Developing and Shaping Ideas Using specifics, selecting supporting material, arranging supporting material

Using Specifics Typically, English writers say something fairly general and then they give more specific information to prove, illustrate, or explain that general statement. The problem is that students do not always know what is more general and what is more specific.

Specifics Which is more specific? Nervous Smell of breaking bread A huge, strong dog A room with white bare porcelain walls Hands shaking, voice quivering Good, sweet smell from the oven Many beautiful, brilliant colors A full-grown Cocker Spaniel

More examples… She arrived at the dentist’s office and sat in the waiting room looking nervous. She arrived at the dentist’s office and sat in the waiting room biting her nails. A good language class is one in which students are not afraid to ask questions. A good language teacher knows how to create the right atmosphere for learning.

Who does the work? It is up to you, the writer! You are expected to do the work of explaining, showing, and proving. Without specific support or proof or explanation, the reader is unlikely to believe a writer’s generalization or conclusions. Show and tell= Tell the reader something, but show that the statement is true (evidence).

Types of Supporting Material Examples Reasons, causes, or effects Descriptive details Facts or statistics Personal experiences, representative cases, observations References

More examples…

Amount of Support How much support is enough? Answer depends very much on who the audience is and the purpose of the text is. You need to think about your audience and use your intuition to determine how much support is needed. You need to decide what type of support or combinations will be most effective to help your argument. Least to Most: Begin with the least significant and move to the most significant.

Questions to ask yourself Are there any examples I could add to my discussion to make it clearer or more forceful for my audience? Have I had any personal experience that I could mention? Can I make my explanation clearer by describing how something works/looks/feels? Is there anything I need to define more completely in order to explain what I mean?