)  The general idea is "insects" because it includes all of the others as examples.
	c)  The general idea is "science" because it includes all of the others as examples.

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Last update: 04/07/06