ACT Preparation / Unit 16 ACT 1511 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Main Idea Versus Purpose
Captions available
The idea
The main idea is the text's central claim; the author's purpose is what the author hopes to accomplish with it, such as to inform, persuade or entertain.
In practice
A travel essay's main idea might be that small towns reward slow travel; its purpose, to persuade readers to try it.
Where people slip
Questions about purpose use verbs: to explain, to argue, to describe.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for ACT Preparation