Quick Guide to Informative Writing Techniques

No matter whether you like it or not, writing is a necessary skill that you will have to use in your academic life and your professional career. Strong writing skills will help you improve your grades and increase your chances of getting a good job in the future. Students, professors, businessmen, and other people need to write all the time, so well-developed writing skills are crucial tools for everyone. The good news is that you don’t need to actually love writing to become a good writer. All you have to do is know the right strategies and use them properly. Check out this guide at https://writers-house.com/ website to learn more about informative writing so that you can create impressive informative papers.

The Informative Writing Style

The purpose of informative writing is to inform the audience about a certain topic. This type of writing is also called explanatory or expository writing. It relies on the use of credible sources and factual evidence that explains the topic and supports the author’s perspective. However, informative writing isn’t about your opinions but about educating your readers.

Choosing an Informative Topic

Sometimes, students get their topics assigned by professors, and sometimes they need to find a topic for their paper. If you have to choose a topic yourself, we suggest that you brainstorm on the subjects that look interesting for both you and your readers. Don’t choose too narrow or too broad topics. For instance, you don’t want to choose climate as a topic for your informative paper because it’s a very broad subject. Instead, you can narrow it down to the issue of climate change in Southern states. This topic is more specific so you can clearly understand what to focus on and what sources will help you gather the necessary data. You should provide reliable evidence to explain the subject in detail.

The Structure

The structure of an informative essay is no different from the traditional structure used in argumentative writing. However, these two types of writing have different purposes. Argumentative papers are aimed to persuade the audience to agree with the author’s position, while the only purpose of an informative essay is to educate readers.

An informative essay must include several paragraphs that provide relevant information in the logical order. You should make sure that all the information that you include in your informative essay is properly cited. The introduction must familiarize your readers with the topic and present a clear thesis statement that will serve as the basis for the whole essay. Every paragraph of the body section must start with a topic sentence that addresses a particular aspect of the general topic, followed by a detailed explanation and at least two pieces of evidence. The evidence must explain the subject of the paragraph and be properly cited. At the end of the paragraph, write a couple of transitional sentences that will help you move to the next point and connect the content of the paragraph to the thesis statement.

Planning

Proper planning will take your informative writing skills to the next level. If you just start writing without having a clear understanding of what your paper should look like, the whole writing process will be much more challenging than if you prepare and write an outline first. Although many students consider planning an unnecessary part of the writing process, the truth is that planning can help you improve your writing significantly.

You can make a traditional outline or use a graphic organizer. The main thing is to take some time and think of what your thesis statement must look like. Think of how you’re going to support your arguments so that you can have a clear direction for your work. If you cannot figure out what your thesis statement will be, think of what information would be most interesting for your readers and what they want to know about the topic of your paper. This way, it will be much easier for you to develop a thesis statement and to find the right evidence to support it.

The Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the main part of your informative paper because it serves as the basis for all your arguments. It must be one or two sentences long, directly focusing on the question in your prompt. An effective thesis statement is clear and precise. When your audience reads your thesis statement in the introduction section, they must understand what to expect from the rest of the paper.

The thesis statement serves as a roadmap for your readers. However, you don’t need to make it obvious. Simply put, you shouldn’t just describe the content of your essay in the thesis statement. Instead, you must write down the main point of the whole paper which connects all the other arguments and explains the significance of the topic. Your thesis statement shouldn’t point out what you’re going to say in the next paragraph directly but it should help your readers understand in what direction you’re going to lead them with your arguments. The body of your essay will provide more details and specific examples so that your readers will better understand the thesis statement.

Useful Informative Writing Techniques

Bias of any kind is the main problem for informative writing, and you must make sure that your papers are not biased in any way. Therefore, we recommend that you stick with facts and enable your readers to draw their own conclusions. Don’t forget that the purpose of informative writing is to provide information, not opinions. Another good technique that will help you improve your informative writing skills is to be specific. Your readers are looking for clear answers. Make sure to explain what happened, where and when it happened, as well as why you consider this topic important. The more precise your writing, the better your audience will understand it. Readers who look for information need solid facts and specific details.

Make providing the information your main priority. Always start your paper with the most relevant information, and then move to the details that will help them better understand the subject matter. Provide the most important information first, and then add unnecessary details. Make sure to use a clear and formal language.

Distinctive Features of Informative Writing

The main feature of informative writing is an unbiased perspective. You need to present your topic in a way that will help your audience understand the different aspects of a complex subject. Use simple language and provide definitions for any technical terms. Make sure to explain the subject matter to all of your readers, even to those who are not familiar with the subject at all.

It’s also important to focus on the most relevant details. Your writing shouldn’t be boring and it must be organized in a logical way. You can try different sentence structures to make your writing more straightforward and engaging. Every paragraph of the body of your paper should only focus on one idea which is directly related to your thesis statement and gives a better understanding of the topic.

The conclusion of your informative article or essay must briefly summarize the content of the entire paper, while also restating the thesis statement. Try to look at the thesis statement from a new angle, taking into account important facts from the body. Don’t provide any new information in the conclusion — you should only provide evidence in the body of your paper.