Include and Explain Supporting Details in Informative Writing

What are Supporting Details In informative writing, writers develop their main idea with relevant information called supporting details. Relevant information can be nay fact, definition, concrete detail, example, or quotation that is important to a reader’s understanding of the topic and closely related to the thesis or main idea.

How to Pick out Supporting Details 1. Re-read your thesis statement. Ask yourself “What is my main idea about this topic?” 2. Ask yourself “What does a reader need to know about the topic in reader to understand my main idea? Search for facts, anecdotes, statistics, comparison, distinctions, etc. that back up your main idea.

Sentence Starters When you introduce supporting details, stay away from sentence starters such as: In the article it states…. The author says… The passage says… Have a “Naked Quote” (a quote from the passage that is just stuck in the paper without a transition phrase or sentence starter.

Sentence Starters Instead, use sentence starters such as: John Smith explains…” The writer tries to explain her point…. The article expresses the point… This becomes clear when the author states….

Writing prompt You have just read the article “The Civil War in American History” by John Smith. How did the civil war change Americans views on freedom? Write an Informative Essay explaining the reasons The North and South gave for fighting the Civil War.

Bad Example In the article it says that the north and the south fought in the civil war. “The north fought for freedom the south fought for economy purposes.” This shows that the north and the south fought for different reasons. This shows that the author was explain Americans views on freedom. “Americans changed their freedom ideas after the war because of the damage it causes.” This proves how bad the civil war was.

Good Example In the article, “The Civil War in American History” by John Smith, the author explains the causes of the civil war and how it changed American history forever. Smith describes that “the north fought the civil war for freedom for all people” (Smith,1). The Northern part of America was called the Union, and their goals were different from the south’s goals. The article explains that “the confederate army was opposed to the goals of the union and all that they stood for” (Smith, 1). The southern states pulled away from the Union to make up the Confederate army. When the Civil war ended and the union won, “Americans discovered just how important freedom was for everyone. However, it took many years for all for America to be on the same page” (Smith, 1). Smith describes how long it took for America to fully be free for all people.

Writing Prompt You have just finished reading “Story of Frankenstein's monster still popular 200 years later”. Based on this article, write an informative essay about the inspiration behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story. Why did she write this story? How or where did she get some of her ideas to include in her story? Make sure your writing is clear and structured well.