This document outlines six categories of supportive materials that can be used when presenting information: illustrations/examples/personal stories, descriptions/explanations, analogies, definitions, facts/statistics, and opinions/quotes. Each category is defined and examples are provided of how each type of supportive material can be used, such as using statistics to convey percentages or ratios, or using expert opinions from professionals in a field.

1. Six
Categories
of
Supportive
Materials

2. Six Categories of Supportive Materials
Illustrations, Examples &
Personal Stories
Descriptions & Explanations
Analogies
Definitions
Facts &
Statistics
Opinions & Quotes

3. Illustrations, E
xamples &
Personal
Stories
•
Facts
•
Hypothetical
•
Brief
Illustration
•
Extended
Illustration

4. Facts
“The early guitar had four double strings and
was similar to the lute. The modern guitar has
six strings.”
Guitar. World Encyclopedia. Oxford Reference.
Hypothetical
“Imagine playing a guitar on stage
and one of the six strings breaks…”

5. Brief Illustration
“So prodigious were Johnson's skills on the six-string guitar, a legend
(fostered by Johnson himself) grew up around him that he had sold
his soul to the devil in exchange for this particular gift.”
Robert Johnson. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Gale Virtual Library Reference.
Extended Illustration
The story of the “crossroads” and the entire Blues legend of how Robert Johnson made a
bargain with the devil.

6. Descriptions &
Explanations
• Word
Pictures
• Detailed
sensory
information
• Use
Brief, Concr
ete style

7. Description
“Players are looking for the comfortable
broken-in look and feel of an older
instrument, sort of like pre-aged Levi’s
jeans.”
For Guitar Makers, It’s Back to the Future. Music Trades. Oct 2013. 104-112. Business Source
Complete.
Explanation
“Some manufacturers take the aging process to the nth
degree, executing dents, cigarette burns and other iconic
“accidents” with precise historical accuracy.”
For Guitar Makers, It’s Back to the Future. Music Trades. Oct 2013. 104-112. Business Source Complete.

8. Definitions
• Classification
• Dictionary
• Operation
• Functional
Definition

9. Definition By Classification
“A musical instrument of the lute class, with six strings, which
are twanged with the right hand, and a handle or fingerboard provided with frets for stopping the notes with the
left...”
Oxford English Dictionary
Definition by Operation
“There are several different ways to learn how to finger strum without a guitar
pick, but the method I like best is using my thumb and middle fingers. When I
strum down I use my middle finger, when I strum up I use my thumb. In order to do
this you will need to grow your fingernails a bit long because your long nails will
work as your guitar pick and will help produce a loud clear sound from your guitar.”
Usher, Ashton. “Learn How to Strum the Guitar without a Guitar Pick.” March 2013. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/learn-strum-guitarwithout-guitar-pick-12032157.html

10. Analogies
•
Assist audience’s
understanding
•
Literal
• Comparison
between two
things
•
Figurative
• Comparison of
two dissimilar
things

11. Literal Analogy
“Guitars and basses are very tactile and
you hold them close to your body, so
people are likely to think of them as a
tool of tone and personal expression…“
For Guitar Makers, It’s Back to the Future. Music Trades. Oct 2013. 104-112. Business Source
Complete.
Figurative Analogy
“Beyond appearances, advances in technology have
revolutionized nearly every other product category [other
than the guitar]…automobiles, consumer electronics, kitchen
appliances, medical equipment and sporting goods..”
For Guitar Makers, It’s Back to the Future. Music Trades. Oct 2013. 104-112. Business Source Complete.

12. Facts & Statistics
• Can be
enumerated
• can be
expressed as
• Mean
• Percentage
• Ratio

13. Statistics
“Sales of all instruments in the United States totaled $6.5 billion
last year, down roughly 13 percent from their peak in
2005, according to Music Trades, which tracks the industry. “
Morrissey, Janet. A Guitar Maker Aims to Stay Plugged In. New York Times. September 2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/business/fender-aims-to-stay-plugged-in-amid-changing-music-trends.html?_r=0
Fact
“Mr. Fender’s company, now known as the Fender Musical Instruments
Corporation is the world’s largest maker of guitars.”
Morrissey, Janet. A Guitar Maker Aims to Stay Plugged In. New York Times. September 2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/business/fender-aims-to-stay-plugged-in-amid-changing-music-trends.html?_r=0

14. “But I can tell you that the Vantage X-99 is in no
way inferior to a Fender Strat. I tested them both
without amp at home but also on a stage when
grandpa did set up his stuff before he played
with his band for local events. Both guitars a
pretty different but have a nice usability and
awesome sound.”
• Expert
“I Borrowed Grandpa’s Vantage X-99 Guitar.” Dennis X. November 2013. Retrieved from
http://diaryofdennis.com/2013/11/21/i-borrowed-grandpas-vantage-x-99-guitar/
•
Opinions &
Quotes
a professional in the
field
• Lay
•
Experience based
testimony
• Prestige
•
Testimony not just
from someone
famous, but someone
who has worked hard
in the area

15. Expert Opinion
“Fender Brands Vice President of Marketing reports that there is a
‘pretty interesting cross section of consumers’ attracted to retro
looking instruments.“
For Guitar Makers, It’s Back to the Future. Music Trades. Oct 2013. 104-112. Business Source Complete.
Prestige Opinion
Rick Barrio Dill, bassist for rock band Vintage Trouble, lost his Fender
bass to a theft. Playing another brand was “out of the question…It put
a feeling in my stomach like someone had died – I was a complete
wreck.”
Morrissey, Janet. A Guitar Maker Aims to Stay Plugged In. New York Times. September 2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/business/fender-aims-to-stay-plugged-in-amid-changing-music-trends.html?_r=0

16. Six Categories of Supportive Materials
Illustrations, Examples &
Personal Stories
Descriptions & Explanations
Analogies
Definitions
Facts &
Statistics
Opinions & Quotes

17. Image Attributions
•
“Guitar Close-up.” Lee, James. Jronaldlee. Flickr. Creative Commons 3.0 License. Retrieved from:
•
“Guitar pick.” Rahman_95 . Flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). Retrieved from:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jronaldlee/5628630271/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rahman_95/8552923365/
•
•
•
•
“Robert Johnson.” Tdblues.com. Retrieved from: http://www.tdblues.com/2010/03/robert-johnson-tunings-and-guitars/
“Faux damaged guitar.” For Guitar Makers, It’s Back to the Future. Music Trades. Oct 2013. 104-112. Business Source Complete.
“Guitar Necks in a Row.” Morrissey, Janet. A Guitar Maker Aims to Stay Plugged In. New York Times. September 2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/business/fender-aims-to-stay-plugged-in-amid-changing-music-trends.html?_r=0
“Vintage Trouble on stage.” McCabe, Peter. Vintage Trouble. http://www.vintagetrouble.com/visuals.html