1. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Guide to College Reading, 6/e Kathleen T. McWhorter Chapter 8 Understanding Paragraphs: Supporting Details and Transitions

2. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers This Chapter Will Show You How to:  Recognize supporting details  Identify types of supporting details  Use transitions to guide your reading  Paraphrase paragraphs

3. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Paragraphs Supporting Details:  facts and ideas that prove or explain the main idea of a paragraph.  range in degree of importance. Transitions:  linking words or phrases used to lead the reader from one idea to another.

4. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Types of Supporting Details  Examples  Facts and Statistics  Reasons  Descriptions  Steps or Procedures

5. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Examples  Examples make ideas and concepts real and understandable.  Example: The speed that a body has at any one instant is called instantaneous speed. For example, when we say that the speed of a car at some particular instant is 60 kilometers per hour, we mean that if the car continued moving as fast for an hour, it would travel 60 kilometers.

6. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Facts and Statistics  The facts and statistics may provide evidence that the main idea is correct or further explain the main idea. Example: An increasing number of minority workers will join the work force by the year 2000. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that white males, who have dominated the work force for several generations, will make up only 15 percent of the new entrants in the labor force between 1990 and 2000.

7. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Reasons  A writer may support an idea by giving reasons why a main idea is correct. Example: There are several reasons why warm air rises. Warm air expands and becomes less dense than the surrounding air and is buoyed upward like a balloon. They buoyancy is in an upward direction because the air pressure below a region of warmed air is greater than the air pressure above. And the warmed air rises because the buoyant force is greater than its weight.

8. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Descriptions When the topic of a paragraph is a person, object, place, or process, the writer may develop the paragraph by describing the object. Example: The Koran is the sacred book of the Islamic religion. It was written during the lifetime of Mohammed (570-632) during the years in which he recorded divine revelations.

9. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Steps or Procedures  When a paragraph explains how to do something, the paragraph details are lists of steps or procedures to be followed: Example: To prepare an outline of a speech, you should first read about the topic. Next, find the main points. After that, locate the details that support the main points. Finally, organize the main points and details in a logical order.

10. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Transitions  Time-Sequence  Example  Enumeration  Continuation  Contrast  Comparison  Cause-Effect

11. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Time-Sequence Transition  The author is arranging ideas in the order in which they happened.  Examples: first later next finally

12. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Example Transition  It tells the reader that an example will follow.  Examples: for example for instance to illustrate such as

13. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Enumeration  The author is marking or identifying each major point (sometimes these may be used to suggest order of importance). Examples: first, second, third, last, another, next

14. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Continuation  The author is continuing with the same idea and is going to provide additional information.  Examples:  also,  in addition,  and,  further,  another

15. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Comparison /Contrast  Comparison: The writer will show how the previous idea is similar to what follows. Examples: Like, likewise, similarly  Contrast: The author is switching to a different, opposite, or contrasting idea than previously discussed. Examples: on the other hand; in contrast; however

16. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers Cause/Effect  The writer will show a connection between two or more things, how one thing caused another, or how something happened as a result of something else. Example: because, thus, therefore, since, consequently

17. © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Publishers http://www.ablongman.com/mcwhorter Take a Road Trip to New Orleans! Visit the Active Reading module in your Reading Road Trip CD-ROM for multimedia tutorials, exercises, and tests. Visit the Longman Companion Website