As you may recall, supporting details are facts, statements, examples, statistics, and other information that backs up the main idea. Supporting details are essential because they help readers understand or believe a writer's message. What kinds of details support a main idea? Click each category below to learn how writers and speakers back up their ideas.
| Details that confirm | may state the main idea in a slightly different way. |
| Details that clarify | may answer a question readers would have about the main idea. |
| Details that explain | show readers how the main idea works or why it's true. |
| Details that describe | help readers imagine the scene, object, or situation in the main idea. |
| Details that expand | provide more detail about the main idea, or suggest related ideas. |
| Details that illustrate | offer examples that help readers understand or believe the main idea. |
To find supporting details, look for details that help you understand the main idea. What are the supporting details in this article?
Most people who came out for the election voted for expanding the community center. The vote was 935 to 300. City leaders credited the campaign started by the group Expand Now (EN) with bringing out those voters who were in favor of expanding the center. EN reported that parents of teens made up 56 percent of voters, parents of preteens were 25 percent of the vote, and senior citizens made up most of the remainder of those who voted.
With that overwhelming approval, work on the center will begin this fall and is expected to take six months. The renovated center will have an additional basketball court, four meeting rooms, and a teen lounge and game room.
Make a list of the supporting details in this passage. Then click Show Me to compare your notes to ours.
The vote was 935 to 300.
City leaders credited the campaign started by the group Expand Now (EN) with bringing out those voters who were in favor of expanding the center.
Parents of teens made up 56 percent of voters, parents of preteens were 25 percent of the vote, and senior citizens made up most of the remainder of those who voted.
Question
How can you tell if something is a supporting detail?
