Question 43·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
Over the last decade, community gardens have sprung up in many urban neighborhoods, transforming vacant lots into productive green spaces. Residents grow fresh vegetables, share harvests, and hold weekend workshops on composting and nutrition. These gardens not only supply affordable produce but also strengthen social ties, reduce neighborhood blight, and introduce children to environmental stewardship.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
For main idea questions, first read the short passage and, before looking at the choices, briefly summarize in your own words what the author is saying overall. Then check each answer and eliminate any that focus on just one example or detail instead of the whole passage. The correct choice will be broad enough to cover all the key points but not so broad that it adds ideas that aren’t in the text. Avoid being distracted by true details that don’t capture the central message.
Hints
Find the common subject
Ask yourself: What is the passage talking about in every sentence, not just one of them?
Connect the details to one big idea
Look at the list of benefits (fresh vegetables, workshops, social ties, reduced blight, children learning). What single, broad point do all these examples support?
Watch out for answer choices that are too specific
Check each choice and ask: Does this choice cover all or most of the passage, or does it focus on only one detail like children, workshops, or empty lots?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the passage is mainly about
Read the whole passage and ask: What is the overall topic? Here, every sentence is about community gardens in urban neighborhoods, especially how they have changed vacant lots.
Summarize the main point in your own words
Notice the different benefits mentioned: providing fresh vegetables, sharing harvests, holding workshops, strengthening social ties, reducing blight, and teaching children about the environment. In your own words, the passage is making a single broad point about how these gardens help or improve the neighborhood in multiple ways.
Eliminate choices that are too narrow or focus on one detail
Now compare your summary to the answer choices:
- One choice talks only about children learning about the environment.
- Another focuses on weekend composting workshops and turning vacant lots into gardens.
- Another highlights only reducing neighborhood blight. Each of these zooms in on just one benefit or example from the passage, not the full set of benefits you identified. Eliminate these as main ideas because they do not cover everything the passage emphasizes.
Select the choice that captures the full central idea
The remaining choice is A) Community gardens in cities improve neighborhoods by providing fresh produce and fostering community engagement. This matches the passage’s broad focus on both supplying affordable produce and bringing people together, which includes the social, environmental, and beautification benefits described.