OSSLT Understanding Supporting Details 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage about renewable energy contains the following details. Which one is the STRONGEST supporting detail for the claim 'Solar energy is becoming more affordable'?
- The sun is a star located about 150 million kilometers from Earth.
- The cost of solar panels has dropped by 89% over the past decade. (Correct answer)
- Some people find solar panels visually unappealing on rooftops.
- Solar energy was first harnessed commercially in the 1950s.
Correct answer: The cost of solar panels has dropped by 89% over the past decade.
An 89% cost drop over a decade is specific, measurable evidence that directly supports the claim about affordability.
Question 2: In a persuasive essay, a writer uses the phrase 'for example' followed by a specific story. This story is MOST likely:
- The thesis statement of the essay.
- An anecdote used as a supporting detail to illustrate the main argument. (Correct answer)
- A counterargument the writer will refute.
- An unrelated digression.
Correct answer: An anecdote used as a supporting detail to illustrate the main argument.
'For example' signals that the author is about to provide a specific illustrative supporting detail.
Question 3: A student reads two paragraphs about ocean pollution. Paragraph 1 focuses on plastic waste; Paragraph 2 focuses on chemical runoff. Both paragraphs contain supporting details. What do those supporting details have in common?
- They all describe the same type of pollution.
- They each support their own paragraph's specific main idea while both relate to the broader topic of ocean pollution. (Correct answer)
- They contradict each other to show different perspectives.
- They repeat the same information in different words.
Correct answer: They each support their own paragraph's specific main idea while both relate to the broader topic of ocean pollution.
Supporting details in each paragraph develop that paragraph's own main idea, though both paragraphs relate to the overall topic.
Question 4: Which sentence from a passage about music education would be considered a FACT used as a supporting detail?
- Music is one of the most beautiful art forms ever created.
- Every student should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
- Schools that offer music programs show a 15% higher graduation rate. (Correct answer)
- Music education is more important than sports programs.
Correct answer: Schools that offer music programs show a 15% higher graduation rate.
The graduation rate statistic is a verifiable fact that supports the value of music education, unlike the opinion-based statements.
Question 5: A reader notices that a paragraph's supporting details all point to the same conclusion. This pattern suggests that the supporting details are:
- Contradictory and should be removed.
- Effectively unified, all working together to develop one clear main idea. (Correct answer)
- Irrelevant to the topic of the passage.
- Too repetitive to be useful to the reader.
Correct answer: Effectively unified, all working together to develop one clear main idea.
When all supporting details point toward the same conclusion, they are unified and effectively support a single main idea.
Question 6: On the OSSLT, a student is asked to identify two supporting details from a reading passage. The student should look for sentences that:
- Express the author's overall opinion about the topic.
- Provide specific information, evidence, or examples that explain or prove the main idea. (Correct answer)
- Introduce new topics not discussed elsewhere in the text.
- Appear only in the first and last paragraphs.
Correct answer: Provide specific information, evidence, or examples that explain or prove the main idea.
Supporting details are the specific sentences that provide evidence, facts, or examples backing up the main idea.
Question 7: A passage about volunteer work states: 'Studies show volunteers live longer, healthier lives.' A student wants to identify whether this is a main idea or supporting detail. The BEST approach is to:
- Assume it is the main idea because it appears first in the passage.
- Check whether the rest of the paragraph provides broader claims that this statistic supports. (Correct answer)
- Ignore it because statistics are always supporting details.
- Decide based on the length of the sentence alone.
Correct answer: Check whether the rest of the paragraph provides broader claims that this statistic supports.
Determining whether a sentence is a main idea or supporting detail requires examining how it relates to other sentences in the paragraph.
OSSLT Understanding Supporting Details 5
A passage about renewable energy contains the following details.
Which one is the STRONGEST supporting detail for the claim 'Solar energy is becoming more affordable'?