MAIN IDEA, TOPIC SENTENCE AND SUPPORTING SENTENCE

 

1.        MAIN IDEA

A main idea is a sentence that states what that essay or article will be about. The main idea sets up the rest of the article and is included in the introduction or first paragraph.

Finding the Main Idea

How Can I Locate the Main Idea?

Once you can find the topic, you are ready to find the main idea. The main idea is the point of the paragraph. It is the most important thought about the topic.

To figure out the main idea, ask yourself this question: What is being said about the person, thing, or idea (the topic)?

The author can locate the main idea in different places within a paragraph. The main idea is usually a sentence, and it is usually the first sentence. The writer then uses the rest of the paragraph to support the main idea.

Let’s use the paragraph below as an example. First find the topic, then look for the main idea.

Summer is a wonderful time to spend at West Beach. It is a beach with light- colored, soft sand. The coastline goes on for a long way and many people enjoy walking along it. Children like to play in the surf and walk along the rocks that are visible at low tide. This is a fun beach for people of all ages.

 

In this paragraph:

·      the topic is West Beach

·      the main idea (what the writer is saying about the topic) is that summer is a wonderful time at West Beach

 

While the main idea is usually in the first sentence, the next most common placement is in the last sentence of a paragraph. The author gives supporting information first and then makes the point in the last sentence.

Here’s a paragraph we can use as an example. Try to locate the topic and the main idea.

Most teenagers and young adults do not know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. It is a big decision. There are a number of things you can do to narrow the choices. For example you can take an interest test, do some research on your own about a career, try volunteer work in the field in which you are interested, or “job-shadow”, in which you spend a day with a person who is working in a field that interests you. These are just a few helpful ideas as you begin to choose a career.

 

In this paragraph:

§  the topic is jobs or career choices

§  the main idea is a few ideas to help the reader choose a career

 

Finally, an author might put the main idea in the middle of a paragraph. The author will spend a few sentences introducing the topic, present the main idea, then spend the rest of the paragraph supporting it. This can make the main idea more difficult to find.

See if you can find the topic and main idea in the paragraph below.

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?

 

In this paragraph:

§  the topic is McDonald’s 

§  the main idea is in the middle of the paragraph, in the third sentence: McDonald’s is the king of fast food

 

 

2.   TOPIC SENTENCE

What is the topic sentence?
The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph.

What does it do?
It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

How do I write one?
Summarize the main idea of your paragraph. Indicate to the reader what your paragraph will be about.

 

Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada’s cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

 

3.   SUPPORTING SENTENCE

What are supporting sentences?
They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.

What do they do?
They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.

How do I write them?
You should give supporting facts, details, and examples.

 

Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada’s cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

 

 

Contrastive Conjunction

1.   Pengertian Contrastive Conjunction

Sebelum membahas Constrastive Conjunction, baiknya pahami dulu ya definisi CONJUNCTION itu sendiri. Conjunction adalah konjungsi atau kata penghubung dalam Bahasa Inggris. Sebuah Conjunction dapat menghubungkan antar kata, ungkapan dengan ungkapan, serta kalimat dengan kalimat.

Di sini kita fokus pada penggunaan Conjunction untuk menghubungkan dua kalimat menjadi satu kalimat efektif. Dengan adanya konjungsi, akan membantu menghindari kesalahpahaman atau maksud yang timpang tindih.

 

APA ITU CONTRASTIVE

Setelah paham apa itu Conjunction, kita lanjut ke CONTRASTIVE ya. Dari melihat katanya, apakah kamu bisa menebak artinya? Contrast. Kalau di Bahasa Indonesia menjadi Kontras. Hm… apa ya artinya “Contrast”?

Munurut Oxford Dictionary, Contrast berarti the state of being strikingly different from something else. Jadi kontras berarti memperlihatkan perbedaan nyata. Kontras dapat juga dikatakan berlawanan atau Opposite. Seperti black & white, sad & happy, beautiful & ugly, easy & hard, up & down, dan masih banyak lagi.

 

CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTION ADALAH

Contrastive Conjunction adalah konjungsi yang menghubungkan dua kalimat Bahasa Inggris yang bersifat kontra. Artinya hubungan antar kalimat pertama dengan kedua sifatnya berbeda atau berlawanan.

Ada beberapa Konjungsi Contrastive populer dan biasa digunakan dalam kalimat Bahasa Inggris. Mereka adalah Though, Although, Even though, Even if, Unless, Yet, But, However, Despite, In spite of, Whereas Nevertheless, & Notwithstanding.

 

1.   Contrastive Conjunction THOUGH

Dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Konjungsi THOUGH berarti meskipun, walaupun, tetapi, namun, tergantung kalimatnya. Kata penghubung Though dapat ditempatkan di awal, tengah ataupun di akhir kalimat Bahasa Inggris.

Lihat cara menggabungkan 2 kalimat menjadi satu dengan konjungsi Though. Perhatikan penggunaan tanda baca koma (,) dalam contoh kalimat menggunakan Conjunction Kontras yaitu Though.

1.   It was raining.
We still enjoy the concert.
Though it was raining, we still enjoyed the concert. (Meskipun sedang hujan, kita tetap menikmati konser itu.)

2.   He said he was telling the truth.
I didn’t believe him.
Though he said he was telling the truth, I didn’t believe him. (Walaupun ia berkata bahwa ia jujur, aku tidak mempercayainya.)

3.   She will try.
She may fail.
She will try though she may fail. (Ia akan berusaha meskipun ia mungkin gagal.)

4.   She felt unwell.
She went to school.
She went to school though she felt unwell. (Ia pergi ke sekolah walapun ia kurang sehat.)

5.   Uncle Sam is so kind.
I don’t like his wife.
Uncle Sam is so kind. I don’t like his wife though. (Paman Sam sangat baik. Namun aku tak suka istrinya.)

6.   I want to buy a drink.
I have no money.
I want to buy a drink. I have no money tho. (Saya ingin membeli minuman. Tetapi saya tidak punya uang.)

 

2.   Contrastive Conjunction ALTHOUGH & EVEN THOUGH

Arti kata penghubung Bahasa Inggris “although” & “even though” kurang lebih sama sepeti “though” yaitu meskipun atau walaupun.

Bedanya, Although dan Even Though tidak bisa disingkat. Selain itu, penggunaan Although biasanya untuk hal atau sesuatu yang bersifat formal sehingga lebih sering digunakan dalam writing daripada speaking.

 

Bagaimana cara menggunakan konjungsi ini? Penggunaan Konjungsi Although dan Even Though hanya di awal dan tengah kalimat saja. Jadi TIDAK dapat digunakan pada akhir kalimat.

Lihat cara menggabungkan 2 kalimat menjadi satu dengan kata penghubung Although dan Even Though. Perhatikan penggunaan tanda baca koma (,) dalam contoh kalimat Contrastive Conjunction berikut ini.

1.    That coat is nice.
I don’t like the price.
Although that coat is nice, I don’t like the price. (Meskipun jaket itu bagus, aku tak suka harganya.)

2.    The story was weird.
I enjoyed the movie.
Although the story was weird, I enjoyed the movie. (Walapun ceritanya aneh, aku menikmati film itu.)

3.    It is quiet in here.
I can’t concentrate.
Even though it is quiet in here, I can’t concentrate. (Meskipun di sini tenang, aku tidak bisa berkonsentrasi.)

4.    He is very angry.
He is still smiling.
Even though he is very angry, he is still smiling. (Walaupaun dia sedang marah, dia masih bisa tersenyum.)

5.    She didn’t like the food.
She ate it all.
She ate all of the food although she didn’t like it. (Ia menghabiskan semua makanan itu walaupun ia tak menyukainya.)

6.    Vita is injured.
She goes to school.
Vita still goes to school although she is injured. (Vita tetap pergi ke sekolah meskipun ia terluka.)

7.    I have joined Mandarin course for two years.
I am still not good at it.
I am still not good at Mandarin even though I have joined the course for two years. (Saya masih belum mahir Mandarin walaupun sudah ikut kursus selama 2 tahun.)

8.    The pizza looked delicious.
I still didn’t eat it.
I still didn’t eat the pizza even though it looked delicious. (Aku tetap tak memakan pizza itu meskipun tampaknya enak.)

 

3.   Contrastive Conjunction EVEN IF

Dalam Bahasa Inggris, Even If diartikan seperti “whether or not”. Apabila diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Even If berarti bahkan jika, kalaupun, sekalipun, meskipun, walaupun.

 

PERBEDAAN EVEN IF DAN EVEN THOUGH

Apakah Even If sama dengan Even Though? Jawabannya adalah tidak. Mereka tidak sama dan tidak dapat ditukarkan. No, they are not interchangeable. Trus bedanya apa?

 

Even though menekankan pada sebuah fakta atau sesuatu yang sudah atau sedang terjadi. Sedangkan Even If masih berupa imajinasi atau sesuatu yang belum nyata terjadi. Bisa dikatakan bahwa Even If adalah bentuk pengandaian. It refers to an imaginary or unreal situation.

 

PENGGUNAAN EVEN IF DAN EVEN THOUGH

Perhatikan 2 contoh berikut. Lihat bedanya.
a. Even though he is very angry, he is still smiling.
b. Even if he is very angry, I think he will smile.

Dari kedua contoh di atas, apakah kamu bisa melihat perbedaannya? Even Though menekankan bahwa ia sedang tersenyum sekarang walaupun ia sangat marah. Sedangkan Even If menyatakan kemungkinan ia akan tersenyum sekalipun ia sangat marah. Faktanya ia tidak sedang marah saat ini. Hanya kemungkinan saja dan belum terjadi.

 

CONTOH KALIMAT CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTION EVEN IF

1.   Susan wouldn’t buy a new house.
She earned a big salary.
Even if Susan earned a big salary, she wouldn’t buy a new house. (Sekalipun Susan mendapatkan gaji besar, ia tidak akan membeli rumah baru.)

2.   Alexandra runs a s fast as he can.
He will still be late.
Even if Alexandra runs as fast as he can, he will still be late. (Walaupun Alexandra berlari secepat-cepatnya, dia akan tetap terlambat)

3.   Thonny goes to bed early.
He will wake up late.
Thonny will wake up late even if he goes to bed early. (Thonny akan bangun terlambat meskipun ia tidur lebih awal.)

4.   It wasn’t too dark.
I wouldn’t go out myself.
I wouldn’t go out alone even if it wasn’t too dark. (Saya tak akan keluar sendirian sekalipun tak terlalu gelap.)

 

5.   Contrastive Conjunction UNLESS

Selanjutnya kita akan membahas tentang Konjungsi Contrastive Unless. Apakah sudah pernah mendengar kata penghubung Bahasa Inggris ini? Atau bahkan sudah pernah membuat kalimat Bahasa Inggris menggunakan kata tersebut?

 

Dalam Bahasa Inggris, kata Unless memiliki makna “except if”. Apabila diterjemahkan dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Unless artinya kecuali jika atau kecuali kalau. Yuk simak penggunaan kata penghubung Unless dalam Bahasa Inggris.

1.    You cannot enter this room.
You don’t have a member card.
You cannot enter this room unless you have a member card. (Kamu tak dapat memasuki ruangan ini kecuali jika kamu punya kartu anggota.)

2.    They won’t come to your party.
You don’t invite them.
They won’t come to your party unless you invite them. (Mereka tak akan datang ke pestamu kecuali kamu mengundang mereka.)

3.    We can meet tomorrow.
It doesn’t rain.
Unless it rains, we can meet tomorrow. (Kecuali kalau hujan, kita bisa bertemu besok.)

4.    I wouldn’t eat that food.
I wasn’t extremely hungry.
Unless I was extremely hungry, I wouldn’t eat that food. (Kecuali jika saya benar-benar lapar, saya tidak akan menyantap makanan itu.)

 

6.   Contrastive Conjunction YET & BUT

Saatnya memasuki penjelasan Yet & But. Sepertinya kata penghubung ini familiar banget karena sudah diperkenalkan sebagai materi dasar. Terutama kata penghubung But.

Contrastive Conjunction Yet dan But berarti namun, tetapi, akan tetapi, meskipun begitu. Bagaimanakah penggunaan kata penghubung Yet & But dalam kalimat Bahasa Inggris? Yuk simak contohnya berikut ini.

1.    I like milk.
My sister prefers coffee.
I like milk, but my sister prefers coffee. (Saya suka susu, tetapi saudara perempuan saya lebih suka kopi.)

2.    Her grandfather still runs 5 kilometers everyday.
He is 73 years old.
Her grandfather is 73 years old, but he still runs 5 kilometers everyday. (Kakeknya berusia 73 tahun, tetapi dia masih berlari 5 kilometer setiap hari.)

3.    It rained a lot yesterday.
We enjoyed our holiday.
It rained a lot yesterday, yet we enjoyed our holiday. (Kemarin hujan terus, tetapi kami menikmati liburan kami.)

4.    There was a lot of noise.
I wanted to sleep early.
I wanted to sleep early, yet there was a lot of noise. (Aku ingin tidur lebih awal namun ada banyak suara berisik.)

 

7.   Contrastive Preposition DESPITE & IN SPITE OF

Pernahkah kamu menggunakan Despite atau In Spite Of dalam Bahasa Inggris? Penggunaan kata DESPITE dan IN SPITE OF selalu diikuti oleh kata benda (noun), kata ganti (pronoun) & present participle (V-ing). Oleh sebab itu, mereka tergolong Preposition.

Despite & In Spite Of masing-masing memiliki arti yang sama, yaitu meskipun, walaupun, bagaimana pun, terlepas, kendatipun. Kata penghubung Despite cenderung lebih formal. Tapi mereka memilik arti yang sama.

 

Jadi, Despite & In Spite Of adalah contoh Contrastive Preposition yang diikuti oleh kata benda, kata ganti dan kata kerja Verb-ing. Tetap ingat penggunaan IN dan OF hanya pada kata SPITE saja. Jangan sampai tertukar ya! Yuk baca contoh Contrastive Preposition Despite dan In Spite Of berikut ini.

1.   I couldn’t sleep well.
I was in a comfortable room.
I couldn’t sleep well despite being in a comfortable room. (Saya tak bisa tidur nyenyak walaupun berada di kamar yang nyaman.)

2.   She said everything to me.
I can’t stop thinking of her.
Despite everything she said to me, I can’t stop thinking of her. (Terlepas dari semua yang ia katakana kepadaku, aku tak bisa berhenti memikirkannya.)

3.   Diana is still doing her homework.
She is very tired.
Diana is still doing her homework in spite of being very tired. (Diana masih mengerjakan pekerjaan rumahnya (PR) meskipun sangat kelelahan.)

4.   Arif was totally unwell.
He came earlier than his friends to the football training.
In spite of the fact that he was totally unwell, Arif came earlier than his friends to the football training. (Walaupun ia benar-benar tidak sehat, Arif datang lebih awal daripada teman-temannya ke pelatihan sepakbola.)

 

8.   Contrastive Conjunction WHEREAS

Seperti halnya Konjungsi Contrastive lainnya, kata penghubung Whereas juga menekankan pada perbedaan atau dua kalimat yang berlawanan. Kata Whereas memiliki makna sama dengan While dalam menyatakan dua hal kontras.

 

Apakah arti kata penghubung Whereas? Diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Whereas berarti sedangkan, padahal, sebaliknya, meskipun, walaupun.

Whereas dapat diletakkan di awal maupun di tengah kalimat. Baik di awal maupun di tengah, gunakan tanda koma (,) untuk memisahkan antara klausa dependen & independen. Yuk lihat lebih jelas penggunaan Konjungsi Contrastive Whereas.

1.      He loves foreign holidays.
His wife prefers to stay at home.
He loves foreign holidays, whereas his wife prefers to stay at home. (Dia menyukai liburan ke luar negeri sedangkan istrinya lebih memilih untuk tinggal di rumah.)

2.      I’m a dog lover.
My husband is allergic to dogs.
Whereas I’m a dog lover, my husband is allergic to dogs. (Meskipun aku pecinta anjing, suamiku alergi terhadap anjing.)

3.      I am a vegetarian.
My whole family eats meat.
My whole family eats meat, whereas I am a vegetarian. (Semua keluargaku memakan daging sedangkan aku seorang vegetarian.)

4.      She was just very shy.
I thought she was arrogant.
I thought she was arrogant, whereas in fact she was just very shy. (Saya pikir dia sombong, padahal sebenarnya dia sangat pemalu).

 

9.   Contrastive Conjunction NEVERTHELESS

Conjunction Nevertheless mempunyai arti namun, biarpun, meskipun, walaupun atau bagaimanapun. Nevertheless dapat juga digunakan bersamaan dengan kata penghubung But.

 

Kata penghubung Bahasa Inggris Nevertheless lebih sering digunakan pada awal kalimat. Selain itu, kata tersebut dapat juga diletakkan di tengah serta di akhir. Kamu akan melihat penggunaannya lebih jelas dalam contoh kalimat Conjunction Nevertheless di bawah ini.

1.   Stinky was an old group music. Nevertheless, I like listening to their songs. (Stinky adalah grup musik yang sudah lama. Bagaimanapun juga aku masih suka mendengarkan lagu mereka.)

2.   The economy was poor this year, but nevertheless our sales increased. (Kondisi ekonomi memburuk tahun ini, meskipun begitu penjualan kita meningkat.)

3.   She is often rude to me. I like her, nevertheless. (Dia sering kasar kepadaku. Bagaimanapun aku menyukainya.)