this chapter in a nutshell - houston community college

This Chapter in a Nutshell• Supporting details are the evidence—such as reasons, examples, facts,

and steps—that backs up main ideas. Those details help you understand main ideas.

• There are two levels of supporting details: — Main items of support are called major details.

Pay special attention to them. — Major details themselves are sometimes supported with

information called minor details. • Words such as several steps or a number of reasons tell you that

supporting details may follow.• Words such as first, another, and finally often introduce supporting

details.

• Outlines and maps (diagrams) can show you a main idea and its supporting details at a glance.

Copyright © 2011 Townsend Press. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details

This Chapter in a Nutshell

In the cartoon above, what is the frog’s main idea, or point?

The frog’s main idea, or point, is that he does not need any insurance.


What Are Supporting Details?

Supporting details are reasons, examples, steps, or other kinds of evidence that explain a main idea, or point.




Poor grades in school can have various causes. For one thing, students may have financial problems. If they need to work long hours to make money, they will have little study time. Another cause of poor grades may be trouble with relationships. A student may be unhappy over family problems or a lack of friends. That unhappiness can harm schoolwork. A final cause of poor grades may be bad study habits. Some students have never learned how to take good notes in class, how to manage their time effectively, or how to study a textbook. Without such study skills, their grades are likely to suffer.

In the model paragraph in Chapter 3, the supporting details appear as a series of reasons:

What are the second and third reasons that should be added to complete this basic outline of the paragraph?

Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes. Supporting detail: 1. Financial problemsSupporting detail: 2.Supporting detail: 3.



Practice

• Check Your Understanding 1

To read effectively you must recognize both main ideas and the details that support those

ideas.




Outlining

Outlines are lists that show the important parts of a piece of writing.

They begin with a main idea, with supporting details placed, in order, underneath the main idea. There may be two levels of supporting details—major and minor.

The major details explain and develop the main idea.

In turn, the minor details under them help fill out and make clear the major details.



Outlining

Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes.

Major detail: 1. Financial problemsMinor details: a. Need to work long hours after school

b. No time left to study

Major detail: 2. Trouble with relationshipsMinor details: a. Unhappiness over family problems

b. Unhappiness over lack of friends

Major detail: 3. Bad study habitsMinor details: a. No skill in taking class notes

b. No skill in time managementc. No skill in studying a textbook

Here is a detailed outline of the paragraph on poor grades:

The main idea is supported and explained by the major details.



Outlining


Major detail: 1. Financial problemsMinor details: a. Need to work long hours after school

b. No time left to study

Major detail: 2. Trouble with relationshipsMinor details: a. Unhappiness over family problems

b. Unhappiness over lack of friends

Major detail: 3. Bad study habitsMinor details: a. No skill in taking class notes

b. No skill in time managementc. No skill in studying a textbook

Here is a detailed outline of the paragraph on poor grades:

In turn the major details are supported and explained by the minor details.



Outlining


1. Financial problemsa. Need to work long hours after schoolb. No time left to study

2. Trouble with relationshipsa. Unhappiness over family problemsb. Unhappiness over lack of friends

3. Bad study habitsa. No skill in taking class notesb. No skill in time managementc. No skill in studying a textbook

Once you know how to outline, you can use the skill to prepare very useful study notes.

Good outlines clearly tie ideas together, making them easier to understand and remember.



Outlining

Outlining TipsTIP 1 Look for words that tell you a list of details is coming.

List words were introduced in Chapter 3. Here are some common list words:

• Poor grades in school can have various causes.• To motivate workers, managers should practice several methods

of building self-esteem.

Examples

List Words


/ Outlining Tips


Outlining

TIP 2 Look for words that signal major details.

Such words are called addition words, and they were also introduced in Chapter 3. Here are some common addition words:Addition Words

/ Outlining Tips



Outlining

Poor grades in school can have various causes. For one thing, students may have financial problems. If they need to work long hours to make money, they will have little study time. Another cause of poor grades may be trouble with relationships. A student may be unhappy over family problems or a lack of friends. That unhappiness can harm schoolwork. A final cause of poor grades may be bad study habits. Some students have never learned how to take good notes in class, how to manage their time effectively, or how to study a textbook. Without such study skills, their grades are likely to suffer.

In Chapter 3, you saw how addition words signaled each major detail in this paragraph.

Addition words

Addition word

Addition word

/ Outlining Tips




To motivate workers, managers should practice several methods of building self-esteem. One way to build self-esteem is to show a genuine interest in what workers have to say. Ask for their opinions and really listen to their responses. A second method of improving self-esteem is to practice good conversational habits. Do so in three ways: by looking a worker in the eye, by smiling frequently, and by calling workers by their first name—the most important word in the language to every person. Last of all, managers can build esteem by admitting mistakes. Doing so, they show that it is simply human to do the wrong thing at times.


/ Outlining Tips Outlining

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.

• Which word signals the first major detail? • Which word signals the second major detail?• Which words signal the third major detail?

Answer:



Outlining / Outlining Tips

TIP 3 In your outline, put all supporting details of equal importance at the same distance from the margin.





In the outline of the paragraph on poor grades, the three major supporting details all begin at the same distance from the margin.



Likewise, the minor supporting details are all indented at the same distance from the margin.

Outlining / Outlining Tips

TIP 3 In your outline, put all supporting details of equal importance at the same distance from the margin.







Practice

• Practice 1

Preparing Maps

Maps, or diagrams, are highly visual outlines in which circles, boxes, or other shapes show the relationship between main ideas and supporting details.Mapping, like outlining, can be very useful in helping you prepare good study notes.



Preparing Maps

Trouble with relationships

Bad study habits

Financial problems

Poor grades in school can have various causes.

In a map, each major detail is connected to the main idea.



If minor details are included, each is connected to the major detail it explains.

Preparing Maps

Trouble with relationships

Bad study habits

Financial problems

Need to work long hours

after school

No time left to study

Unhappiness over family problems

Unhappiness over lack of

friends

No skill in taking class

notes

No skill in studying a textbook

No skill in time

management

Poor grades in school can have various causes.



Preparing Maps

Read the paragraph below. Notice the list words and the words that signal the three major details.

People daydream for a variety of reasons. One cause of daydreaming is boredom, at school or on the job. To make life more interesting, people imagine being somewhere else. For example, a student might dream of lying on the beach and flirting with an attractive person on a nearby blanket. A production worker might dream about winning the lottery or becoming the big boss at the company. Another cause of daydreaming is a lack of something. For instance, a starving person might dream about food, or a poor person might dream about owning a house or a car. A third cause of daydreaming is angry feelings. An angry student might dream about dropping a hated math instructor out of a classroom window.

• Which words in the first sentence tell you that a list of details is coming?

• Which word signals the first major detail?

• Which word signals the second major detail?

• Which word signals the third major detail?

Answer:



People daydream for a variety of reasons. One cause of daydreaming is boredom, at school or on the job. To make life more interesting, people imagine being somewhere else. For example, a student might dream of lying on the beach and flirting with an attractive person on a nearby blanket. A production worker might dream about winning the lottery or becoming the big boss at the company. Another cause of daydreaming is a lack of something. For instance, a starving person might dream about food, or a poor person might dream about owning a house or a car. A third cause of daydreaming is angry feelings. An angry student might dream about dropping a hated math instructor out of a classroom window.

Preparing Maps

What major details are missing from the map below?



Practice

• Practice 2• Review Test 2 and 3

this chapter in a nutshell - houston community college

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