P2-F WEEK 10

Academic Fall 2022

Writing

DEVELOPING IDEAS – GIVING EXAMPLES

For a well-written essay or paragraph, your ideas must be well-developed and well-supported.
You should also keep in mind that you cannot use your personal opinions as support in academic
writing. Opinions should always be supported by further details or examples in essays or paragraphs so
that they can count as supporting ideas. What’s more, sometimes even facts need proof to support an
argument in an academic essay. In order to provide support for your personal opinions or present proof
for the facts you have written in your essay, you may give examples.

Example 1.

English is a difficult language to learn. OPINION / NEEDS SUPPORT

English is a difficult language to learn as a result of its complex set of rules and the
irregularities in these rules. For example, plurals are formed by adding an -s to a word, yet
there are many exceptions to this rule, such as child/children, goose/geese, foot/feet,
person/people. OPINION SUPPORTED WITH EXAMPLES

Women live longer than men. FACT / NEEDS SUPPORT

Women live longer than men. Women outlive men in almost every society. For
example, in Japan, the average life expectancy at birth is 87 years for women and 81
years for men. FACT SUPPORTED WITH EXAMPLE

Example 2.

Punishment for identity thieves is not severe enough in the USA. OPINION / NEEDS SUPPORT

Punishment for identity thieves is not severe enough in the USA.

For example, if you commit identity theft in Oregon, OPINION / SUPPORTED WITH EXAMPLE
it typically results in only a 13-month prison sentence.

Identity theft is increasing rapidly. FACT / NEEDS SUPPORT

Identity theft is increasing rapidly. For example, the number of FACT / SUPPORTED WITH EXAMPLE
identity theft cases increased by around 45% in 2020. These caused huge
financial losses for American citizens. In 2021, this trend
continued, and Americans suffered a total of 56 billion dollars in losses.
 P2-F WEEK 10
Academic Fall 2022
Writing

HOW TO USE SUCH AS AND FOR EXAMPLE IN SENTENCES

SUCH AS
We can use such as to introduce a specific example or examples of something we mention. If the specific
examples are NOT essential to the accuracy of your sentence, then you should use a comma before such
as. Also, if your example or examples are in the middle of your sentence, you should put another comma
after your examples. See the examples below:
Examples

1. Citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, are high in vitamin C.

 Examples in this sentence are not essential to the accuracy of the sentence as the phrase “citrus
fruits” is descriptive enough. The commas are necessary.

2. She only stays in the most expensive and luxurious hotels, such as Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton.
 Examples are not essential to the accuracy of the sentence as the phrase “the most expensive
and luxurious hotels” is descriptive enough. The comma is necessary.
֍ If the examples are essential to the meaning of your sentence, you should omit the commas.
Examples

1. Foods such as pizza and ice cream aren’t very good for you.

Try to read the sentence without the phrase “such as pizza and ice cream”.

Foods aren’t very good for you.

 The examples are essential to the meaning of the sentence; without them the meaning is
unclear or not accurate. In this case, you SHOULD NOT use commas.
2. This year we’d like to visit a place such as Greece or Rome.

Try to read the sentence without the phrase “such as Greece or Rome”.

This year we’d like to visit a place.

 The examples are essential to the meaning of the sentence; without them the meaning is
unclear or not accurate. In this case, you SHOULD NOT use commas.
 P2-F WEEK 10
Academic Fall 2022
Writing

WATCH OUT!

You cannot start a sentence with “such as”.

A person’s self-confidence can be boosted with the help of team sports, such as volleyball and
basketball. CORRECT

A person’s self-confidence can be boosted with the help of team sports. Such as volleyball and
basketball. INCORRECT

WATCH OUT!

“Such as” can only be followed by a noun or a noun phrase. It can NEVER be followed by a
sentence (an SVO structure).

There are many ways of improving one’s vocabulary, such as keeping a journal and playing
word games. CORRECT
There are many ways of improving one’s vocabulary, such as you can keep a journal and play
word games. INCORRECT

Exercise 1. Extend the following sentences using your own ideas and examples. Put commas where
necessary.
1.This shop specializes in tropical fruits such as ____________________________________________.
2. Baltic countries such as ________________________ have a long record of welcoming refugees from
all over the world.
3. I am quite an athletic person. I especially enjoy water sports such as __________________________.
4. Drinks such as __________________________________ may help you stay awake and focus better
due to the caffeine they contain.
5. Cities such as _______________________________________ suffer from high levels of pollution as a
result of high population and heavy industry.
Exercise 2. Write one sentence for each topic given below with one or more specific examples using
SUCH AS. Pay attention to punctuation.
1. vegetables / rich in iron
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2. countries / education
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3. internationally acknowledged Turkish authors
 P2-F WEEK 10
Academic Fall 2022
Writing

____________________________________________________________________________________.
FOR EXAMPLE
We can use also use for example to introduce a specific example or examples of something we mention.
Unlike such as, for example is followed by a sentence (SVO) structure. There are two possible ways to
punctuate sentences with for example.
Examples
1. Today we have learnt the most important facts about the Industrial Revolution; for example, it began
in Britain, and the first modern factory was a cotton spinning mill.
________________________; for example, ___________________________.
2. If you want to cook healthy food, you should use healthy ingredients. For example, cooking with olive
oil is much healthier than cooking with sunflower oil.
_________________________. For example, _________________________.

֍ You can also use for instance or to illustrate in your sentences to give examples. These phrases are also
followed by a sentence (SVO) structure. The punctuation rules for them are the same as the ones for “for
example”.

Examples
1. It is obvious that our daughter Olivia is acquiring new skills at her new school. For instance, she can
now speak Spanish and German.
_________________________. For instance, _________________________.
2. I can name many good sources of vitamin C; for instance, oranges, lemons, and strawberries contain
high levels of vitamin C.
_________________________; for instance, __________________________.
3. There are many ways to show your appreciation for your mother; to illustrate, you can help her
around the house, cook a meal, buy her some flowers, or tell her that you love her.
__________________________; to illustrate, ________________________.
4. This year is financially the most successful year of the last decade for our company. To illustrate, our
stocks have gone up by 25% and our revenue is up by 43% compared to last year.
__________________________. To illustrate, ________________________.
Exercise 3. Extend the following sentences with examples using “for example/for instance/to
illustrate”. Pay attention to punctuation.
1. There are many ways to improve your social skills __________________________________________.
 P2-F WEEK 10
Academic Fall 2022
Writing

2. Intensive farming, also called monoculture, is harmful to the environment. ______________________

____________________________________________________________________________________.