ACT Preparation / Unit 5 ACT 0407 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Finding the Main Point of a Paragraph
The idea
A paragraph's main point is found in three steps. First, read the whole paragraph before deciding. Second, for each sentence, ask whether it states a claim or gives evidence, an example or an explanation. Third, find the claim the others support: that sentence, wherever it sits, is the topic sentence. If no sentence states the claim, put it in your own words from what the support adds up to.
In practice
Worked example: "Volunteers built the beds in one weekend. Seeds came from a local nursery at no cost. Parents donated tools. The garden opened without spending a dollar of the school's budget." The first three sentences give specific facts; the last states what they add up to. The main point, and the topic sentence, is the last one: the garden cost the school nothing.
Where people slip
The first sentence is a frequent home for the topic sentence, which makes it the natural guess. Read to the end before accepting it.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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