Explanation: To
identify the Main Idea, follow
these steps:
First, read the
answer choices. Make a judgment about each choice.
CHOICE A:
Maria and her father go for a walk. This is
true. The first few words tell us that "Maria
walked with her father, . . . " But is this
the main idea? The first
sentence goes on to tell us that "she found
that she felt awkward and didn't want to tell him
about her feelings, her thoughts, her ideas."
The other sentences also talk about why she feels
awkward. The walk is
not mentioned again. It seems to just set the
stage. The focus of the paragraph is more than just
the walk, so we can eliminate this choice as
the main idea. It is
a supporting detail rather than a main idea. We
can decide choice A is a No.
CHOICE B:
Maria is confused about her relationship with
her father. Yes, this is true too. It also
is a statement that applies to every sentence
in the paragraph. It seems like a yes choice,
but wait . . .don't stop here. Consider
the last option too.
CHOICE C:
Maria and her father were once best friends but
he has changed. Is this a true statement based
on the paragraph? Using the evidence of these phrases:
"They had always talked before. . . . and
yet there was something different about him,"
we think it is true they were best friends, but
her dad changed. This might be a maybe
choice. It does apply to part of the paragraph.
But it does not tell the whole story. We
also know that Maria changed: "Maria wondered
if she was the one who had changed. Had she grown
apart from him in these past few months?" We
can now eliminate this choice because the truth
is that Maria thinks that they both have changed,
not just her father. We can decide choice C is
a no.
Finally, you've
eliminated choices A and C and have solid
reasons why they are NOT the main
idea. Look at CHOICE B again. After
thinking about the other options, Choice B totally
describes the main focus or idea of the paragraph.
CHOICE B it is!
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