Demonstration on the Main Idea Elaboration

The basic ways to elaborate on a main idea are using "wh-" questions and also giving some examples.

Here, I will demonstrate how I elaborate using the methods.

1. Smoking is hazardous to health.

Why is smoking hazardous?
> A cigarette contains numerous harmful chemical substances.
> Even the smoke given out from the burning of the tobacco in a cigarette consists of detrimental chemical elements.

What are the chemical substances in the cigarette and the detrimental elements in the smoke? / Giving some examples.
> (in the cigarette) Nicotines and tars
> (in the smoke) Benzene and carbon monoxide

How do these chemical substances affect our health?
> Nicotines can make a smoker addict to smoking; whereas tars can blacken lungs.
> Benzene is carcinogenic and carbon monoxide, if inhaled in large amount, can lead to fatality.

Now, place all the points in a paragraph, it will be written as:

Smoking is hazardous to health, because a cigarette contains numerous chemical substances, such as nicotines and tars. Nicotines can make a smoker addict to smoking; whereas tars can blacken lungs. Even the smoke given out from the burning of the tobacco cause health problems to the people around the smoker, because the smoke consists of detrimental elements like benzene and carbon monoxide. Benzene is carcinogenic and carbon monoxide, if inhaled in a large amount, can lead to fatality.

For the next two main ideas, I will elaborate each of them in the form of paragraph only.

2. Deforestation can cause global warming.

Deforestation can cause global warming. Global warming takes place due to the increase of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as carbon dioxide traps the heat of the sun within the surface of the earth. Forests need carbon dioxide for the process of photosynthesis. If deforestation occurs, the forests will decrease, and in turn, the concentration of carbon dioxide will increase. As a result, global warming arises.

3. Recycling is important to save our mother earth.

Recycling is important to save our mother earth. Plastic and glass products are not biodegradable even though they are buried under the soil for a long time. Landfills are no longer a practical method to dispose off the wastes as many of the wastes may pollute the land. Besides, the lands are limited. Recycling, specifically paper recycling, can also help save the natural resources like trees.

One last thing to note, elaboration does not only require the skills mentioned. It also requires some knowledges to make the elaboration convincing and matured. So, read more! =D