Adding supporting details = developing ideas

A way to think about development My job is to offer advice on writing. The following slides outline a way of thinking about development, not the way. Writing is not paint by numbers. As a writer, you need to think about how best to develop ideas. BUT, there are some things that you will want to pay particular attention to. You need topic sentences to identify the main points of each section. It doesn’t have to be the first sentence of the paragraph. It could be anywhere, but you need them to focus. You need transitions. You need explanations after evidence to create meaning. Professional writers know this. So, I have broken down one section of a professional writer’s paper to demonstrate a way of developing ideas.

“There's No Way to Enforce a Texting While Driving Ban” by Radley Balko Thesis: There shouldn’t be a texting while driving law. We can’t solve every problem with a new law. America has a “There Oughtta Be a Law” (TOBAL) problem A description of what TOBAL means Explanation of how TOBAL relates to texting and driving The Alleged Problem Enforceability problem Conclusion http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2009/10/13/theres-no- way-to-enforce-a-texting-while-driving-ban

Supporting— “There's No Way to Enforce a Texting While Driving Ban” Forget flu season. Several times per year, America comes down with a national case of TOBAL-itis. TOBAL is short for "There Oughtta Be a Law." Here's the progression of symptoms: Wrenching anecdotes about the effects of some alleged new trend make national news. A panic takes root in the media. Earnest editorialists scrawl urgent pleas for action. Politicians grandstand. Soon enough, we have our new law or regulation. It doesn't matter if the law is enforceable or may have unintended consequences. Nor does it matter if the law will have any actual effect on the problem it was passed to address. In fact, it doesn't even matter if the problem actually exists. The mere feeling that it exists is sufficient. And so it goes with the panic over texting while driving. I'm not going to defend the act of clumsily thumbing out an E-mail while guiding a 2-ton, gasoline-loaded missile down the highway at 70 miles per hour. That's foolish. Nor will I argue there's some right to drive while iPhone-ing tucked into a constitutional penumbra. I will argue that we need to get over the idea that we can solve every bad habit with a new law. We can't, and this issue illustrates why.

5 Steps to Paragraph Development 1. Decide on a controlling idea and a topic sentence: Often, the controlling idea of a paragraph will appear in the form of a topic sentence. In some cases, you may need more than one sentence to express a paragraph's controlling idea. Here is the controlling idea for our "model paragraph," expressed in a topic sentence: Forget flu season. Several times per year, America comes down with a national case of TOBAL-itis. 2. Explain the topic sentence: Paragraph development continues with an expression of the rationale or the explanation that the writer gives for how the reader should interpret the information presented in the topic sentence: TOBAL is short for "There Oughtta Be a Law."

5 Steps to Paragraph Development 3. Give an example or multiple examples to illustrate your point: Paragraph development progresses with the expression of some type of support or evidence for the idea and the explanation that came before it. The example serves as a sign or representation of the relationship established in the idea and explanation portions of the paragraph: Here’s the progression of symptoms….. 4. Explain the example(s): The next movement in paragraph development is an explanation of each example and its relevance to the topic sentence and rationale that were stated at the beginning of the paragraph: And so it goes with the panic over texting while driving. 5. Complete the paragraph’s idea and transition to the next paragraph:

You Need Evidence for EVERY Supporting Point Here are some methods to make sure your ideas are well-developed: Use examples and illustrations Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others) Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases) Use an anecdote or story Define terms in the paragraph Compare and contrast Evaluate causes and reasons Examine effects and consequences Analyze the topic Describe the topic Offer a chronology of an event (time segments) After you have offered a piece of evidence to support your point and develop your idea, you need to comment on the information to create meaning. Commenting on supporting information is the glue that holds a paper together: The equation: Your claim + supporting info + comment

Your paper Before you submit your rough draft, look back through each section and make sure that you have fully developed ideas!!! There are no shortcuts here. You are going to have to go through paragraph by paragraph. If you don’t have a topic sentence, add one. If you don’t have evidence to support every main point in your paper, do more research and add the necessary evidence. If you don’t have transitions within and between sections, add them.