Identifying the topic 

Practice for the communicative skill of reading, subskill identifying the topic.

The PTE Academic item types where this subskill is tested are
  • Reading: Multiple choice, choose single answer
  • Reading: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers
  • Reading: Re-order paragraphs
  • Reading: Reading, Fill in the blanks
  • Reading: Reading & Writing, Fill in the blanks
Click on the link below for more information on the resource Summary of how this subskill is practiced in each resource
Academic Connections 1,
Academic Connections 2,
Academic Connections 3,
Academic Connections 4
understanding the main idea in a passage
Academic Encounters: Human Behavior skimming for main ideas, reading the conclusion to get the main idea, predicting the content, previewing text headings
Academic Encounters: Life in Society reading for the main idea, skimming by reading first sentences
Creating Meaning identifying the main ideas, previewing and predicting ideas in a text
Inside Reading 2 highlighting and annotating a text, outlining and summarizing the main points, making predictions about text content
Inside Reading 1, Inside Reading 2, Inside Reading 3 previewing the text, finding the main idea
Inside Reading 4 describing key trends, synthesizing important information
Language Leader Intermediate

using skimming and scanning as reading strategies 

Making Connections Intermediate practicing fundamental reading skills including identifying main ideas
New Directions finding main ideas, summarizing and paraphrasing key information
New Headway Academic Skills 2 skimming for the general idea, using topic sentences to identify paragraph content
New Headway Academic Skills 3 practicing essential reading skills including surveying, skimming, scanning, and intensive reading for details, dealing with longer texts by predicting and previewing
NorthStar Reading and Writing 3 identifying main ideas
NorthStar Reading and Writing 4 summarizing and paraphrasing main ideas, predicting content
NorthStar Reading and Writing 5 reading for main ideas, predicting content
Panorama Reading 2, Panorama Reading 3 reading for main ideas
Select Readings Pre-Intermediate identifying the topic and main ideas
Select Readings Intermediate identifying main ideas and details, using headings to help understand content quickly
Select Readings Upper-Intermediate identifying the main ideas
Strategic Reading 1, Strategic Reading 2, Strategic Reading 3 understanding main ideas, restating what is read, skimming, scanning, and predicting content
Study Reading practicing reading skills (skimming, scanning, etc.)
Uncovering EAP background, resources and ideas for teaching academic reading including understanding main ideas
Well Read 2,
Well Read 3,
Well Read 4
previewing ideas, understanding the topic and main ideas, scanning graphics to help understand content quickly, skimming for main ideas