Supporting Sentences

1
Supporting Sentences

• Develop and support topic sentence
• These sentences add meaning, help prove, or
  expand the idea presented in your topic sentence

2
Many scientists think of the brain as a
biological computer, a vast network of tens of
billions of neurons (brain cells) that
communicate by means of electrical impulses. Each
neuron receives information through its dendrite,
a treelike structure whose branches funnel
signals into the cell. -------. In such a way,
neurons communicate with each other in the
complex working of the brain.
Warm Up

• (A) If an animal, even one as simple as a marine
  snail, becomes used to a tapping on its shell,
  its neural network will activate.

• (B) Scientists think learning might be the
  result of a complex chain of chemical reactions
  that alter neurons.

• (C) When a neuron accumulates enough signals, it
  fires an electrical pulse down a stalk (called an
  axon) into the dendrites of other cells.

• (D) Getting the proper chemical nutrients to the
  neurons is important if the brain is going to
  function at peak capacity.

3
There are concerns that people are taking in too
much calcium and that these excess amounts could
prove harmful. -------. As a result, many
companies began fortifying food with calcium. Now
it appears that a calcium overload could mean
more than a mere upset stomach. It may block
absorption of other critical minerals.
Warm Up

• (A) Companies will try to make money whenever and
  however they can.
• (B) People are becoming aware that too much
  calcium can cause problems.
• (C) Ten years ago, scientific research suggested
  that calcium was necessary for strong bones and
  teeth.
• (D) Maintaining the proper mineral balance is as
  crucial to good health as getting enough exercise.

4
Like many grocery shoppers, you probably read the
labels on food as you shop and then select
products that make certain health claims.
-------------------. The reason? Some terms are
ambiguous and some are misleading. And many food
additives do not even have to be listed on the
labels.

• (A) But even a careful reading of the label may
  not tell you everything that is in the food.
• (B) If you are a parent shopping with children,
  for example, you may not have time to read food
  labels while in the store.
• (C) Other people, however, choose foods on the
  basis of their convenience rather than their
  nutritional value.
• (D) But eating nutritious foods is only one part
  of maintaining good health.

Warm Up
5

• (A) The states' names come from a number of
  different American Indian languages.
• (B) The names of many other states are of
  European origin.
• (C) Not many people know the origin of states'
  names.
• (D) Maryland takes its name from Queen Mary of
  England.

Over half of our states bear names that derive
from Native American words. Illinois, for
example, means "the tribe of perfect men."
Michigan means "a great water." Texas means
"Friends!" -------. California's name was
bestowed by the Spanish settlers of the area, who
knew of the imaginary land, Califerne, mentioned
in a 1510 Spanish romance. Georgia is named for
England's King George II, and Louisiana is, of
course, named for Louis XIV of France.
Warm Up
6

• (A) Interestingly, the novels were published less
  than fifty years apart.
• (B) Having fallen into obscurity after its
  publication in 1899, The Awakening, unlike
  Flaubert's work, did not receive critical
  reevaluation until the 1950's.
• (C) Both heroines are disappointed in love and
  both, ultimately, commit suicide.
• (D) Chopin's novel depicts the life of "a
  sensuous woman who follows her inclinations."

Warm Up

• Often identified as the American Madame Bovary,
  Kate Chopin's The Awakening is parallel to
  Flaubert's novel in many ways. Like Emma Bovary,
  Edna Pontellier is unable to free herself of
  romantic dreams and illusions. -------------------
  -. But many critics think Edna is a more tragic
  figure than Emma Bovary because she confronts a
  social order that is bound to defeat her.

7

• The first written messages were simple pictures
  of useful and familiar objects--pictographs.
  ------------------. So, from pictographs, early
  people developed ideograms, signs that could
  represent more abstract ideas or emotions. An eye
  flowing with tears might represent sorrow, and a
  person with the head of a lion might signify
  bravery.

• (A) At this stage, though, there were no images
  to express other aspects of human experience.
• (B) And yet archaeologists have found these
  pictographs in many different cultures.
• (C) The study of such drawings, however, has led
  to a fuller understanding of ancient societies.
• (D) Nonetheless, this form of early "writing"
  continued in use for many centuries.

Warm Up
8

• The attributes of the right brain and the left
  brain have captured the public's imagination in
  the last several years as a means of defining
  personality. --------------------. Recent studies
  indicating that mental tasks are shared between
  the brain's right and left halves suggest that we
  are not trapped in one personality type.

• (A) Studies show that each half of the brain
  deals with incoming information differently.
• (B) People whose right brain is dominant are
  intuitive and creative, whereas people whose left
  brain is dominant are logical and analytical.
• (C) Yet the fatalistic attitude that one is born
  with a personality determined by either half of
  the brain seems to be losing scientific support.
• (D) Individuals can do much to improve their
  performance on a given task by determining
  whether they are ruled predominantly by the right
  or left brain.

Warm Up
9
Quiz Up

• (A) Curiously, the fish don't seem to be scared
  away by the noise of the motors.
• (B) The danger of this technology, however, is
  its potential for polluting the environment.
• (C) Outboard motors provide speed and
  maneuverability that sails cannot match.
• (D) The increasing demand for fish has put
  commercial fishers under additional pressure.

• It's understandable that the commercial fishers
  on this island prefer the outboard motor to the
  sail. Their livelihood is involved, and the
  motor, despite its smell and the noise it
  creates, has helped them increase their catch.
  --------------------. You can already see the oil
  slicks around the town dock.