ACT Preparation / Unit 16 ACT 1514 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Finding the Central Idea
The idea
The central idea of a passage is found in four steps. First, read the whole passage, noting each paragraph's main point in a few words. Second, ask what those points have in common: what claim do they all develop? Third, state it in one sentence of your own. Fourth, compare the choices with your sentence, eliminating any that is too broad, too narrow, or about only part of the passage.
In practice
Worked example: an invented passage has four paragraphs: a library's early years as one room; its move to a larger building after a fund drive; its after-school programs today; and the long waiting list for its homework help. The paragraph points are start, growth, programs and demand. What they share: the library grew because the community kept asking more of it. "Libraries are important" is too broad; "the fund drive succeeded" is too narrow; "the library's growth has followed its community's needs" fits.
Where people slip
Build your own sentence before reading the choices. Reading the choices first lets a well-worded detail pass for the central idea.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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