What Is A Central Theme

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Teachers and writers sometimes use the terms "key theme" and "key idea" interchangeably, because they both refer to basically the same concept -- the basic premise or message of a text. However, "theme" typically connotes a literary work, while "idea" more than normally refers to nonfiction or informational texts. Principal themes and ideas dominate and bulldoze an entire text; they are not limited to one chapter, sentence or graphic symbol.

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Central Themes
Fundamental Ideas

1 Central Themes

All stories present a detail view on a topic, whether implied or stated. Oft, the protagonist develops this view or perspective as the story progresses. For example, in the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast," the heroine Belle learns that a person's appearance does not necessarily reflect his grapheme, as evinced past Gaston, who is beautiful outside, but ugly -- arrogant and selfish -- inside, while the Animate being is ugly outside but tender and empathetic inside.

2 Central Ideas

Nonfiction and factual texts, ranging from business reports to advertising, operate under certain premises as well. Marketers attempt hard to contain value messages in their advertisements, such as the idea that buying trendy clothes tin can meliorate your self-prototype, which may or may not exist truthful. Marketing messages are often simply implied, while more than formal writing, such as essays, usually directly state their cardinal ideas for clarity and efficiency. A busy executive needs to grasp the key thrust of a piece of work memo or progress study immediately. Central ideas in professional writing tend to deal more with specific, pragmatic topics, rather than the abstruse, meaning-of-life questions establish in literary works.

About the Writer

Nadine Smith has been writing since 2010. She teaches higher writing and ESL courses and has several years feel tutoring all ages in English, ESL and literature. Nadine holds a Primary of Arts in English language and literature from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, where she led seminars as a educational activity assistant.