Specific information or supporting idea is developed from the main idea by giving the specific definitions, examples, facts, comparison, cause and effect that is related to the topic sentence.

For example: The Story of “Cinderella”.
a. Paragraph 1: Cinderella lived with her step mother and two step sisters. From the main idea the writer can develop the story by giving specific information.

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Cinderella. Cinderella lived happily with her mother and father until her mother died. Feel that Cinderella needs a mother figure in her life, Cinderella’s father remarries to a woman who has two daughters of her own. Unfortunately, Cinderella’s father dies and she lived only with her stepmother and stepsisters. They were very bossy, she had to do all the housework. It was quite true Cinderella even dressed in rags with dusty gray face from the cinders was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly.

One day, invitations from the hall come to the family. The King invited for all the eligible ladies in the kingdom so as to find Prince a wife. Her stepsisters would not let her go. Cinderella was sad. The stepsisters went to the hall without her. Fortunately, the fairy Godmother came and helped her to get to the hall with the wave of magic wand, helped prepared Cinderella for the hall. The fairy does warn her that is magic will end at a stroke of midnight, so she must leaved the hall before then. (specific information).

The italic sentences are called specific information because it is developed from the main idea, in this case the specific information gives the detail information about the character of Cinderella and her two stepsisters and stepmother in that story as an example of bad character and facts about the new family of Cinderella. It was also the comparison between Cinderella a beautiful girl and her step sister an ugly girl.

The underline sentences are also called specific information because it is developed from the main idea, in this case the specific information gives the detail information about the reason (cause and effect) why her stepsister did not allow Cinderella came to the party and how she can come to the party.