Supporting Evidence in Writing

Supporting Evidence in Writing

How to include supporting details in your writing

​Use your composition book to make notes about supporting details.

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Make Notes

Supporting Details

• Supporting details are specific pieces of information in a piece of writing that support the MAIN IDEA.  The main idea of your essay is the thesis statement and your topic sentences.

Main Idea

• The main idea of a paper is the thesis statement.  The main idea of a paragraph is the topic sentence.  The supporting details help to validate or expand on the main idea.  The supporting details are the facts.  In this class, they are referred to as concrete details (CD).

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Validate: to support or corroborate on a sound authoritative basis (ethos).

Match

Match the following

• Supporting Details

• Thesis Statement

• Topic Sentence

Specific pieces of information in a piece of writing that support the MAIN IDEA

The main idea of a paper.

The main idea of a paragraph

• Specific pieces of information in a piece of writing that support the MAIN IDEA

• The main idea of a paper.

• The main idea of a paragraph

Where do supporting details usually appear in an essay?

• Supporting details often follow the topic sentence of the essay.  The supporting detail's purpose is to support your thesis statement and topic sentence.

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Topic Sentence (TS)

• A topic sentence (TS) is usually the first sentence of a body paragraph.  It contains the main idea about which the paragraph will be written.  The rest of the paragraph supports the topic sentence.

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Example of a Topic Sentence and Supporting Details

Cats make great pets for people who live in apartments.  Cats do not need to be walked, so their owners don’t have to worry about taking them through their building to go outside.  Cats are much smaller than dogs, which works well in a small space.  Cats don’t bark and whine, so they make good pets for apartments with neighbors on all sides.

• Topic sentence: Cats make great pets for people who live in apartments.

  The sentences that follow support the topic sentence.  They elaborate and back up the topic sentence and thesis.

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Match

Match the following

• Supporting details often follow the topic sentence of the essay.

• A topic sentence (TS) is usually the first sentence of a body paragraph.

• They elaborate and back up the topic sentence and thesis.

Where do supporting details usually appear in an essay?

Topic sentence

Supporting details

• Where do supporting details usually appear in an essay?

• Topic sentence

• Supporting details

Types of Supporting Details

• The types of supporting details depend on the author’s purpose: Persuade, Inform, Entertain—P.I.E.

• This lesson will focus on persuading and informing.

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Facts and Evidence

• Facts and Evidence are generally used in persuasive and Informational writing.  In this class, they are known as concrete details (CD). They are statements used to provide reinforcement in the form of indisputable statements.

  • Example:

  • Topic sentence:  The United States has a significant number of people living in poverty.

    • CD: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 22% percent of Americans were living below the poverty level in 2021 (3).

    • The CD supports the topic sentence (main idea).

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Reasons and Explanations

Reasons and explanations are used frequently in persuasive and information essays but do not require facts.  They are opinions that help support an argument the author is making, or they give a reason.  Reasons and explanations are referred to as commentary in this class (CM).

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Let’s look at how they work.

• TS: The United States has a significant number of people living in poverty.

  • CD: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 22% percent of Americans were living below the poverty level in 2021 (3).

  • CM:  It is shameful that 22% percent of Americans are living below the poverty level because the United States of America is the most advanced nation in the world.

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Match

Match the following

• This is what determines the type of supporting details you will use

• Facts and evidence

• Reasons and explanations

Author's purpose (P.I.E.)

They are statements used to provide reinforcement in the form of indisputable statements.

They are opinions that help support an argument the author is making or they give a reason. 

• Author's purpose (P.I.E.)

• They are statements used to provide reinforcement in the form of indisputable statements.

• They are opinions that help support an argument the author is making or they give a reason. 

How to Identify Supporting Details

Supporting details must be directly relatable back to the main idea.  If a sentence does not relate back to the main idea, then it cannot be considered a main idea.

Major Supporting Details vs. Minor Supporting Details

• Major supporting details clarify the main idea of the essay.

• Minor supporting details help to clarify the major supports.

  • CD: major supporting details

  • CM: minor supporting details

Match

Match the following

• Supporting deails

• Major supporting details

• Minor supporting details

Must be directly relatable back to the main idea

Clarify the main idea of the essay

Help to clarify the major supports.

• Must be directly relatable back to the main idea

• Clarify the main idea of the essay

• Help to clarify the major supports.

Explain Supporting Details

Now that you are finished with making notes about supporting details, explain what they are and how they work in an essay.  Yes! You must use each language function sentence frame to draft your response.

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• To define _____, it is necessary to understand _____. _____ is understood as _____. Critical attributes of _____ include _____ and _____. A greater understanding of _____ increases our awareness of _____.

Open Ended

Now that you are finished with making notes about supporting details, explain what they are and how they work in an essay.

To define _____, it is necessary to understand _____. _____ is understood as _____. Critical attributes of _____ include _____ and _____. A greater understanding of _____ increases our awareness of _____.

Reorder

Reorder the following

• Topic Sentence

• Concrete Detail

• Commentary One

• Commentary Two

• Closing Sentence

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5