Reading & Writing: Information and Ideas

The main idea or central claim the whole text is built to convey — not a single detail, but the overarching point all parts support.

The correct central-idea answer matches the scope of the whole text: too narrow (one detail) or too broad (beyond the text) answers are wrong.

A choice that is true and stated in the text but only captures a minor detail rather than the main point — accurate yet too narrow.

Topic sentences, the opening framing, and the conclusion — but the idea must be confirmed across the whole passage, not from one line alone.

Forming a one-sentence summary before reading the options lets you match choices to your summary and reject off-scope distractors.

Words like 'always,' 'never,' or 'proves' often overstate what the text supports; central ideas usually reflect the text's measured tone.