TEN STEPS to
BUILDING COLLEGE READING SKILLS
FIFTH EDITION
This presentation is best viewed in “Slide Show” view.
[Go to “Slide Show” pulldown menu and click on “Play from Start.”]
Use the tab key, space bar, arrow keys, or page up/down
to move through the slides.
FIFTH EDITION
TEN STEPS
to
BUILDING COLLEGE
READING SKILLS
John Langan
© 2011 Townsend Press
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.
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.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
This Chapter in a Nutshell
What is the frog’s support for his point?
He supports his point by providing four reasons he doesn’t need
insurance: no house, no car, no possessions, no health worries.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
What Are Supporting Details?
Supporting details are reasons, examples, steps,
or other kinds of evidence that explain a main idea,
or point.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
What Are Supporting Details?
In the model paragraph in Chapter 3, the supporting details
appear as a series of reasons:
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.
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 problems
Supporting detail: 2.
Supporting detail: 3.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
What Are Supporting Details?
Main idea
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
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.
What
are the second
third the
reasons
that
should be addedspecific
to complete
The supporting
detailsand
provide
added
information—the
causes
this
basic
outline of the
paragraph?
of poor
grades—that
is needed
for you to fully understand the main idea.
Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes.
Supporting detail: 1. Financial problems
Supporting detail: 2. Trouble with relationships
Supporting detail: 3. Bad study habits
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
What Are Supporting Details?
To read effectively you must recognize both
main ideas and the details that support those
ideas.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining
Outlines are lists that show the important parts of a
They begin with a main idea, with
piece of writing.
supporting details placed, in order, underneath the
main idea.
There may be two levels of supporting details—
major and The
minor.
major details explain and develop
In turn, the minor details under them
the main idea.
help fill out and make clear the major details.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining
Here is a detailed outline of the paragraph on poor grades:
Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes.
Major detail:
1. Financial problems
Minor details: a. Need to work long hours after school
b. No time left to study
Major detail:
2. Trouble with relationships
Minor details: a. Unhappiness over family problems
b. Unhappiness over lack of friends
Major detail:
3. Bad study habits
Minor details: a. No skill in taking class notes
b. No skill in time management
c. No skill in studying a textbook
The main idea is supported and explained by the major
details.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining
Here is a detailed outline of the paragraph on poor grades:
Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes.
Major detail:
1. Financial problems
Minor details: a. Need to work long hours after school
b. No time left to study
Major detail:
2. Trouble with relationships
Minor details: a. Unhappiness over family problems
b. Unhappiness over lack of friends
Major detail:
3. Bad study habits
Minor details: a. No skill in taking class notes
b. No skill in time management
c. No skill in studying a textbook
In turn the major details are supported and explained by the
minor details.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining
Once you know how to outline, you can use the skill to
prepare very useful
study
notes.clearly tie ideas together,
Good
outlines
making them easier to understand and remember.
Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes.
1. Financial problems
a. Need to work long hours after school
b. No time left to study
2. Trouble with relationships
a. Unhappiness over family problems
b. Unhappiness over lack of friends
3. Bad study habits
a. No skill in taking class notes
b. No skill in time management
c. No skill in studying a textbook
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining / Outlining Tips
Outlining Tips
TIP 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:
List Words
Examples
• Poor grades in school can have various causes.
• To motivate workers, managers should practice several methods
of building self-esteem.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining / Outlining Tips
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
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining / Outlining Tips
TIP 2 Look for words that signal major details.
In Chapter 3, you saw how addition words signaled each major
detail in this paragraph.
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.
Addition words
Addition word
Addition word
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Outlining / Outlining Tips
TIP 2 Look for words that signal major details.
Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
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.
• Which word signals the first major detail?
• Which word signals the second major detail?
• Which words signal the third major detail?
Answer:
One
second
Last of all
Addition word
Addition word
Addition words
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
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 thesupporting
paragraph on
poorare
grades,
the three
major
Likewise,
the minor
details
all indented
at the
supporting
details
begin
at the same distance from the margin.
same distance
fromallthe
margin.
Main idea: Poor grades in school can have various causes.
1. Financial problems
a. Need to work long hours after school
b. No time left to study
2. Trouble with relationships
a. Unhappiness over family problems
b. Unhappiness over lack of friends
3. Bad study habits
a. No skill in taking class notes
b. No skill in time management
c. No skill in studying a textbook
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
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.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Preparing Maps
If minor
In
a map,
details
each are
major
included,
detail iseach
connected
is connected
to the to
main
the
major
idea.detail it explains.
Poor grades in school can have various causes.
Financial
problems
Need to work
long hours
after school
No time left
to study
Bad study
habits
Trouble with
relationships
Unhappiness
over family
problems
Unhappiness
over lack of
friends
No skill in
taking class
notes
No skill in
time
management
No skill in
studying a
textbook
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Preparing Maps
Read the paragraph below. Notice the list words and the words that signal the
three major details.
List words
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.
Answer:
Addition word
Addition word
Addition word
• Which words in the first sentence tell you that
a variety of reasons
a list of details is coming?
• Which word signals the first major detail?
One
• Which word signals the second major detail?
Another
• Which word signals the third major detail?
third
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details
Preparing Maps
What major details are missing from the map below?
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.
People daydream for a variety of reasons.
Boredom
Lack of something
Angry feelings
Example: Worker
dreams about winning
lottery.
Example: Poor person
dreams about owning
car.
Example: Angry person
dreams about dropping
teacher out window.
CHAPTER 4 Supporting Details