What are "supporting details"?

Supporting details are additional details that support the topic sentence in a paragraph. They let the reader understand and learn more about the main idea. These details can be reasons, descriptions, examples, explanations or comparisons.

Each paragraph should contain several supporting details to expand on the main idea. These details clarify, illustrate or defend the topic sentence. They help the reader understand how the main idea is true. The types of supporting details used depends on the style of essay.

Writers make sure they choose the right details to include. They want strong, descriptive supporting details to show readers instead of telling them.