Different Kinds of Supporting Details
Read through your
essay and insert
places where You can
put these supporting
details.
Who are you talking to?
When you write, you have a
specific audience in mind.
So you want to use certain types of
supporting details that speak to
this audience.
Think about:
•who is reading your work
•what you want them to know and
understand
What’s your point?
Each time you write, you are writing for a specific reason.
You have ideas you want to convey through your writing.
You may be:
• making an argument for or against
something
• comparing/contrasting two or more things
• trying to persuade or move someone to
action
• helping someone learn about something
There are several types of supporting details you can use
to accomplish any of these goals.
The 5 Most Common Types of
Supporting Details
1. Facts
2. Statistics
3. Opinions
4. Examples
5. Personal Observations and Experiences
Facts
Facts are statements from reliable
sources about real things.
Example: Your topic sentence claims that cheetahs are the fastest
animals on land.
Fact: Cheetahs have a sprinting speed of up to 71 mph.
Fact: Loose hip and shoulder joints help the cheetah extend its reach
while running, enabling short bursts of high speed.
Sources: Encylopedia Brittanica, BBC Nature Collections
Statistics
Statistics are facts expressed in numbers,
based on data from samples and
populations.
Example: Your topic sentence claims that the Chinese are
big users of the Internet.
Statistic: A study in 2010 counted Chinese users at over 440
million, second only to English users who number about 537
million.
Statistic: The Chinese spend more time online than people
in the U.S., almost two billion hours per week compared to
less than 130 million hours spent online by U.S. users.
Sources: Internet World Stats, Forbes.com
Opinions
Opinions are peoples’ views or value
assessments of something.
Example: Your topic sentence claims that red wine is good
for your health.
Opinion (expert testimony): According to heart specialist
Dr. Martha Grogan, “Antioxidants in red wine may help
protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart.”
Opinion (personal interview): “Even my 88-year old
grandma (depicted holding a glass of red wine) got into it…”
Sources: Mayoclinic.com, celebritywinereview.tv
Examples
Examples are ways of illustrating your
point so that it is better understood.
Example: Your topic sentence claims that exponential
growth can lead to astronomical numbers very quickly.
Example: If you put a grain of rice on one square of a
chessboard, then for every square beyond it you got
double the amount you had from the square before, you
would end up with a pile of rice larger than Mt. Everest.
Example: Some previously unknown Youtube videos get
thousands of hits after a week on the Internet, because
Facebook users can post a link for hundreds of friends to
see, who can each share it with their hundreds of friends.
Personal Observations and
Experiences
Example: Your topic sentence claims that becoming a
parent makes one more sympathetic toward other
parents.
Personal experience: When I was single I would frown at
mothers who couldn’t control their screaming youngsters
at a mall; now, I smile and nod to let them know I feel their
pain.
Observation: I saw a father pushing twins in a stroller who
was obviously in a hurry, but he stopped in front of a store
to allow a woman with her child to go in ahead of him.
Often, a variety
of supporting details helps make your
writing better.
Go through the previous slides and
think about which types of supporting details
work best for:
• persuasion
• comparisons
• informative essays
Always consider your audience and your purpose
when determining the type of supporting details you need.
No matter who your audience is or
what your purpose is, always use
reliable sources and cite them.
You can cite sources within your work,
on a “Works Cited” page
or in a bibliography.
For each main idea, use at least two different
reliable sources for your supporting details.
More is better!
Supporting Details are the proof that
you know what you’re talking about!