Main Idea, Summary and Title — Practice

Question 1

Passage: Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, yet they shelter a quarter of all marine species. They protect coastlines from storms, support fishing communities, and draw millions of tourists. When a reef dies, the loss ripples outward through the ecosystems and economies that depend on it.
The main idea is that:
(a) Coral reefs cover very little of the ocean floor (b) Though tiny in area, coral reefs are vital to marine life and to human livelihoods (c) Tourists enjoy visiting coral reefs (d) Reefs protect coastlines from storms

Accepted Answer

(b) Though tiny in area, coral reefs are vital to marine life and to human livelihoods.

Every sentence supports the reefs' outsized importance. (a), (c) and (d) are true details drawn from the passage but each covers only a part — they are too narrow to be the main idea.

Question 2

Passage: The invention of the printing press did more than speed up copying. By making books cheap and plentiful, it spread literacy beyond the clergy, fuelled scientific exchange across borders, and loosened the Church's grip on knowledge. Few inventions have reshaped society so completely.
Which is the main idea rather than a supporting detail?
(a) The printing press made copying faster (b) The printing press transformed society by making knowledge widely available (c) The Church once controlled access to knowledge (d) Books became cheaper to produce

Accepted Answer

(b) The printing press transformed society by making knowledge widely available.

The passage's point is the press's sweeping social impact; the cheaper books, wider literacy and weakened Church are the details that support it. (a), (c) and (d) are those supporting details.

Question 3

Passage: For decades the tomato was shipped unripe and hard so it could survive long journeys, its flavour sacrificed to durability. Now small farms selling directly to local buyers are reviving older, tastier varieties — proving that when the supply chain shortens, flavour can return to the plate.
Which is the best title?
(a) The History of the Tomato (b) How Shorter Supply Chains Are Bringing Flavour Back (c) Why Tomatoes Are Red (d) The Science of Fruit Ripening

Accepted Answer

(b) How Shorter Supply Chains Are Bringing Flavour Back.

The passage's point is that shortening the supply chain restores flavour. (b) captures exactly that. (a) is too broad, and (c) and (d) address side topics the passage does not centre on.

Question 4

Passage: The city's bike-sharing scheme began with just 200 cycles and heavy scepticism. Five years on, it runs 12,000 cycles, has cut short car trips in the centre by a fifth, and turned a modest profit. Other cities now send delegations to study it.
Which is the best summary?
(a) The city bought 200 cycles for a scheme (b) A city's bike-sharing scheme grew from a doubted experiment into a large, profitable success that other cities now study (c) Cycling is good for cities (d) The scheme eventually turned a profit

Accepted Answer

(b) A city's bike-sharing scheme grew from a doubted experiment into a large, profitable success that other cities now study.

This captures the whole arc — small and doubted, then large, profitable and admired — completely and faithfully. (a) and (d) are partial, and (c) is too broad.

Question 5

Passage: In the small Himalayan village of Kholi, a women's cooperative has revived traditional wool-weaving, giving forty families a steady income and keeping a dying craft alive.
Which best states the main idea?
(a) Across the world, women are reviving traditional crafts (b) In one Himalayan village, a women's cooperative revived wool-weaving, helping families and saving a craft (c) Wool-weaving is a difficult skill (d) Himalayan villages are generally poor

Accepted Answer

(b) In one Himalayan village, a women's cooperative revived wool-weaving, helping families and saving a craft.

The passage is about one village's cooperative. (a) is too broad — it generalises to the whole world — while (c) and (d) are unsupported or beside the point. (b) matches the passage's scope exactly.

Question 6

Passage: The office memo announcing 'increased flexibility' also removed fixed desks, ended the childcare subsidy, and required staff to be reachable at all hours. Employees noticed that every new 'benefit' happened to cost the company less and demand more of them.
The passage mainly suggests that:
(a) The company genuinely increased flexibility for staff (b) The company's so-called benefits actually served the company at the employees' expense (c) Employees generally dislike receiving memos (d) Childcare subsidies are too expensive to sustain

Accepted Answer

(b) The company's so-called benefits actually served the company at the employees' expense.

The main idea is not stated outright but built from the details: each 'benefit' cost the firm less and demanded more of staff. Synthesising them gives (b); the other options miss or contradict that point.

Question 7

Passage: Electric cars are often praised as a clean solution to urban pollution, and on the road they emit nothing. But the electricity that charges them is, in many countries, still generated by burning coal, and mining the metals for their batteries carries a heavy environmental cost. The 'clean' car, it turns out, is only as clean as the system behind it.
The main idea is that:
(a) Electric cars emit nothing while being driven (b) An electric car is only as clean as the energy and supply chains behind it (c) Electric cars are widely praised for cutting pollution (d) Much electricity is generated by burning coal

Accepted Answer

(b) An electric car is only as clean as the energy and supply chains behind it.

The passage concedes the praise, then turns with 'but' to the author's real point, restated in the last line. (a), (c) and (d) are the set-up and the supporting details, not the controlling idea.

Question 8

Passage: Ah, the modern smartphone — a marvel that lets us video-call across oceans, and also lets us ignore the person sitting right across the table. We have never been so connected, or so alone.
Which title best fits the passage's idea and tone?
(a) Advances in Mobile Telecommunications (b) Connected and Alone: The Smartphone Paradox (c) A Technical Guide to Smartphones (d) The Health Risks of Screen Radiation

Accepted Answer

(b) Connected and Alone: The Smartphone Paradox.

The passage's wry point is that the smartphone both connects and isolates us. (b) captures that paradox and matches the light, ironic tone. (a) and (c) are dryly technical, and (d) addresses a topic the passage never raises.

Practice — Main Idea, Summary and Title

Sign in to save attempts to your dashboard and track your accuracy over time

Find a verified tutor

Join a live course

Browse coaching centres

About

Categories

Support

Documentation

Get Study Tips & Updates

Download Our App

Download for iOS

Download for Android

Popular Cities