If a friend says, “Summer in the city is awful,” you do not know what she means by awful. Is it the weather? The people? The transportation? Until your friend explains what she means, you will not know whether you would agree that summer in the city is awful.
Support in definition provides specific examples of terms or concepts to help explain what they mean. Read the two thesis statements that follow and the lists of examples that could be used as support.
| THESIS | Today, marriage means different things to different people. |
| SUPPORT | A union of one man and one woman |
| A union of two people of either sex | |
| A union that is supported by state law | |
| A union that is supported by both civil and religious laws | |
| THESIS | I am a neat freak. |
| SUPPORT | I clean compulsively. |
| I am constantly buying new cleaning products. | |
| My cleaning habits have attracted the notice of friends and family. |
In both of these examples, the writer would then go on to develop the examples with details.
| THESIS | I am a neat freak. |
| SUPPORT | I clean compulsively. |
| DETAILS: I clean in the morning and at night, and cannot let a spot on the counter go for a second. | |
| SUPPORT | I am constantly buying new cleaning products. |
| DETAILS: Every week, I buy new products, have a closet full of them, and believe every new sales pitch. | |
| SUPPORT | My cleaning habits have attracted the notice of friends and family. |
| DETAILS: Kids used to appreciate the clean house; now they complain that I am compulsive; friends tease me, but I wonder if they think I go too far. |