and

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Topics and Supporting Details
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Preview questions for Chapter Two Why is it
important to determine the topic of a
paragraph? How can I determine the topic of a
paragraph?
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• Topic of a paragraph
• Word, name, or phrase that tells who or what
• the author is writing about
• Determining the topic is important because
• it focuses your attention
• helps you understand complex paragraphs
  precisely
• and is an essential first step in understanding
• a passage

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To determine the topic, ask yourself, Who or
what is this topic about?
Four clues to help you determine the topic 1.
When the topic appears as a heading or title 2.
When the topic appears in a special type such as
bold print italics or color by pronouns
or other ds
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Topics in standardized reading tests
Students sometimes miss questions on reading
tests because they do not realize what they are
being asked.
Learn to
recognize certain types of questions no matter
how they are worded.

To identify the topic of a passage, ask
yourself,
Who or what is
this passage about?
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Topics in standardized reading tests

• Use clues for determining topics
• titles or headings
• words emphasized in special print
• repetition
• mention of the topic which is then referred to by
  pronouns or other words

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• Review questions for Chapter Two
• Why is it important to determine
• the topic of a paragraph?
• How can I determine the topic of a
• paragraph?

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Preview questions What are supporting details
in a paragraph? Why is it useful to understand
supporting details? How can I identify supporting
details in paragraphs? How can I list supporting
details clearly? What are major and minor
supporting details, and what is the difference
between them?
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Supporting Details
Additional information in the paragraph that
helps you understand the main idea completely
Supporting details may include
Names
Dates
Places
Descriptions
Statistics
Other information explaining, illustrating, or
proving the main idea.
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Supporting details are important because

• Supporting details often lead you to the stated
  main idea they contain important information
  that can help you formulate the main idea when it
  is implied

• Supporting details can help you grasp the overall
  organization (or writing pattern) of a paragraph

Listing supporting details after you finish
reading can help you learn and remember them.
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To identify supporting details in a paragraph,
ask yourself,
"What additional information does the author
provide to help me understand the main idea
completely?"
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Signal words that can introduce supporting
details

• first

• second

• next

• also

• in addition

• moreover

• for example

• to illustrate

• numbers and letters

Not every supporting detail is introduced by a
signal of some sort.
To make supporting details stand out clearly,
list them briefly on separate lines.
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Paraphrasing

• Restating an author's material in your own words

Paraphrasing supporting details will help you
keep them brief.
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After you have read a paragraph, go back and
insert a number next to each detail to make
supporting details easier to locate.

• This helps you locate all the details.

• It helps you remember how many details there
  were in the paragraph.

1 2 3 4

• It prevents you from overmarking a paragraph by
  underlining or highlighting too much.

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Supporting details on standardized reading tests

• To answer a test question about supporting
  details, read the question carefully to determine
  exactly what information you need.

• Skim the passage looking for that information.

• When you come to the part in the passage that
  has what you are looking for, slow down and read
  more closely.

• Look for information in the answer choices that
  means the same thing as the information in the
  passage, even if the words themselves are
  different.

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Review questions What are supporting details
in a paragraph? Why is it useful to understand
supporting details? How can I identify supporting
details in paragraphs? How can I list supporting
details clearly? What are major and minor
supporting details, and what is the difference
between them?
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THANK YOU.