Objective
In this lesson, you will learn how to develop ideas by using support and evidence in the body of an essay.
Introduction
One important part of the writing process is including evidence and support with the ideas that appear in body paragraphs. Often, this step in the writing process will be most useful after the general organization of the essay is worked out. In other words, we may not want to waste time developing our ideas until we're certain that those ideas are going to make it to the final draft of our essay!
Using Details and Examples
In any type of essay, from a personal narrative to a researched argument, using examples is one of the best ways to develop the ideas in our writing. When we write, we often start off by writing in rather general, non-specific terms. For instance, look at this excerpt from a student's draft of an essay she has written about her childhood:
When I was in my teens, my family moved to Ohio. There were a lot of fun things to do in my town, but I spent most of my time feeling pretty bored because I didn't have any friends yet. I hung out in my room and tried to entertain myself there. At night, my brother and I would sometimes go out and do things.
Although this writer is getting her general idea across, it's probably difficult for you to really picture or imagine anything about her life in Ohio. This is because she hasn't used detailed examples to show us. We certainly believe her when she says that there were fun things to do in her town, but we have no idea what kind of fun things she means. We might also wonder how she entertained herself in her room, and what she and her brother would do when they went out at night. Here is how this student revised this section of her essay using examples:
When I was in my teens, my family moved to Findlay, Ohio, a little town in the northwest corner of the state. Findlay had plenty of movie theaters, restaurants, coffee shops and malls, and had a few nice parks too, but I spent most of my time bored and alone because I didn't have any friends. I hung out in my room a lot, writing in my leather-bound diary and listening to the Beastie Boys through my headphones. Occasionally I redecorated my walls by hanging new posters or sticking glowing stars to the ceiling. At night, my brother Fred and I would sometimes go out and walk down Main Street, looking in store windows and imagining where we would both be in five years.
The basic ideas of this student's essay are the same, but in this draft they are much more developed. We can now see what she's talking about, because she's used specific examples: movie theaters, restaurants, coffee shops, mall, parks, writing in my leather-bound diary, listening to the Beastie Boys through my headphones, etc. Not only has she made her essay more specific, but she has also made it more original and personal; it has become an essay that is uniquely hers, because there are specific details and examples from her life within it.
Using Evidence and Support
We are often asked to write essays that make an argument or try to persuade. In these kinds of essays, it's important to not only make our point, but to develop that point as well. The best ways to develop our arguments are to include evidence and support in our writing.
Evidence can include simple examples that illustrate the argument we're making. If, for instance, a student were trying to persuade his readers that seatbelt laws should be more strongly enforced, he could include the story about when his seatbelt saved his life. This kind of evidence can really help to persuade his readers to consider the argument more carefully.
Sometimes, though, our written arguments require even stronger support than our own experience and opinions can provide. In these cases, we need to find some outside support to make our arguments stronger. If the student who is writing about seatbelt laws wants to create an even more persuasive essay, for instance, he might want to include some facts and figures that show how his thesis is correct. He'll have to do some research to find these facts and figures. He might even interview a police officer about seatbelt usage; even though an officer may only have opinions on the issue, his opinions will carry more weight than the student's on this issue, simply because of his work experience.
It may be helpful to review Chapter 3: Lesson 9 of the handbook, which will give you more information about evaluating sources for your writing.
Summary
In this section you have learned various methods of developing ideas in the body of an essay. You have seen that you can take a variety of approaches to idea development. As you write your next essay, think about whether you have included sufficient details, evidence, and examples to prove and support your essay's thesis.
  
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