ShmoopTube

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We’re just taking a wild guess here, but when you read something, you probably like [Woman reading]

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to, uh… understand what you’re reading, right?

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Well… easier said than done. Especially with non-fiction.

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There is sometimes a lot to understand. [Woman sat on a doctor's bed]

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But one thing you should definitely understand is the relationship between the main idea and

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the supporting details. Once you’ve got that part figured out, the rest is a piece

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of cake. Or…easy as pie. Or…simple as salmon mousse. Something like that. [Pictures of the food appearing]

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The main idea is always the most important idea of the text. It's what the reading's [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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about. Like… if a friend were to ask you, “Hey, what’s The Sleeping Habits of Sloths

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about?” your answer would be...whatever the main idea of that book is.

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Probably something sloth-related, if we had to guess. [Two people watching a sloth on TV]

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The main idea shouldn't be a mystery, and there are always plenty of clues to help you figure it out. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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The reading's title, headings, and/or pictures should give you a good idea.

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Even though the main text is the most important part of the text,

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the supporting details are a pretty big deal in their own right.

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They explain and give more information about the main idea.

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It's all well and good to have a nice and shiny main idea, but without any proof or [Guy holding a protest sign is hit by snowballs]

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evidence, no one's going to be too convinced.

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On the other hand, if that main idea is held up by a bunch of supporting details, it'll [Guy protesting is carried by 3 people]

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stand a much better chance of surviving an earthquake.

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Or…a skeptical reader.

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Example time! Say we're assigned a reading from one of our textbooks. [Girl in class has a book put on her desk]

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Before even reading it, we can flip through the reading, taking a gander at the title, [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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headings, and pictures. The title is "Abraham Lincoln: America's Greatest President," and

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there are always a bunch of pictures of Honest Abe.

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It’s pretty likely that this reading is not only about Abraham Lincoln, [Book full of pictures of Abraham Lincoln]

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but also why he was the best president.

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So the main idea of the reading is probably: "Abraham Lincoln was the greatest president."

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Now, the supporting evidence. This will take some actual reading, but based on the main [Girl reading the book in a library]

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idea, it'll probably be evidence that Lincoln was… a great president.

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Yeah…we actually used to have those.

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Maybe the reading will reference Abe’s issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, or his great

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speeches, or his strong moral character, or his awesome taste in flatware.

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As long as the detail shows why Lincoln was a great president…so… [Table full of flatware]

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probably not the flatware thing… it's fair game. [Stop sign appears]

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Once we understand the relationship between a main idea and the supporting details, reading [A sailboat on the sea]

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non-fiction is a breeze. And we can reward ourselves with cake. Or pie. Or salmon mousse. [Pictures of the food appearing]

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Or Pepto-Bismol. [Guy holding containers of Pesto-Bismol]

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