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Definition

Supporting sentences simply mean the sentences we use in the body to support or explain the main idea expressed in the topic sentence. These sentences may be in form of facts, facts proved by specific details, experiences, examples, statistics and quotations etc. in other words, any sentence which is based on objective statements can be used as supporting sentence.

Here are two separate sample of paragraphs including only introduction and body:

Exemple (1)

Introduction: (topic sentence) 
  • Canoeing is the best way to relax and relieve your stress.

Body: (supporting sentences) 
  • Gliding across a still lake on a summer day, nothing but silence and bird songs will break the quiet and interrupt your thoughts.  In addition, the slow rhythmic strokes of the paddle can help you unwind so that all your troubles will fade into the background. Canoeing has its most soothing effect when you can lie back in the middle of a deserted lake and stare up at nothing more complicated than a bright cloudless sky.

As we notice in the introduction, the topic is canoeing. According to the writer, the best way people can use to rid of stress is practicing canoeing (main idea or opinion of the writer). So, to explain and support this idea, the writer should involve convincing evidence.

In the body, the writer used three sentences to explain how by canoeing somebody can rid of stress. He said that through practicing this sport in a still lake where there were just calm and songs of birds, people got in a useful atmosphere. Also, once people used paddle with a slow rhythm while they were gliding, they rid of from their troubles. Moreover, he added that people could keep calm just through lying back on a deserted lake and looking at the bright cloudless sky.

Example (2)

Introduction: (topic sentence)
  • It is commonly recognized that dogs have an extreme antagonism towards cats.

Body: (supporting sentences)
  • This enmity between these two species can be traced to the time of the early Egyptian dynasties. Archaeologists in recent years have discovered Egyptian texts in which there are detailed accounts canines brutally mauling felines. Today this type of cruelly between these two domestic pets can be witnessed in regions as close as your own neighborhood. For example, when dogs are walked by their masters (and they happen to catch sight of stray cat). They will pull with their strength on leash until the master is forced to yield; the typical result is that a feline is chased up a tree.

As we notice in the introduction, the topic is about antagonism or enmity between cats and dogs whereas the controlling idea is that the enmity or antagonism is commonly recognized, that is, the phenomenon of antagonism between the two species exists and is confirmed (the opinion of writer). So, to support this idea of recognized enmity between the two species, we need to use clear evidence to convince the readers about our opinion.

In the body, the writer gives us a historical fact about dogs and cats enmity which backs to the time of the early Egyptian dynasties in which the writer based on an archaeological research to support the historical fact of the enmity and then to support the existence of antagonism phenomenon between the two species.
Also, the writer refers to the disturbed relationship between cats & dogs that everybody can actually notice in their neighborhood (daily experience). He reinforces the idea of last sentence by giving an example when a dog meets a cat and how they behave with each other to enhance again that the enmity between the two animals is real.