A main claim is the general point the writer wants you to accept. An example is one specific case that shows the claim in action. Reading tasks often reward the ability to tell them apart, because the wrong answers are frequently examples that sound convincing.
This lesson follows choosing a heading from its whole meaning and prepares you for following a contrast signalled by a connector. It is part of reading for main ideas.
What do examples look like?
Examples are narrow. They usually contain a name, a number, a place or one event, and they are often introduced with for example, for instance, such as or like. Sometimes the signal word is missing and the story simply begins.
Claims are wide. They describe what is generally true, often with words like always, most, works well or should. A claim can be supported by many different examples, while an example supports only one idea.
A step-by-step method
- Read the whole passage and mark any sentence with a name, a number or a single event.
- Look at signal words: for example, for instance, such as.
- Ask of each sentence: is this true of one case or of cases in general?
- Delete test: if you cover the sentence, does the writer’s point still make sense? If yes, it is probably an example.
- Choose the sentence that the others support as the main claim.
Worked example
Learning a language works well in small daily doses. Ten minutes every morning beats a two-hour session on Sunday. For example, Aisha learnt twenty new words a week by reviewing flashcards on the bus, and a month later she still remembered most of them.
Which sentence is the writer’s main claim?
Step 1, mark the specific parts. “Aisha”, “twenty new words a week”, “on the bus” and “a month later” all point to one person and one period. Sentence 3 is specific.
Step 2, read the signal. For example introduces sentence 3, so it is an illustration of something stated earlier.
Step 3, compare sentences 1 and 2. Sentence 2 is also fairly specific (ten minutes, two hours), but it explains sentence 1 by comparing two study patterns. Sentence 1 is the widest statement: it is about how language learning works in general.
Step 4, delete test. If we remove sentence 3, the idea “small daily doses work well” still stands. If we remove sentence 1, sentences 2 and 3 lose their point.
Answer: The main claim is sentence 1, “Learning a language works well in small daily doses.” Sentence 2 supports it, and sentence 3 is an example.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to choose the most interesting sentence as the main idea.
Mistaken answer: “Aisha learnt twenty new words a week on the bus.”
This is about one person. The passage is about how anyone can learn a language, so the story cannot be the main claim.
The correction is to ask, “Does this sentence cover every other sentence, or only itself?” Aisha’s story covers only itself. Sentence 1 covers sentences 2 and 3.
Check yourself
1. “Public libraries do more than lend books. In our district, the main library now hosts a free coding club on Thursday evenings.” Which sentence is the example?
Show answer
The second sentence is the example. It names one library and one club on one evening. The first sentence is the general claim.
2. Why might the sentence “The school hall was full of students practising tongue twisters” be a poor choice for the main idea of a paragraph about speaking confidence?
Show answer
It describes one event in one place. A main idea must cover the whole paragraph, and a single scene cannot do that unless every other sentence is about that scene.
3. A writer starts with the story of a cyclist who switched to an electric bike, then ends: “Clearly, small changes in transport can reduce city traffic.” Which is the claim, and where is it?
Show answer
The claim is the final sentence. The cyclist’s story is the example, and Clearly signals the conclusion. A claim can come last.
Where this leads next
Next, see how writers change direction in following a contrast signalled by a connector. Then build your own short summaries in summarising in your own language.
Students who pick the vivid sentence rather than the general one often understand the passage well but answer the wrong question. A teacher in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition can spot this quickly when you explain why you chose a sentence.