As a student, learning how to write an informational essay can be a challenging and tedious task. Whether you are writing an expository, informative, or descriptive essay, they all require thorough research that is extremely time and energy-consuming.
Just like the word suggests, an informative essay aims to inform or educate the reader about a particular subject matter. They are meant to give an in-depth explanation of a specific topic. Therefore, the information you write must be based on facts and not opinions
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If you want to learn how to write the best informative essay, this article provides a step-by-step guide on how to write one. Let’s discuss how to write an informational essay.
Informative Essay definition
An informative essay is a type of writing that aims to educate the reader about a specific topic. You can learn how to write an informational essay using the following forms:
- To compare and contrast
- To analyze data
- To provide a how-to guide
- To define or explain a term in-depth
Note: Avoid being persuasive or presenting opinions when learning how to write an informational essay.
Informative Essay Topics
If the topic of the essay is not provided, you have to brainstorm ideas and select a winning case. The topic should be short and capture the reader’s attention.
Examples of good informative essay topics include:
- Pollution
- World War II
- Biographies
- Racism
- Gender-based violence
- Bullying in high school
- Global warming
- Origin of the hip-hop culture
- Social media and depression
- Caffeine addiction.
How to Choose Informative Essay Topics
The following are tips on how to choose topics when learning how to write an informational essay:
Choose trending topics
If you are not a good brainstormer, google the latest and trending topics in the news or all the social media platforms and find a suitable topic that interests you.
You can talk about elections in your country, the COVID-19 pandemic, developments in your local area, or the trending music artists on social media.
Find your interests
Finding your interests narrows down to two questions:
- What are your interests?
- What do you like to write?
Evaluating your interests helps with the tedious and time-consuming process of brainstorming ideas. In addition, you will have an easier time writing about something you like rather than learning something new from scratch.
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Maybe you’ve experienced a specific problem that was difficult to overcome and want to help people in the same situation. Therefore, you’ll write informative essays to share information and solutions you discovered.
You might also want to write informative essays comparing and contrasting a particular topic.
Know your target audience
When choosing an audience, who would you want to benefit from your informative writing? I mean, you are not writing for the sake of writing.
Therefore, know your target audience to run the necessary background information required during research on how to write an informational essay.
Conduct a thorough research
When you are brainstorming topics, conduct thorough research either by browsing or asking for ideas from other people. You’ll be surprised at the new ideas you’ll gather.
Informative Essay Purpose
There are many types of essays. An informative essay serves various purposes:
- Enhance the reader’s understanding by giving a detailed explanation-For example, informing the reader why censorship exists on TV.
- Provide detailed information about a part of a broader whole- For example, explaining how to open a bitcoin wallet.
- Clarification of a concept or related topics- For example, clarifying the similarities and differences between physical and virtual learning.
- Describing a guide or process- For example, describe a step-by-step guide on cleaning a swimming pool tile.
- Educating a reader on the new information-For instance, explaining what is nanotechnology.
How to Write an Informational Essay
Generally, writing an essay can be tedious if you don’t have the correct procedure and structure. If you are unsure of how to write an informational essay, here are the steps to follow:
Understand the essay’s instructions
You’ll probably have to draft an essay according to the selected subject and the instructions provided if you are writing a school assignment.
If the topic is not provided, take time to understand the instructions and understand whether the lecturer wants you to explain, compare, contrast, or analyze the informative essay.
In addition, when reading instructions, check for:
- Word count
- Formatting styles
- Deadline
- Specific sources provided.
Select an interesting topic
Now that you understand the instructions, it’s time to choose a suitable topic. When selecting a topic, start by narrowing down all the various concepts that are relevant to the subject. Remember to keep your topic short and direct.
For example, if the instructions require you to write an essay about the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, some relevant topics include:
- The effects of COVID-19 in the US
- The control and prevention of COVID-19 in the US.
Conduct a thorough research
Informative essays require accurate and factual information. Therefore, do a lot of research to ensure the information you write. You can find helpful information from books and online sources such as reputable websites, ebooks, and google scholar.
In addition, note down important points as you research to avoid content block or confusion. Remember to keep track of your relevant sources when learning how to write an informational essay.
Brainstorm ideas
After gathering enough information during your research, it’s now time to organize your ideas into a logical and comprehensive form. You can either:
- Create a list of your ideas
- Draft an idea map
- Write freely.
Draft the essay
The structure of the informative essay is divided into three parts, like every other academic paper. They include:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion.
When writing an informative essay, follow the steps below:
Create a rough draft
With the help of your outline, type or write down the necessary information without paying attention to spelling mistakes.
Give each paragraph a topic sentence
The topic sentence is the theme of your paragraph. It should be clear, captivating, and enable a smooth transition to the rest of the paragraph.
Organize your essay in parts
An essay is divided into three parts:
Part 1: Introduction
Introduce the topic of your essay by giving exciting facts and intriguing statements to capture the reader’s attention. Remember to insert a strong thesis in your introduction since it’s mandatory in essay writing.
Depending on the length of the essay, they can be short or long. However, for most papers, a brief introduction is recommended.
Part 2: Body paragraphs
Every paragraph should follow the C-E-E formula(Claim+ Evidence+Explanation). Your topic sentence is the claim and should be supported by evidence and relevant explanations.
Part 3Conclusion
The conclusion is the summary of your essay. It states the final thoughts of the writer and gives the reader closure.
Edit your draft
Read your rough draft countless times until you’re sure you’ve met all the requirements of an outstanding informative essay. Editing is done by checking for:
- Grammatical errors
- Plagiarism
- Formatting errors
- Citation errors
- Structure errors.
Proofread your final draft
After you are sure your draft is well-written, edited, and error-free, re-read your essay several times. Proofreading ensures you have zero errors in your essay writing.
How to Write an Informational Essay Outline
An outline is a logical structure that guides your writing process. Don’t be in a hurry to start writing your essay. Instead, generate a system that contains the main points and the relevant information to be written in your first draft.
In a nutshell, the key to a well-written essay is outlining your ideas before you begin writing. The outline is composed of the following:
- Title
- Introduction- Include the thesis statement
- Body paragraphs- Include the sources
- Conclusion.
But why is knowing how to write an informational essay outline critical?
An outline is vital for the following reasons:
- It saves time
- It gives a sense of direction
- Provides an essential structure for your essay
- Helps with focus
- Improves your organizational skills
- Prevents content block.
Informative Essay Outline Example
TOPIC: How to Stop Racism
INTRODUCTION
- Hook sentence: What is racism?
- Importance: Why is racism wrong?
- Thesis statement: How to stop racism
BODY
First Paragraph:
- Topic sentence- First point on how to stop racism
- Supporting sentences- Cite sources
- Conclude the point.
Second Paragraph:
- Topic sentence
- Supporting sentences
- Conclusion.
Third paragraph:
- Topic sentence
- Supporting sentences
- Conclusion.
Conclusion
- Summary statement
- Closing remarks.
How to Write an Informational Essay Introduction
The introduction determines if the lecturer will continue reading the rest of your essay. Therefore, it should be captivating and straight to the point.
When learning how to write an informative essay introduction, start with hook statements like statistics, factual information, a rhetorical question, or a quote. Avoid being cliche in your introduction.
For a standard essay paper, the introduction consists of:
- The hook statement
- Three connecting sentences
- Thesis statement.
Example of an informative essay introduction:
The discriminatory belief, attitude, or behaviour towards a person or group of people, primarily based on their skin colour, is racism. Over the years, rampant racist beliefs have supported inhumane acts such as colonization, slave trade, and even murder.
People can experience racism through verbal harassment, physical abuse, and discriminatory treatment. Racism threatens social peace and economic progress and should be condemned and eliminated from society. This paper focuses on the different ways to stop racism.
Informative Essay Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is a sentence at the end or middle of your introduction that summarizes the main topic discussed and proven in the essay body. In other words, it’s the heart of your informative essay. Keep in mind that a thesis statement is mandatory in every paper.
But what is the importance of knowing how to write an informational essay thesis statement?
- To summarize the main idea in a brief and precise manner
- To create logic
- To enhance the reader’s understanding.
Example of an informative essay thesis statement:
Racism threatens social peace and economic progress and should be condemned and eliminated from society. This paper focuses on the different ways to stop racism.
Write Three Body Paragraphs
Avoid the use of microaggressive and stereotypical words that reflect racial discrimination. Phrases such as “You are too dark for an Indian person” or “are you truly white?” portray discriminatory racial attitudes that are offensive to people of colour. Being self-conscious of our words avoids unnecessary confrontations and encourages respect among individuals of different races. When people of different races respect each other, peaceful coexistence is promoted, curbing racism.
Celebrating other races and their cultures stops racism by reducing stigmatization’s brutal and counterproductive act. Embracing racial diversity emphasizes that we are all human and allows us to learn more about other races, widening our knowledge of preconceived assumptions on racial issues. Watching films from other countries, trying out cuisines and recipes from different cultures, and studying race-focused courses are practices that significantly embrace cultural and racial diversity. Henceforth, celebrating other races and their cultures contributes to eliminating racism.
Another way to stop racism is by supporting anti-racist movements and organizations to have a prominent voice and impact society. Keeping their cause helps them continue with their daily operations effectively. Support them by donating money (if possible), volunteering time, or spreading awareness of their mission (M Student Life, 2021). Furthermore, supporting anti-racist organizations contributes to helping and representing the interests of the victims of racism. Therefore, supporting anti-racist movements such as Black Lives Matter is significant against racism.
How to Write an Informational Essay Conclusion
A conclusion is just as important as an introduction. The decision is the final part of your interaction with the reader.
Therefore, your conclusion should be memorable and influential. The key to writing an excellent informative essay conclusion is either by re-emphasizing the introduction or summarizing the contents of your paragraphs.
But what is the importance of knowing how to write an informational essay conclusion?
- To demonstrate you’ve accomplished the aim of your essay
- To give the reader a sense of closure
- To verify that your thesis is proven
- Acts a closing remark.
Example of an informative essay conclusion:
In conclusion, racism is a prevalent global dilemma, and we must all actively participate in ensuring it’s permanently eradicated by implementing the discussed options. We should rebuke racism in all its forms and work towards equality for people of all races.
Revise and Proofread
To revise is to correct significant mistakes that affect the flow of your essay. When revising your essay, focus on:
- Adding any omitted information
- Eliminating any irrelevant and misleading information
- The efficiency of transitional words
- The word count efficiency
- Presentation.
To proofread is to identify visible errors like:
- grammatical errors
- formatting errors
- Awkward sentences
- Irrelevant words
- Repetition
- Plagiarism.
That said, it’s crucial to revise and proofread your informative essay to ensure you rule out silly mistakes that will reduce your score.
Transition Words and Phrases for Information Writing
A transition word or phrase is part of a speech used by writers to assist readers in shifting from one idea to another while maintaining clarification. Transition words are used to:
- Begin a sentence or idea
- Link sections, paragraphs, and sentences
- Conclude
- Emphasize
- Compare
- Contrast.
Transition words and phrases for informative essay writing include:
- To demonstrate
- In other words
- Keep in mind
- Although
- However
- In general
- Henceforth
- To clarify
- For example
- To explain
- Therefore
- In addition.
Informative Essay Writing Examples
The following are informative essay writing examples:
- How to increase breast size
- The health benefits of marijuana
- Why are cigarettes not banned
- The causes of global warming
- How to overcome laziness
- The importance of exercise
- Are women more emotional than men
- How to make your website rank higher on google
- Islamic religion in the US.
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