Reading for Main Idea

 

Key Ideas in Sentences

Walaupun suatu kalimat mungkin memberi banyak informasi, kalimat tersebut biasanya memberikan satu key idea (gagasan kunci). Kita harus mampu mencari key idea supaya memahami makna kalimat dengan jelas.

Key idea suatu kalimat biasanya memberitahukan:

• siapakah seseorang itu atau apa suatu benda itu 

• apa yang orang/benda lakukan

Contoh:

A handsome boy in a leather jacket fell into a river behind Botanic Garden.

Kalimat di atas memberitahukan tentang a boy (seorang anak laki-laki). Kita tahu bahwa the boy fell (si anak itu jatuh). Semua informasi tentang tampangnya, tentang dimana dia jatuh, dan tentang nama kebun menambah rincian/detail informasi. Detail-detail penting dalam melengkapi latar (scene) untuk kita, pembaca, dan sangat sering kita harus bersandar pada detail-detail untuk membuat pokok pikiran (main idea) lebih jelas. Tapi key idea, gagasan utama, dalam kalimat itu hanya A boy fell.

Berikut cara mencari key idea dalam kalimat.

• Tanyalah tentang siapa atau tentang apa subjeknya

• Tanyalah apa yang orang/benda (subjek) lakukan, atau apa yang terjadi pada orang/benda (subjek)

• Belajarlah untuk memilah detail-detail dari key idea. Banyak kata dalam kalimat meng- gambarkan hal-hal tentang subjek dari kalimat dan semata-mata menambah detail tentang subjek itu. Jika kita bertanya kapan (when), jenis apa (what kind), dimana (where), atau mengapa (why), kita akan mendapatkan detail-detail. Dengan demikian, lebih mudah untuk melihat key idea.

Contoh: Because of new laws most Loreign automobiles in Indonesia now offer safety features 

                        (why)                      (what kind)                    (where)    (when) 

at no extra charge.

       (how)

Tentang siapa atau tentang apa subjeknya? automobiles 

Apa yang orang/benda (subjek) lakukan? offer safety features 

Key idea-nya adalah automobiles offer safety feature.

Exercise 1

Pada setiap kalimat berikut, garis bawahi bagian-bagian yang memberi key idea.

Contoh: People who smoke two packs of cigarettes per day spend at least Rp 10,000,00 a day on their habit. 

1. Anybody who has lost his ticket should report to the desk.  

2. Because the policeman saw me driving 100 mph on a 60 mph street, he gave me a ticket. 

3. During the past five years, the number of Indonesians killed annually in car accidents has climbed to more than 55,000.

4. People in higher-status occupations-such as medicine, law, and management-are more prone to suicide than people in lower- status management.

5. In many drainage ditches and streams in low income areas, human waste and filth litter the banks on which children play. 

6. Books are different from movies in that they force us to imagine what characters look like.

7. A quiet garden is hard to find in the midst of the noisy city. 

8. In any classroom a student who is bored can cause trouble. 

9. A group of screaming teenagers holding sticks raced along Siliwangi Street yesterday. 

10. In spite of his hate for overnight trips, Prabu camped in the woods of Ciwidey Estates because his friends dared him to. 

Exercise 2

Dari setiap kalimat di bawah ini. tulis key idea pada spasi yang tersedia.

Contoh: With children at school. We can't take our vacation when we want to. 

We can’t take vacation

1. Since leaving home, Seanu has written to his parents only once.

… 

2. When they've scored their next goal. we'll leave.

… 

3. Since it achieved independence, the country has revised its constitution twice.

… 

4.I'll lend you some money if you don't have any money on you.

… 

5. He predicted that he would discover the tiny particle when he conducted his next experiment.

…

6. Uncrowded Western Parks now offer tourists with campers and trailers a number of modern conveniences. 

…

7. Was the woman who ran away after the robbery of Bank Central Asia part of the gang of thieves who stole Rp 190,000,000,00 last week at a bank in another part of town?

…

8. If he does not study for the final test in this semester, he will not pass a really important moment to decide to which program he will be placed. 

…

9. Do not under any circumstances pick up a hitchhiker on a lonely road at night no matter how sorry you might feel for the person standing there alone. 

…

10. A culture in its very nature is a set of values, skills and ways of life that no one member of the society masters. 

… 

Latihan

Garis bawahi key idea dalam setiap kalimat pada kutipan teks di bawah ini. Kalimat terakhir dapat dijadikan contoh.

Although most still live by centuries-old traditions, millions of professional Asian women have entered the twenty-first century as a force which the entire world must reckon with. Educated and business-minded, they are demanding a full partnership with men, and playing a leading role in the economic explosion of the Pacific Rim. A new generation of women is taking top positions in the family business or launching new businesses financed by the family.

It is true, of course, that Asia's women leaders are a privileged class, and there is a great difference between urban and rural women. Still, the patterns that will change the lives of hundreds of millions of Asian women are already in place. These professional women are well educated. In Taiwan, for example, women aged 20-24 match the college graduation rates of their male counterparts.

And yet Asia's quiet women-lec revolution is not simply the story of women managers. It is also the story of ordinary women-peasant farmers and laborers. Asia's economic miracle would not have been possible without their participation. For example, Korea's industrial base was built by a legion of women working at repetitive dead-end and poorly-paid jobs in the electronics, textile and toy factories. Similarly, in Malaysia, thousands of rural women migrated to the cities to work in the electronic factories, thus helping to transform a largely agriculture-based economy to one that is rapidly industrializing.

Amongst the causes of this revolution, the principal one is opportunity. Asia's exploding economy and the small populations of some Asian countries (Singapore has only 3 million people) mean labor shortages and full employment. Business must make use of all human resources. In addition, many international companies with branches are accustomed to hiring women.

Equally important is the fact that modern Asian women are not like their mothers. Not only are they better educated than their mothers, but they are also marrying later. If at all, and having fewer children. Moreover, Asian women today are much better informed. Instant access to global events via the international broadcast system gives her a window on the world that earlier generations knew nothing about. And in the workplace, the new technology is "gender-blind", that is there is nothing in it which makes it more suitable for men than for women.

Understanding Sentence Core

Saat kita sedang membaca, acapkali pemahaman dari keseluruhan wacana bergantung pada kemampuan kita memahami suatu kalimat. Kalimat-kalimat yang panjang, kalimat-kalimat yang memiliki lebih dari satu arti, kalimat yang mengandung pola-pola gramatikal yang rumit sering menyebabkan masalah pemahaman bagi kita. Latihan di bawah ini akan memberikan kesempatan pada kita mengembangkan strategi untuk meng-'akali kalimat-kalimat rumit Walaupun tidak ada rumus mudah yang dapat membantu kita sampai pada pemahaman dari suatu kalimat yang rumit, kita dapat membekali benak kita dengan tips berikut:

-> Coba tentukan apa yang membuat kalimat tersebut rumit atau sulit:

a. Jika kalimat mengandung banyak kata-kata yang sulit, sangat mungkin kalimat dapat difahami tanpa mengetahui arti dari setiap kata. Coba coret kata-kata yang dianggap asıng.

The West had sent armies to capture-and hold Jerusalem; instead they themselves fell victim to a host of new ideas and subtle influences which left their mark on the development of European literature, chivalry, welfare, sanitation, commerce, political institutions, medicine, and the paper itself. 

b. Jika kalimat tersebut sangat panjang, coba urai atau preteli menjadi bagian-bagian yang lebih kecil.

The West had sent armies to capture and hold Jerusalem. The West fell victim to a host of new ideas and subtle influences. These ideas and influences left their mark on the development of European literature, chivalry, welfare, sanitation, commerce, political institutions, medicine, and the papacy.

c. Juga, jika kalimatnya sangat panjang, coba tentukan bagian mana dari kalimat yang mengungkapkan detail-detail spesifik yang menopang pikiran utama. Sering klausa-klausa yang ditulis diapit koma, atau diawali dengan kata which, who, dan that digunakan untuk memberi informasi tambahan atau menyodorkan detail-detail pendukung. Coba coret detail-detail pendukung untuk menentukan pikiran utama. 

These ideas, which left their mark on the development of European-literature; chivalry, welfare, sanitation, commerce, political institutions, medicine, and the papacy, greatly changed Western culture.

Kenali clue-clue gramatikal dan tanda baca yang penting yang dapat mengubah makna maksud dari suatu kalimat.

a. Cari kata atau afiksasi yang dapat mengubah makna/maksud dari suatu kalimat. 

• Summery weather is not uncommon. 

• The average daytime high temperature is approximately 56°.

b. Cari clue-clue tanda baca. 

• Prabu "sings" at all of his friends' parties. 

• Perdana said, "Seanu has been elected chaiman?”

Ingat bahwa kata-kata yang dicetak miring/digarisbawahi atau afiksasi dan tanda baca yang dilingkari di atas memegang peranan penting terhadap pemaknaan kalimat bersangkutan; jïika hal tersebut dihilangkan, makna kalimat bersangkutan akan berubah secara signifikan.

c. Carilah kata-kata kunci yang memberitahukan pada kita keterhubungan dalam suatu kalimat. 

• The school has grown from a small building holding 200 students to a large institute that educates 4,000 students a year. 

From … to mengindikasikan titik awal dan akhir suatu periode perubahan. 

• Many critics have proclaimed Doris Lessing as not only the best writer of the postwar generation, but also a penetrating analyst of human affairs. 

Not on/y ... but also mengindikasikan bahwa dua bagian dari kalimat sama pentingnya. 

• In order to graduate on time, you will need to take five courses each semester. 

In order to seperti if; dia menunjukkan bahwa suatu peristiwa harus terjadi sebelum peristiwa lainnya berlangsung.

• The west had sent armies to capture and hold Jerusalem: instead they themselves fell victim to a host of new ideas and subtle influences. 

Instead menunjukkan bahwa sesuatu terjadi bertentangan dari yang diharapkan. 

• As a result of three books, a television documentary, and a special exposition at the Library of Congress, the mystery has aroused considerable public interest. 

As a result of menunjukkan hubungan sebab-akibat. Klausa yang mengikuti as a result of merupakan penyebab dari peristiwa. Three books, a television documentary, dan a special exposition merupakan penyebab; the arousal of public interest dalam dampak/akibat. 

• Because of the impact of these ideas, which had been introduced originally to Europe by soldiers returning from East, the West was greatly changed. 

Because menunjukkan hubungan sebab-akibat. The West was changed merupakan akibat dari these ideas. Informasi diantara kata which dan tanda koma (,) yang terakhir merujuk pada these ideas. 

Main Ideas in Paragraphs

Suatu paragraph merupakan sekelompok kalimat yang saling bertali dan membicarakan suatu perihal. Suatu paragraph biasanya menceritakan suatu topik. Sering satu kalimat merupakan kalimat topik (topic sentence). Kalimat tersebut menyatakan topik dan pikiran utama (main idea). Kalimat ini merangkum gagasan-gagasan dari kalimat lainnya, yang memberikan detail-detail tentang pikiran utama.

Saat kita membaca suatu paragraph, kita mencari key idea (gagasan kunci) yang setiap kalimat sodorkan. Dengan menggabungkan gagasan-gagasan kunci ini, kita melihat bahwa setiap kalimat membantu membangun pikiran utama dari paragraph, perihal utama yang diperikan setiap kalimat. Kita, membaca harus mengetahui apa gagasan utama dari paragraph untuk memahami informasi yang sedang kita baca.

Mampu menentukan pikiran utama dari suatu teks merupakan satu dari keterampilan membaca yang sangat berguna yang dapat kita kembangkan. Ini merupakan keterampilan yang kita dapat terapkan pada jenis bacaan apa saja. Misalnya, saat kita membaca untuk hiburan atau untuk memperoleh informasi umum, barangkali tidak penting untuk mengingat semua detail dari bacaan tersebut. Alih-alih, kita ingin dengan cepat menemukan pesan umum atau gagasan utama dari bacaan itu. Untuk jenis bacaan lainnya, seperti membaca text-books atau artikel dalam bidang kita masing-masing, kita perlu menentukan pikiran utama maupun memahami bagaimana gagasan tersebut dikembangkan.

Stated Main Ideas

Seringkali satu kalimat dalam paragraph menyatakan pada kita secara tepat apa yang kalimat-kalimat lainnya perikan; kalimat tersebut, oleh karena itu, menyodorkan pikiran utama (main idea). Kalimat yang mengandung main idea ini (sering disebut topic sentence:kalimat topik atau topic statement: pernyataan topik) yang bisa muncul dalam beberapa posisi di paragraph.

Main Idea di Awal

Contoh:

Exercise is good for your heart. Jogging and swimming and other such activities are good for your heart. Getting regular exercise can help you have a healthier heart. Regular physical activity raises healthy HDL cholesterol levels and reduces unhealthy LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. It also lowers blood pressure, burns body fat, and lowers blood sugar levels — all of which benefit heart health.

Main idea (pikiran utama) paragraph di atas adalah “exercise is good for your heart”. Semua kalimat dalam paragraph yang muncul setelah main idea, merupakan supporting sentences yang memberikan argument penguat kenapa olahraga itu penting untuk kesehatan jantung kita.

 

Main Idea di Tengah

Contoh:

The United States seems to be in love with the idea of going out to eat. Because of this, a real variety of restaurants has come about specializing in all kinds of foods. McDonald’s is the king of a subgroup of restaurants called fast-food restaurants. Chances are, no matter where you live, there is a McDonald’s restaurant near you. There are even McDonald’s in the Soviet Union. Now McDonald’s is trying something new. It is called McDonald’s Express and there is a test site in Peabody, Massachusetts. It is part of a Mobil gas station. This allows you to fill up with gas and fill up on food at the same time. What will they think of next?

Main idea (pikiran utama) paragraph di atas adalah “McDonald’s is the king of a subgroup of restaurants called fast-food restaurants”. Kalimat lainnya merupakan supporting sentences, yang menyajikan argument kenapa McDonalds dikatakan sebagai raja restoran siap saji.

 

Main Idea di Akhir

Contoh:

The health benefits of aerobic exercise are not as obvious as the health risk of cigarette smoking. Nevertheless, people who lead inactive lives, without much exercises, have been found to be at greater risk for heart disease and other illnesses. Research at Harvard and Stanford recently reported the results of major study of 17,000 middle-age and older men who were first studies as college students between 1926 and 1950 and then followed up periodically for many decades. The researchers found that those men, who exercised regularly, even at moderate levels, lived longer than those who did not. Even after correcting for such factors as family history, the death rate due to heart disease of the least active group was almost twice as high as that for the most active group. Another recent study found that both men and women who kept physically fit were much less likely to develop high blood pressure which may lead to heart disease than those who did not keep fit. Therefore, to stay healthy, one should do regular exercises.

Main idea (pikiran utama) paragraph di atas adalah “to stay healthy, one should do regular exercise”. Kalimat lainnya merupakan supporting sentences, yang menyajikan argument kenapa penulis berpikiran bahwa “untuk bisa tetap sehat, kita mesti rutin berolahraga”.

 

 Implied Main Idea

Kadang-kadang penulis tidak menuliskan secara tersurat (explicit) main idea atau pikiran utama di dalam paragraph. Alih-alih, kita harus menentukan sendiri main idea paragraph tersebut. Oleh karena itu, kita harus menggabungkan semua detailed information yang penulis sodorkan, kemudian kita simpulkan detailed information tersebut dengan menggunakan kata-kata kita sendiri.

Contoh:

Good ideas often start with a really silly question. Bill Bowerman was making breakfast one day. As he stood there making waffle for his son, he wondered what would happen if he poured robber into his waffle iron. So, he tried it and the result looked something like the bottom of the most sports shoes we see today. Still, when he took this idea to several existing shoe companies, he was literally laughed at. In fact, every single company turned him down. Though rather disappointed, Bowerman was determined and went on to form his own company, making NIKE athletic shoes.

Main idea (pikiran utama) paragraph di atas adalah “Bowerman made an unexpected experiment result: Bowerman membuat hasil percobaan yang tak terduga”. Tak satupun kalima-kalimat dalam paragraph di atas yang menyatakan hal tersebut. Kita menelusuri dari paparan-paparan penulis dari mulai Bowerman yang penasaran alias kepo hingga dia melakukan coba-coba (experiment), lalu Bowerman merasa kecewa karena temuannya disepelekan oleh Perusahaan, dan kenekatannya untuk memproduksi temuannya yang berbuah hasil dengan berdirinya Perusahaan separu olaharga NIKE.

Cara menemukan implied main idea (pikiran utama yang tersirat):

1)    Baca semua kalimat yang ada di dalam paragraph,

2)    Temukan dan pahami seluruh detailed information dalam paragraph,

3)    Ubahlah detailed information yang telah kamu kumpulkan lalu ubahlah menjadi general statement (Pernyataan umum). General statement ini bisa dikatakan sama dengan main idea.