main idea
Core of argument
The main idea is the central point or most important concept in a piece of writing, speech, or argument—what the author most wants you to understand or remember.
In reading instruction, students learn to distinguish the main idea from supporting details: The main idea of the paragraph is that ecosystems are fragile.
The term appears most often in educational contexts.
- centralIn the middle, primary
- central themePrimary underlying message
- themeCentral recurring concept
- big pictureOverall perspective on things
- gistCentral meaning distilled
essence · core · key point · thesis · point · crux · so what · summary · takeaway · cliff notes · concept · message · purpose · argument · focus · heart · nucleus · driving force
- "Main" phrases
- Get to the Pointcut to the chase, bottom line, in a nutshell, spit it out, long story short
- thesisdissertation, doctoral thesis, master's thesis, hypothesis, argument
- reading assessmentreading comprehension, reading level, reading proficiency, reading rate, comprehension test
- readingfluency, read, comprehension, readers, books
- simplificationsimplification, simplifying, simplify, condensing, simplified
main ideaminor detail
Insignificant specific element
side note · minutiae · footnote · aside · digression
main ideadetails
Specific pieces of information
specifics · particulars · nitty-gritty · technicalities · data points
main ideasupporting evidence
Facts validating a claim
supporting detail · subordinate clause · subpoint · elaboration · illustration
main, idea, mainly, mains, ideas, ideal, ideals, idealism, idealist