12 Supporting Details

SUPPORTING DETAILS • A paragraph contains facts, statements, examples-specifics that guide us to a full understanding of the main idea. They clarify, illuminate, explain, describe, expand and illustrate the main idea and are supporting details.

Determining Supporting Details

1. Decide which details help to further the storyline.

2. Decide which details help you to understand the main idea.

3. Answer questions raised by the main idea (who, what when, why or how).

Types of Supporting Materials

1. COMPARISONS in which one thing is shown to be like another.
EXAMPLE: Skilled college students are like unskilled students in their desire for a diploma.

2. CONTRASTS in which one thing is shown to differ from another.
EXAMPLE: Skilled students are different from unskilled students in that they use a method to read a textbook.

3. STATISTICS EXAMPLE: 75 percent of the students who do not attend class regularly receive grades of C or worse.

4. GRAPHS EXAMPLE: Figure 9-1 is one type of graph.

5. QUOTATIONS from authorities
EXAMPLE: Professor Smitty admits, “I tell students they don’t need to attend my class if they don’t want to. I know, however, that if they don’t come, they won’t pass.”

6. VIVID DESCRIPTIONS EXAMPLE: The students took the exam from the professor’s hand, quickly looked at the grade, gave a sigh of relief, and began to smile.