Tips Menjawab Soal Reading Ujian Nasional (UN) : Menentukan Topik dan Pokok Pikiran Suatu Paragraf

Dua tipe kalimat tanya yang juga sering muncul dalam soal ujian nasional selain menentukan gambaran umum adalah menentukan topik suatu paragraf dan menentukan pokok pikiran.

Menentukan Topik suatu paragraf
Topik paragraph menceritakan Anda suatu paragraf itu berisi tentang apa. Dalam menentukan topik, ingat jangan memilih topik yang terlalu khusus atau terlalu umum. Beberapa pertanyaan seputar topik dalam suatu paragraf adalah sebagai berikut,

• What is paragraph 1 about?
• What does paragraph (3) tell you about?
• What is the (third) paragraph of the text about?
• What is the main idea of paragraph (2)?
• What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
• Paragraph (4) tells you about … .
• The (fourth) paragraph is about … .

Contoh:

Read the text and answer the question given.

The food in Mexico sometimes surprises tourists. It can be very spicy! Mexican cooks use a special kind of pepper. This pepper is so spicy that it almost burns your mouth. But most people start to like the spices after a while. They learn to like Mexican food very much.

What is the above paragraph about?

a. Mexican cooks

b. Mexican food

c. Spicy food

d. Food

Jawaban: B

Read the text and answer the question given.

Large forests are important to us in many ways. they give us wood for building and heating. They are a home for many kinds of plants and animals. And for many city people, forests are a place to go for a vacation. People can learn about nature there. They can breathe fresh air and sleep in a quiet place. But there is one more reason why forests are important for everyone. The leaves on the trees in a forest help clean the air. Dirty air is a problem in many parts of the world. Without our forests this problem might be much worse.

What does the above paragraph tell you about?

Open to show the answerJawaban: The Importance of forests

Menentukan Pokok Pikiran Suatu Paragraf
Pokok pikiran atau pikiran utama suatu paragraf menceritakan kita lebih banyak tentang suatu topik paragraf. Pikiran utama ini sebenarnya menceritakan ide si penulis tentang topik paragraf tersebut. Biasanya ide ini dinyatakan dalam bentuk kalimat utama.

Misal topik paragraf : Elephants
Maka ide penulis atau kalimat utamanya bisa berupa misalnya:

a. Elephants live in Africa and Asia.
b. Elephants can cause serious problems for farmers.
c. Elephants are killed for their skin and their ivory tasks.
Kemudian penulis memberikan ide pendukung atau kalimat-kalimat penjelasnya.

Contoh Soal,
Read the text and answer the question given.

Diamonds are very expensive for several reasons. First, they are difficult to find. They are only found in a few places in the world. Second, they are useful. People use diamonds to cut other stones. Third, diamonds do not change. They stay the same for millions of years. And finally, they are very beautiful.

Questions:
What is the above paragraph about?
What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Open to show the answerJawaban: The reasons why diamonds are expensive

Tips Menentukan Tempat Pokok Pikiran atau Topic Idea dalam Paragraf

1. Pokok pikiran dapat dijumpai pada kalimat pertama. Biasanya kalimatnya berupa: summary sentence, introductory sentence, brief definition, atau statement to be explained.

Contoh:

a. Introductory sentence

Example 1

There are many kinds of pollution. One kind is air pollution. This usually is a problem over cities. Water pollution is another problem. It is found in rivers, lakes, and oceans. Also, pollution of the earth is sometimes a problem near farms. And finally, there is even noise pollution, especially in crowded cities. 

1. What is the text about?

2. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Kalimat pokok pikiran berupa brief definition

Example 2

Ozone is an unusually active form of oxygen produced by the discharge of electricity in the air. The fresh, pungent odor of the air after a thunderstorm is partly due to the presence of ozone produced in the air by lighting. The slightly irritating odor near x rays and other high-voltage machine is also due to the presence of ozone.

1. What does the above paragraph tell you about?

2. What is the main idea of the paragraph?

Kalimat pokok pikiran berupa summary sentence

Example 3

Certainly money should not be your chief aim in life. But you ought not to despise it, for it can help you and your family obtains many of good things of life. It can buy an adequate diet, one of the bases of good health. When necessary, it can provide medicine and medical care. It can be the means for a comfortable house, for travel, for good books and for hobbies and recreation. It can make it easier for your children to secure an education. Finally, it can offer a great opportunity for you to help others.

1. What is the topic of the paragraph above?

2. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Kalimat pokok pikiran berupa statement to be explained

Example 4

Computer language can be funny at times. For example, we say computers have a memory. We know they do not really remember or think. But we still say memory. Also, on many computer programs there is a menu. Of course, we are not talking about restaurants or food. This is a different kind of menu. Another funny example is the mouse in some computers. it is hard not to think about a real mouse when you hear the word. But do not worry: there are no little gray animals in the machine.

1. What is the topic of the paragraph above?

2. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Pokok pikiran dapat juga dijumpai di akhir kalimat.

    Jika kita tidak menjumpai pokok pikiran di kalimat awal, maka tempat untuk mengetahui selanjutnya adalah mungkin di akhir paragraph. Pokok pikiran seperti ini biasanya berupa pengulangan dari kalimat pertama yang dinyatakan secara persis atau berbeda dengan kalimat yang pertama tersebut.

Example 5

    The chemist is essential in our life today. Aviation uses lightweight aluminum, magnesium, high-octane gasoline – all processed or created by chemist. The automotive industry uses plastics, improved gasoline and oils, improved rubber and other creations or discovery of the chemist. Farming depends on the chemist for many fertilizers and insecticides. Medicine has received the miracle drugs and synthetic vitamins from the chemist. Indeed, the chemist today is irreplaceable.

1. What is the text about?

2. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Pokok pikiran dapat juga ditemukan di kalimat kedua.

    Bila hal ini terjadi mungkin kalimat pertama masih mengacu pada sesuatu pada paragraph sebelumnya. Kalimat ini mungkin memberi idea yang menkualifikasi atau mengontraskan. Penting diperhatikan pokok pikiran dikalimat kedua ini sering ditandai dengan pemakaian kata ganti yang merujuk pada kata tertentu dalam kalimat pertamanya.

Example 6

Certainly money should not be your chief aim in life. But you ought not to despise it, for it can help you and your family obtain many of good things of life. It can buy an adequate diet, one of the bases of good health. When necessary, it can provide medicine and medical care. It can be the means for a comfortable house, for travel, for good books and for hobbies and recreation. It can make it easier for your children to secure an education. Finally, it can offer a great opportunity for you to help others.

1. What is the paragraph about?

2. What is the main idea of the paragraph?

Pokok pikiran bisa jumpa dijumpai pada kalimat pertama dan kedua yang disatukan.

Example 7

You may question whether a poor mark in chemistry, for example, will look bad to the future employer who is considering you for a sales position. It will. Or at least it will throw some doubt into his mind. He will reason something like this: “He (you) was given a job to do, but he didn’t give that job a good effort. I wonder if he will postpone calling on a tough customer until a worker from other company has clinched the sale”. 

1. What is the text about?

2. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Pokok pikiran dapat juga tidak dinyatakan secara jelas dalam paragraf. Namun demikian penulis memberikan kalimat-kalimat penjelasnya. Dalam situasi ini pembaca diminta menyimpulkannya sendiri.

Example 8

The 1989 Census Report tells us that in 1987, of all men 25 years and older, those who completed eight years of grade school received a median income of $2533. Those with four years of high school received a median wage of 3258. Those who stuck out four years of college received a median wage of $4407

1. What is the text about?

2. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

Pokok pikiran bisa juga ditemukan di kalimat yang mana saja pada suatu paragraph. Setiap kalimat pada paragraph ini mungkin sebagai pokok pikiran. Kalaimat yang mana saja dimanapun ia ditempatkan yang menceritakan tentang topik paragraf, maka ia menjadi pikiran utama dari paragraph tersebut. 

Example 9

     (1) The widespread illusion on this subject (working one’s way through college) is due to several misconceptions. (2) The first of these is the popular idea that the great objective is to get through college. (3) Getting through college is of no value whatsoever. (4) Many men have gotten through college who would be better off if they had never seen a college. (5) So would society. (6) Which is to say that there are no many ways of getting through college and some of them mean nothing. (7) What counts is what a man gets out of college as he gets through. (8) If he gets what he should, he will be immediately enriched and society will be blessed by his ability and his service. (9) But if he does not get these proper values, he has nothing. (10) The fact, therefore, that a man earned his through college means nothing unless the man got something as he went through. (11) Many of the earning men get little or nothing. (12) In one case play interferes with education. (14) In the other, menial, driving, all absorbing remunerative work does the same. 

1. What is the text about?

2. What is the main idea of the paragraph above?

Pokok pikiran ada juga yang terletak di luar paragraph. Adanya bisa di paragraph yang mendahuluinya atau yang datang sesudahnya. Model seperti ini biasanya terjadi jika suatu paragraph merupakan bagian dari unit yang lebih besar.

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Demikianlah tips menjawab soal reading ujian nasional (UN) menentukan topik dan pokok pikiran suatu paragraf. Semoga tulisan ini bermanfaat bagi kita semua. Terima kasih

Salam.