LASSI Prescriptions

A Concise and Practical Guide to Becoming a Strategic Learner

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  2. Selecting Main Ideas
  3. Prescription 1

Prescription #1: Paragraphs

We communicate with words, sentences, and paragraphs. In this set of prescriptions we are primarily concerned with paragraphs. Paragraphs are written for topics that require explanation. They exist for communicating non-simple ideas.

The more you ask, the more you’ll learn.


A well-formed paragraph contains a topic sentence along with a number of supporting sentences. The topic sentence contains a statement of the paragraph's main idea. Each of the other sentences explains some aspect of the major idea.

To the casual observer, a paragraph appears as a series of sentences, but that is not the case. Each sentence has a purpose. The topic sentence states a fact or opinion that is the paragraph's main idea. Each other sentence provides a piece of further information about the main idea that is intended to make its meaning easier to understand. The paragraph is a teamwork proposition. Each sentence plays a role.

To understand a paragraph, it is helpful for the reader to separate its sentences into two categories:

  1. One sentence that states its main idea, and
  2. All other sentences that explain or describe that idea

For this prescription, begin by reading the following paragraph.

The Bill of Rights is a prized portion of the United States Constitution. It is the first ten amendments of that document. Those amendments contain guarantees for every American such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. The Amendments were of such great importance to the 13 colonies that they were attached to the Constitution before it was adopted. Much has been changed in America the past 225 years, but the Bill of Rights today is the same as written in 1791.

Find the Main Idea of the paragraph above.


You are finished with Prescription #1. Finding the main idea of a paragraph is a basic skill needed in academic tasks, but understanding it depends on its supporting sentences. It is recommended that you logout now and take a couple of days to think about the role of each sentence in a paragraph. When you come back, we’ll look at other ways to select main ideas.