WHAT IS THE TOPIC AND SUPPORTING DETAILS IN PARAGRAPHS 1) The stages of life, from birth to death, may seem controlled by biology. (2) However, the way we think about life’s stages is shaped by society. (3) During the Middle Ages, for example, children dressed—and were expected to act—just like little adults. (4) Adolescence became a distinct stage of life only fairly recently, when a separate teenage subculture began to appear. (5) But in the Middle Ages, young people were “children” until about age 16. (6) Then they went to work, married, and had their own children. (7) Today, “young adulthood” has become a new stage of life, stretching from about age 20 to 30. (8) As life expectancy becomes longer and people spend years in active retirement, older adulthood has also become a distinct life stage.

The topic of the paragraph is presented in sentence number 2, while the supporting details are presented in sequences 5, 6 and 7.

Explanation:

The topic of a paragraph refers to the subject that the paragraph will cover and present to the reader. Generally, this topic is presented right in the first sentences, which allows the reader to recognize, right at the beginning, the subject that will be discussed in the text. The paragraph presented in the question above is an example of this, as the topic is presented in the second sentence, which allows the reader to realize that the subject covered in the paragraph will be about how society is influential in our way of seeing the phases a life.

The supporting details, on the other hand, are the sentences that justify the topic of the text, that is, the supporting details show why this topic is real and relevant to be discussed. In this case, sentences 5, 6 and 7 present evidence of how youth is seen differently in two different societies.

appeal to ethos is your answer.