Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3rd Edition

c
, “Clara is
very friendly.”
S u m m a r y
Many writers use implication to convey meaning rather
than directly stating their ideas. This is especially true
in literature, where readers generally prefer suggestion
to direct statements. Finding the implied main idea
requires a little detective work, but it is not as difficult
as you may have thought, now that you know more
about language and the way words can be used to sug-
gest ideas.
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F I N D I N G T H E I M P L I E D M A I N I D E A
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1 2 2

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F I N D I N G T H E I M P L I E D M A I N I D E A
–
1 2 3
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Listen carefully to people today. Are there times when they 
imply
things without directly saying them?
Are there times when 
you
use suggestion to get your ideas across? How do you do this? Be aware of
how you and others use indirect language and suggestion to convey meaning.
■
Write a paragraph that does not have a topic sentence. You should have a clear idea of the main idea
before you write your paragraph and make sure your sentences use language that will help your read-
ers understand your main idea. For example, think of a topic sentence about the kind of person you
are, but don’t write it down. Then, write several sentences that support your topic sentence with lan-
guage that leads your reader to the proper conclusion. You may want to show your paragraph to others
to see if they can correctly infer your main idea.
Skill Building until Next Time

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H
ave you ever regretted just “telling it like it is”? Many times, you can’t come right out and say what
you’d like, but like writers, you can get your ideas across through 
implication
or inference.
This lesson focuses on two specific types of implication: reading between the lines to 
deter-
mine cause
and reading between the lines to 
predict effects
.
In case you need a reminder: A 
cause
is the person or thing that makes something happen or produces an
effect. An 
effect
is the change that occurs as a result of some action or cause. Cause tells us why something hap-
pened; effect tells us what happened after a cause (or series of causes).