SUPPORTING DETAILS Supporting details give you specific details about the main idea of the text. A supporting detail SUPPORTS and DEVELOPS the text’s main idea. The supporting details make up the body of a paragraph: A paragraph has a topic sentence that states the main idea of the text and contains several SUPPORTING sentences that give specific details that help develop the main idea. Example: If the main idea of a text is that frogs have three main stages in their development, then a supporting detail could be that female frogs lay eggs in the shallow water of a small body of water. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.