Chapter Three:
Supporting Details
As you know, the most important reading skill
is finding the main idea.
A closely related reading skill is locating
supporting details—the added information
you need to make sense of the main idea.
In the cartoon, the man’s main idea is that his
job is unbearable.
What support does he give for his idea?
© 2001 by Randy Glasbergen. www.glasbergen.com
The man’s support for his statement that his job
is unbearable is that
1. he almost didn’t get a doughnut,
2. he got put on hold for three minutes, and
3. he got a paper cut.
(His support is not very convincing! Ideas should always
have convincing support.)
A Paragraph with Strong Support
In the paragraph below, three major details support the
main idea that many people are strangely passive when
they visit a doctor.
Can you identify the three major details?
Many people are strangely passive when they visit a doctor. First of all,
they often fail to provide the doctor with complete information about their
medical problem. They may barely describe their symptoms, believing that a
skilled doctor—like a master car mechanic—will somehow easily be able to
diagnose what is wrong with them. Secondly, many people fail to ask their
doctors for a full and clear explanation of their condition. They don’t want to
appear ignorant in front of their “all-knowing” doctor, and they don’t want to
take up too much of this Important Person’s time, so they say little and ask
almost nothing. Last of all, they often fail to understand a doctor’s orders.
Studies show that many patients don’t understand why they should take a
certain medication or for how long they should take it. Incredibly enough,
some patients are not even sure, as they are about to be rolled into an
operating room, why they are having surgery!
Here in outline form are the three major
details supporting the main idea:
Main idea: Many people are strangely passive when
they visit a doctor.
Supporting details:
1. Don’t provide enough information about their
problem
2. Don’t get a full explanation about their problem
3. Don’t understand a doctor’s orders
Outlining
An outline shows the relationship between a
main idea and its supporting details.
Outlines start with a main idea, followed by
major supporting details. Sometimes there will
be minor supporting details as well.
Main idea
1. Major supporting detail
a. Minor supporting detail
b. Minor supporting detail
2. Major supporting detail
a. Minor supporting detail
b. Minor supporting detail
Outlining Tips
Tip 1: Look for list words that tell you a list of
details is coming:
Several kinds of
Various causes
A few reasons
A number of
A series of
Three factors
Four steps
Among the results
Several advantages
Tip 2: Look for addition words that signal major
details:
one
first of all
in addition
furthermore
first
also
next
last of all
second
another
moreover
finally
Mapping
Maps, or diagrams, are visual outlines
in which circles, boxes, or other shapes show
the relationships between main ideas and
supporting details.
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.
In the paragraph below, four major details support the main
idea that there are factors that interfere with memory.
Can you identify the four major details that belong in the map?
Several factors can interfere with having a good memory. One such factor is a lack
of motivation. Without a real desire to learn or remember something, you probably
won’t. Another cause is a lack of practice. To stay sharp, memory skills, like any other
skill, must be used on a regular basis. A third factor that can hurt memory is self-doubt.
If you’re convinced you won’t remember something, you probably won’t. A person with
a positive attitude will do much better on a test than someone who is sure he or she
won’t remember the material. Last, distraction can interfere with memory. If you are
being distracted by the sound of a television or a conversation nearby, try to find a quiet
environment before you attempt to commit something to memory.
Several factors can interfere with having a good memory. One such factor is a lack
of motivation. Without a real desire to learn or remember something, you probably
won’t. Another cause is a lack of practice. To stay sharp, memory skills, like any other
skill, must be used on a regular basis. A third factor that can hurt memory is self-doubt.
If you’re convinced you won’t remember something, you probably won’t. A person with
a positive attitude will do much better on a test than someone who is sure he or she
won’t remember the material. Last, distraction can interfere with memory. If you are
being distracted by the sound of a television or a conversation nearby, try to find a quiet
environment before you attempt to commit something to memory.
Lack of
motivation
Lack of
practice
Self-doubt
Distraction
Now see if you can answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Which words in the paragraph indicate that a list is coming?
Which words introduce the first major detail?
Which words introduce the second major detail?
Which words introduce the third major detail?
Which words introduce the last major detail?
Several factors can interfere with having a good memory. One such factor is a lack
of motivation. Without a real desire to learn or remember something, you probably
won’t. Another cause is a lack of practice. To stay sharp, memory skills, like any other
skill, must be used on a regular basis. A third factor that can hurt memory is self-doubt.
If you’re convinced you won’t remember something, you probably won’t. A person with
a positive attitude will do much better on a test than someone who is sure he or she
won’t remember the material. Last, distraction can interfere with memory. If you are
being distracted by the sound of a television or a conversation nearby, try to find a quiet
environment before you attempt to commit something to memory.
Lack of
motivation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lack of
practice
Self-doubt
Distraction
Which words in the paragraph indicate that a list is coming? Several factors
Which words introduce the first major detail? One
Which words introduce the second major detail? Another
Which words introduce the third major detail? third
Which words introduce the last major detail? Last
Summarizing
.
A summary is the reduction of a large amount of
information to its most important points.
Often, a summary will consist of a main idea and
its major supporting details.
When you take study notes on textbook material,
you’ll find it helpful to summarize definitions and
examples of important terms.
How would you summarize the following
.textbook passage?
In some circumstances, the most effective way of
coping with stress is withdrawal—avoiding the situation.
A person at an amusement park who is overcome by
anxiety when just looking at a roller coaster can walk on
to a less threatening ride or even leave the park entirely.
A woman whose promotion depends on temporarily
relocating might simply quit her job and join another
company. Or she might withdraw emotionally from the
stressful situation by deciding that promotion no longer
matters to her and that she has already advanced in her
career as far as she wants to go.
In some circumstances, the most effective way of coping
with stress is withdrawal—avoiding the situation. A person at
an
. amusement park who is overcome by anxiety when just
looking at a roller coaster can walk on to a less threatening
ride or even leave the park entirely. A woman whose
promotion depends on temporarily relocating might simply quit
her job and join another company. Or she might withdraw
emotionally from the stressful situation by deciding that
promotion no longer matters to her and that she has already
advanced in her career as far as she wants to go.
Summary
Withdrawal—coping with stress by avoiding the situation.
For example, a person made anxious by being near a
roller coaster can walk elsewhere.
Chapter Review
In this chapter, you learned the following:
 Major and minor details provide the added information you need to
make sense of a main idea.
 List words and addition words can help you find major and minor
supporting details.
 Outlining, mapping, and summarizing are useful note-taking
strategies.
 Outlines show the relationship between the main idea, major details,
and minor details of a passage.
 Maps are very visual outlines.
 Writing a definition and summarizing an example is a good way to
take notes on a new term.
The next chapter—Chapter 4—will show you how to find implied main ideas
and central points.