How To Write An Informative Essay

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how to write an informative essay

Have you been asked to write an informative essay? If that’s a task you haven’t taken on before, it can feel daunting. Here’s how you can write an informative essay that’s well-structured and answers the assignment brief.

What Is An Informative Essay?

Firstly, let’s look at what an informative essay is. Typically, this kind of essay will educate readers on a subject. Usually, these essays will be looking to answer a question. These can be quite broad, such as “What is social studies education?”, or it can be quite specific, such as “Why is it important to properly secure your smartphone?”

In the essay you’ll be aiming to answer this question. As with most essays, you’ll use sources to back up the points you make throughout the text. It’s a style of essay writing that’s purely objective, as it aims to properly explain a topic. As such, you will analyse data, explain how a system works, compare subjects, and so on.

How To Write An Informative Essay

Ok, so you have been assigned to write an informative essay. Most students prefer to use essay writing services, but you have to know the basics. How do you go about doing so? Here are the steps you’ll need to take:

Pick your topic: If you haven’t been given a topic, then you’ll need to pick one for your essay. You need a topic that you can confidently answer, and can be summarised in the word count given. There are lots of examples online, or you can check out the topics listed below.

Do your research: Once you have a topic in mind, you’ll now be able to do your research. As you start reading into your chosen topic, look for sources that you could use in your essay. Take lots of notes too, looking for points that can be used to back up your essay later on.

Write an outline: You’ve got all your research and notes, so now you can outline your essay. Like most essays, an informative essay will consist of an introduction, body, and conclusion.

In your intro, look to introduce the thesis of your essay. If you’re writing about why it’s important to properly secure your smartphone, then you may have a thesis that states, with advances in technology, it’s easier than ever for criminals to gain data on your phone, therefore you need to secure it. This will be what you seek to prove throughout the essay.

In the body of the essay, each paragraph should cover one main point of the essay. These should all build up to give the reader the information they need, to answer the question posed in the topic. Of course, they should also be backed up with evidence.

In the conclusion, you will then bring all these points together to give the reader a clear answer to the question presented in the topic.

Start writing: At this point you are now ready to start writing your essay. Your outline should have all the basics in place, so at this point you’re essentially filling in the blanks of the piece.

Proofread: You’re not done once you’ve written your essay. Once you’re finished writing, it needs to be proofread. This should pick up any mistakes that were made in the process, and lets you correct them before the essay is submitted.

Example Of An Informative Essay

So, what would an informative essay look like? Here’s an example so you can see how you would structure such an essay:

Topic: How to fix common Wi-Fi issues

Introduction: The thesis would be that common Wi-Fi issues could easily be fixed. In the intro you would also mention some Wi-Fi issues that the reader could encounter.

Body: Each paragraph of your body will cover a different Wi-Fi issue. In this case you would introduce the issue, how to diagnose it, and how to fix it.

Conclusion: Summarize the main points made in your essay, and show how they prove your thesis that fixing several kinds of Wi-Fi issues is easier than you’d think.

Informative Essay Topics

Stuck on what kind of topic to use for your informative essay? Here are some ideas that you can use:

  • Best ways to find a college internship
  • The benefits of learning a foreign language
  • The history of the Mafia and the most common myths surrounding it
  • PTSD and how the brain processes information
  • The cultural background of Mardi Gras
  • Sanitary conditions in the Middle Ages
  • How social media exacerbates loneliness

Now you have all the basics of how to write an informative essay. You’ll need to pick the right topic and do the research to be able to inform your reader, and answer a central question. If you can do this, then you’ll be able to get the best grade on your paper.

written by Mary Watson

editor and tutor, 12 years experience

Mary, our exceptional editor and online tutor, brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. With her extensive expertise in academic writing, she guides and mentors aspiring students, providing them with constructive feedback that propels their essays to the next level.