Question 49·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
City officials once dismissed the small vacant lot on Maple Street as unusable, but local residents thought otherwise. Over the past five years, volunteers have transformed the plot into a thriving community garden. Neighbors now share fresh produce, children attend weekend workshops on planting techniques, and the garden’s benches provide a gathering place for residents who previously rarely interacted. According to the city’s Parks Department, incidents of littering and vandalism in the surrounding blocks have dropped noticeably since the garden opened.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
For main idea questions, first quickly summarize the passage in one simple sentence in your own words, focusing on what changes or what the author emphasizes most. Then eliminate any choices that (1) focus on just one detail, (2) contradict the passage, or (3) introduce new information not mentioned in the text. Among the remaining choices, pick the one that best matches your summary of the entire passage, not just the beginning or the end.
Hints
Focus on the overall change
Ask yourself: What changes from the beginning of the passage to the end? Look for how the situation with the Maple Street lot is different now compared with the start.
Separate main idea from details
Identify which parts of the passage are examples or results (like specific activities or effects) and which part describes what the passage is mostly about overall.
Match answers to the whole passage, not one sentence
For each choice, check: Does this describe the entire paragraph, or just one specific sentence or detail?
Watch for added or changed information
Be careful with answers that introduce causes (like policies or actions) the passage never mentions, or that change what city officials actually did.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what a "main idea" question asks
The question asks for the choice that "best states the main idea of the text." That means you need an answer that:
- Covers the whole passage, not just one sentence.
- Matches the most important change or focus described.
- Does not add information that isn't in the passage or contradict what the passage says.
Summarize the passage in your own words
Briefly restate what the passage is mainly about:
- At first, city officials see the Maple Street lot as unusable.
- Local residents and volunteers change that lot over five years.
- It becomes a community garden with fresh produce, children's workshops, benches, and a place for neighbors to gather.
- Since the garden opened, nearby littering and vandalism have gone down.
So overall, the passage is about how a once-dismissed lot was transformed and how that change benefits the community socially and physically.
Check each answer for scope and accuracy
Now compare that summary to each option:
- One choice talks about city officials struggling with routine upkeep, but the passage says they dismissed the lot as unusable, not that they tried to maintain it.
- Another choice talks only about children's planting workshops, which is just one detail from the middle of the passage.
- Another focuses on littering and vandalism citywide and credits new waste-management policies, but the passage only mentions fewer incidents in the surrounding blocks and connects that to the garden, not to city policies.
All three of these are either too narrow (only one detail) or factually inaccurate compared with the text.
Select the answer that matches the full passage
The remaining choice says that a neglected city lot was converted into a community garden that now supplies produce and fosters stronger neighborhood ties. This matches the entire passage: the lot was once dismissed as unusable, it became a thriving community garden with shared produce, a gathering place, and reduced problems in the area. Therefore, the correct answer is: "A neglected city lot was converted into a community garden that now supplies produce and fosters stronger neighborhood ties."