Main idea questions ask which option best sums up a passage, gives it the best title, or names its purpose. The right option covers the whole passage. The wrong ones fail in predictable ways:
- Too narrow: a true detail from one sentence, offered as if it were the point.
- Too far: a claim the passage hints at but never makes, often with "all", "always" or "should".
- Contradicted: the reverse of what the passage says.
- Off topic: related to the subject, but not to this passage.
A quick method: before you read the options, say the point of the passage in one sentence of your own. Most passages have a turn, signaled by words like "but", "even so" or "so far". The main idea usually includes both sides of that turn. Then pick the option closest to your sentence and check it against each wrong type.