1. IDENTIFYING SUPPORTING DETAILS
CHAPTER 6
IDENTIFYING SUPPORTING DETAILS
 IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL LEARN:
What are supporting details and why it is
important to be able to identify them
The method for identifying supporting details

2. What are supporting details and
why is it important to be able to identify them?
Supporting details:
Additional information that helps you
understand the main idea completely.
Supporting details are also known as support or details.
A paragraph consists of more than a topic and a main idea.
The supporting details provide additional information that helps you understand the main idea completely.
Supporting details are related to the main idea of a paragraph.
Supporting details provide specific information,
such as examples, descriptions, and explanations.

3. Types of supporting details
Names
Dates
Places
Statistics
Results of research studies
Other information that explains the main idea
further or illustrates it by giving examples

4. Primary supporting details, or major details,
relate directly to the main idea.
Minor details, or secondary details,
explain other details
or give examples that are less important.

5. Why is it important to identify supporting details?
The supporting details in a paragraph have
an important relationship to the main idea
because they explain or tell more about it.
2. Listing the supporting details after you read a textbook assignment can help you study more efficiently.
Instructors often ask test questions
based on supporting details.
Noting supporting details will make it easier for you to
mark your textbooks effectively.
take notes.
remember the material.

6. 3. Identifying the supporting details will help you grasp
the pattern of organization of a paragraph.
Along with determining the topic and the main idea, identifying supporting details will help you become a more successful reader and student.

7. for identifying supporting details?
What is the method
for identifying supporting details?
Once you have determined the stated or implied main idea of a paragraph, and you have identified the supporting details, you can ask yourself the comprehension monitoring question,
“What additional information does the author provide to help me understand the main idea completely?”
To determine what additional information you need to know,
turn the main idea sentence into a question by using the words who, what, where, when, why, and how.

8. Supporting details are often introduced by signal words:
For example
First, second,
Next
Also
Authors also use other clues when they present details in the form of a list:
Numbers (1, 2, 3)
Letters (a, b, c)
Bullets

9. Be aware that, in some paragraphs, not every detail
will be introduced by a signal word or other clue.
Including details in your notes and review cards
can be helpful to you when you study.
After you read a paragraph, go back and number each detail.
This is helpful because:
1. It helps you locate all the details
2. It helps you remember how many details there were in the paragraph.
3. It prevents you from overmarking the paragraph by underlining or highlighting it too much.

10. When listing supporting details, it is not necessary
to use the exact words of the paragraph
or to use complete sentences.
When you are listing supporting details,
you may want to restate them in your own words
in order to keep them brief.
Restating someone else’s material
in your own words is called paraphrasing.

11. Other ways to organize supporting details:
Steps in a process (a sequence)
In a table or chart that shows similarities and differences (comparisons and contrasts)
Reasons and results (causes and effects)
In some cases, you may include details in your study notes in the form of an outline or study map.

12. Things to keep in mind when identifying supporting details:
Watch for clues that indicate a list of details.
Watch for clue phrases such as:
There are many types of…
Five reasons that…
Two kinds of…
There are several ways…
Some symptoms include…

13. when identifying supporting details:
Things to keep in mind
when identifying supporting details:
Watch for clues that indicate a list of details.
Watch for signal words such as:
for example
first, second, third . . .
next
and
in addition
moreover

14. Things to keep in mind when identifying supporting details:
Watch for clues that indicate a list of details.
Watch for items identified with
numbers (1, 2, 3) or
letters (a, b, c).
Watch for lists with items identified with bullets
Item 1
Item 2
Item 3

15. Avoid overmarking your textbook by
numbering the supporting details in a paragraph
rather than highlighting or underlining them.
Listing the supporting details on separate lines
in your study notes can help you
learn the information more efficiently.

16. AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD KNOW:
What are supporting details and why it is important to be able to identify them
The method for identifying supporting details