PREFACE

First of all, give thanks for God’s love and grace for us. Thanks to God for helping us and
give us chance to finish this assignment timely and we would like to say thank you to Mrs.
Sulamit Syeba, M.Pd as the lecturer that always teaches us and gives much knowledge about
how to practice English well. This assignment is the one of English task that composed of
Listening Comprehension 3.

We realized this assignment is not perfect, but we hope it can be useful for us. Critics and
suggestion are needed here to make this assignment be better. Hopefully, we as the students in
English Education Program can work more professional by using English as the second language
whatever we done. Thank you.

Palangka Raya, April 20th 2019

Author
 LIST OF CONTENT

PREFACE .................................................................................................................... i

LIST OF CONTENT ..................................................................................................... ii

I. Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................... 1

I. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1

II. Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................... 3

I. Discussion .................................................................................................... 3

The definition of main idea and supporting details ...................................... 3

How to finding the main idea ........................................................................ 4

Examples of main idea and supporting details ............................................. 4

Examples of main idea and supporting details ............................................. 6

Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 7

References.......................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

In our daily activities, particularly in academic environment we often dealing with text,
there are many kind of text for example recount text, narrative text, descriptive text, report
text, And etc. In ever kind of text of course it contain messeges, information, and the other
things that we need to understand, To understand the meaning of a text or to make a good text
we have to know about main Idea and supporting detail, because main idea and supporting
detail has a big role in a text. through this paper we present to you the explanation about how
to understand, how to diferenciate, and how to find main Idea and supporting detail in a text.

1.2 Purpose

This paper was written to fulfill the task of group 3 listening comprehension on main idea
and supporting detail.

1.3 problems

The problem that will be discussed in this paper are:

1. What is the definition of main idea and supporting details?

2. what is the difference between main idea and supporting details?

3. How to finding the main idea?

4. How to determining supporting details?

5. What ia the typs of supporting materials?

5. What is the example of main idea?

 CHAPTER 2

DISCUSSION

2.1 The definition of main idea and supporting details

Main idea is what the paragraph, story, or section is mostly about. Supporting details help
main idea to give information about what main idea means or a fact that contains example and
tells the reader information about the main idea.

2.2 The difference between main idea and supporting details

The main idea shows the key points in the text. Meanwhile, the supporting details show
you the writer’s belief, examples, and proofs of the main idea. Understanding both of these
things is an important part of understanding a whole text.

2.3 How to finding the main idea

The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. It is often
expressed directly or it can be implied.

It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text.

1. Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs.

The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage.

2. Main ideas are also found within the paragraph or at the end of paragraph.

Use the hints below to determine the correct main idea of this paragraph:

After reading a paragraph ask: "What point is the author making in this passage?"

Ask the following questions:

Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group of people?

When - Does the information contain a reference to time?

Where - Does the text name a place?

Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for something that happened?

How - Does this information indicate a method or a theory?

If you are able to summarize the information in the passage in your own words, you have
absorbed the correct main idea.

If you are able to rephrase your choice of a topic sentence into a question and then determine
if the passage answers your question, you have been successful at selecting a main idea.

The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as
well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.

The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult to identify a main idea
when it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An
implied main idea can be found in several ways.

1. Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about
the topic before actually stating the topic.

2. Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or
suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover the main
idea in the selected text.

2.4 How to determining the supporting details

1. Decide which details help to further the story line.

2. Decide which details help you to understand the main idea.
3. Answer question raised by the main idea (who, what when, why or
2.5 Types of supporting materials

1. Comparisons in which one thing is shown to be like another.

Example: skilled college students are like the unskilled students in their desire for a
Diploma.
2. Contrasts in which one thing is shown to differ from another.
Example: skilled students are different from unskilled students in that they use a method to
read a textbook.
3. Statistics
Example: 75 percent of the students who do not attend class regularly receive grade
Of c or worse.
4. Graphs
Example: figure 9-1 is one type of graph.
5. Quotations from authorities
Example: Professor Smith admits, “I tell students they don’t need to attend my class
if they don’t want to. I know, however, that if they don’t come, they won’t pass.”

6. Vivid descriptions
Example: the students took the exam from the professor’s hand, quickly looked at the
grade, gave a sigh or relief and began to smile.

2.6 Example of main idea in a paragraph

Example: First Paragraph

”We are on our way to becoming a cashless, checkless society, a trend that began with the credit
card. Now some banks are offering “debit cards” instead of the credit cards. That costs of
purchases made with these cards are deducted from the holder’s bank account instead of being
added the a monthly bill. And checking accounts, which are mainly used for paying bills, are
going electronic.
Now some people can make computer transactions over their pushbutton phones to pay bills by
transferring money from their account to the account of whomever they owe. Soon we may be
able to conduct most of our business without signing a check or actually seeing the money we
earn and spend.”

Example: Within A Paragraph

‘’The physical complaints of neurotics – people who are overly anxious, pessimistic, hostile, or
tense – were once largely ignored by physician. Many doctors believed that the frequent
complaint of neurotic were exaggerations.
However, new research shows that neurotics are, fact, more likely to have physical problems.
Specifically, researchers found neurotics stand a grater chance of having five particular ailments:
arthritis, asthma, ulcers, headaches, and heart disease. In addition, there is evidence that people
who are pessimistic in their teens and twenties are more likely to become ill or die in their
forties.”

Main idea: Third sentences. The two sentences before the topic sentence introduce the
question of the physical health of neurotics. The topic sentence gives the writer’s main ideas on
the topic. The last two sentences develop the main idea by giving specific details of the relevant
research.

Example: End Of The Paragraph

“A study at one prison shows that owning a pet can change a hardened prison inmate into a more
caring person. Another study discovered that senior citizens, both those living alone and those in
nursing homes, became more interested in life when they were given pets to care for. Even
emotionally disturbed children have been observed to smile and react with interest if there is a
cuddly kitten or puppy to hold. Animals, then, can be a means of therapy for many kinds of
individuals.
 CONCLUSION

The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the
concept of that paragraph. That main idea may be stated at the beginning of the paragraph, in the
middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated is the topic sentence of that
paragraph. And and the supporting sentences(supporting details) of a paragraph develop the main idea
you presented in the topic sentence. When writing supporting sentences you should be giving examples,
reasons, or descriptions to support your topic sentence. - There are usually 2 - 4 supporting sentences in
a paragraph.
REFERENCES