The Table and Its Legs

Picture the main idea as a tabletop held up by details.

Here is a picture to help you remember. Think of a table. The tabletop is the main idea. The legs are the key details. Without legs, the table falls down. Without details, the main idea has nothing to hold it up.

Try it: Tabletop: 'Winter is a fun season. ' Legs: 'You can build a snowman. ' 'You can go sledding. ' 'You can drink warm cocoa. ' Each leg holds up the top.

If one sentence was 'Birds lay eggs,' it would not be a leg for this table because it is not about winter fun.

• 1The tabletop is the main idea.
• 2The legs are the key details.
• 3A detail that does not fit is not a leg.