- Ontario Secondary School Literacy Understanding Supporting Details Questions and Answers Flashcards

In a passage about Canadian healthcare, which is a supporting detail rather than the main idea?

Answer: Emergency room wait times in Ontario averaged 4.2 hours in 2025.

The specific ER wait time statistic is a supporting detail.

A paragraph argues physical education should be mandatory. Which supporting detail is most effective?

Answer: A 2024 Ontario Medical Association study found students with daily physical activity show 23% better concentration.

This provides specific, authoritative evidence that directly supports the argument.

Read: 'The Group of Seven transformed Canadian art. Their bold landscapes captured wilderness beauty. Tom Thomson painted iconic works like The Jack Pine.' What type of detail is the Thomson reference?

Answer: A specific example that illustrates the broader point

Tom Thomson and The Jack Pine serve as a specific example illustrating the broader point.

Which sentence contains an expert opinion as a supporting detail?

Answer: According to Dr. Sarah Chen, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University, Atlantic salmon has declined by 40% since 2010.

This cites a named expert with credentials and specific data.

A paragraph about recycling includes: 'My favourite colour is blue.' How does this affect the paragraph?

Answer: It weakens it because it is irrelevant to the main idea

The sentence has no connection to recycling, weakening the paragraph's focus.

In a persuasive text about reducing plastic waste: 'Every year, Canadians discard approximately 3 million tonnes of plastic waste, with only 9% recycled.' What makes this effective?

Answer: It provides specific, quantifiable data demonstrating the problem's scale

The specific numbers demonstrate the scale of the problem.