The central or main idea either refers to the point or purpose of a
paragraph or it refers to the summary of a piece of writing. These two
concepts are closely related in a piece of writing because the point of
each paragraph should contribute to the point of the entire piece of
writing. In order to discover the point or purpose of a paragraph, one
must first identify the topic of the piece of writing. Then, one must
identify the structure or medium used to discuss the topic. Finally, for
a paragraph, one should identify the sentences that the other sentences
seem to support, and for an entire text, one should identify the
statement or idea that the paragraphs seem to discuss or support. When
this process is applied to the excerpt from An Interview with Marielle Tsukamoto, I come up with the following answers:
Topic: Japanese internment
Structure: Interview
Main idea: “Mary Tsukamoto always took the initiative to follow her beliefs.”
Why: The other sentences support the idea that Mary
Tsukamoto worked hard to right the wrongs of Japanese internment whether
she was teaching, raising her family, or writing a book.
