Hoofdgedachte
A question asking what the text as a whole is saying — one sentence covering all of it, not the best bit of it.
26 of our 291 B1 reading items, and one usually appears per text. It is the question people answer fastest and get wrong most, because a plausible answer is available after reading one paragraph. The test is coverage: the right option is true of the whole text, and the commonest wrong option is true of only one part — often the part that was most interesting to read.
How the exam tests this
About 35–36 multiple-choice questions over roughly 6 texts in 110 minutes, computer-marked. The question is phrased "Wat is de hoofdgedachte van de tekst?" and is normally the last question on that text, which is deliberate: by then you have read it. The options are all sentences the text supports. One covers a single paragraph, one is a detail promoted to a theme, one names the topic without saying anything about it, and one is the main idea. The topic-only option — "De tekst gaat over thuiswerken" — is the giveaway: a hoofdgedachte says something, it does not merely name a subject.
What is wrong with this sentence?
Thuiswerken maakt werknemers tevreden.
Most candidates write it exactly like this and lose the mark without knowing why.
The rest of this lesson
The rule, the worked examples, the exceptions and what to do in the exam room open with Mastery, together with every other lesson for this exam.
See plans