Main Idea and Identifying Difficult Vocabulary

1. INTERMEDIATE READING
LESSON 2 : Finding the Main Idea
LESSON 3: Defining Vocabulary in
Context

2. Members of
Group
• Nurachni D (13020112120004)
• Mery M.S (13020112120005)
• Yanlita Frenty (13020112120006)
• Titis Dyah H (13020112120007)
• Stevani A R (13020112120008)

3. Lesson 2
Finding the Main Idea
Topic
Main Idea
Sentence
Example

4. The main idea
• An assertion about the subject
• The general idea that controls or holds
together the paragraph or passage

5. Example
Today’s postal service is more efficient and reliable than ever
before. Mail that used to take months to move by horse and foot
now moves arround the country in days or hours by truck, train,
and plane. First-class mail usually moves from New York City to
Los Angeles in three days or less. If your letter or package is
urgent, the U.S. Postal Service offers Priority Mail and Express
Mail services. Priority Mail is guaranteed to go anywhere in the
United States in two days or less. Express Mail will get your
package there overnight.
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6. Which of the following sentences best
summarizes the main idea of the passage?
a. Express Mail is good way to send urgent
mail.
b. Mail service today is more effective and
dependable
c. First-class mail usually takes three days
or less.
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7. a. Express Mail is a good way to send urgent
mail
answer a is specific, cannot be the main idea
c. First-class mail usually takes there days or less
answer c is also very spesific, cannot be the
main idea
NEXT

8. b. Mail service today is more effective and
dependable
answer b is general enough to encompass the
whole passage

9. Topic sentences
• Topic sentence is a sentence that clearly
expresses the main idea of a paragraph.
• Topic sentence is at the beginning of a
paragraph also frequently at the end, but on
occasion may be in the middle of the passage.
NEXT

10. Practice in Identifying Topic Sentences
Which of the following sentences is general
enough to be a topic sentence?
a. The new healt club has a great kickboxing
class.
b. Many different classes are offered by the
healt club.
c. Pilates is a popular class at the healt club.
d. The yoga class is offered on Saturday
morning.
NEXT

11. The most general sentence to be a topic
sentence is on “C”. Because the sentece is the
most simple and can be supported by the other
sentences.

12. LESSON 3
Defining Vocabulary in Context
Finding
Meaning from Example
Context

13. Finding Meaning from Context
• Sometimes in the passage, there are some
words or phrases that are unfamiliar for us.
• If we have a dictionary to look up the meaning
of the words, it doesn’t matter. But if we don’t
have any dictionary we can use the context to
help us determine the meaning.
NEXT

14. • If we do a little detective work, we can
determine their definition by looking carefully
at how they are used in paragraph.
• By examining the words and ideas surrounding
it, we will know about the word by how it is
used.
• This is called determining word meaning
through context.
• Like detectives looking for clues at a crime
scene, we must look at the passage for clues
that will help us define this word. NEXT

15. • The ability to determine the meaning of
unfamiliar words from their context is an
essential skill for reading comperehension.
• Sometimes there will be unfamiliar words
whose meaning we can’t determine without a
dictionary.
• But more often than not, a careful look at the
context will give you enough clues to
meaning.

16. Example
Most reality TV shows center on two common motivators: fame and money.
The shows transform waitresses, hairdressers, investment
bankers, counselors, and teachers, to name a few, from obscure figures to
household names. A lucky few successfully parlay their 15 minutes of fame
into celebrity. Even if you are not interested in fame, you can probably
understand the desire for lots of money. Watching people eat large
insects, reveal their innermost thoughts to millions of people, and allow
themselves to be filmed 24 hours a day for a huge financial reward makes for
interesting viewing.Whatever their attraction, these shows are among the
most popular on television, and every season, they proliferate like weeds in
an untended garden. The networks are quickly replacing more traditional
dramas and comedies with reality TV programs, which earn millions in
advertising revenue.Whether you love it or hate it, one thing is for sure—
reality TV is here to stay!
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17. a. What does the obscure mean?
 So, given the sentence we have here, what can we tell about
obscure? Well, since the shows transform
waitresses, hairdressers, investment bankers, counselors, and
teachers from one position—obscure figures, to another position—
household names, that immediately tells us that an obscure figure
and a household name are two different things.
b. What does poliferate mean?
 Whatever their attraction, these shows are among the most popular
on television, and every season, they proliferate like weeds in an
untended garden.