What is an Informative Essay – Best Definition

Written by

Shane Greenstein

August 6, 2023

7 min read

The definition of an informative essay is very simple: you need to educate the audience on a particular topic. This means that you should know the matter perfectly and be able to transmit information in a simple and clear way. Such a task may seem difficult at first, but take it gradually, and you will see that writing a good informative paper is not as hard, as it may seem at first.

One of the most difficult parts of such an assignment is collecting information and analyzing it. You need to know the topic very well to be able to tell the reader about it, so always start your essay with research and a list of the evidence you are going to provide.

Another important element is a strong structure, which is able to hold attention of the reader and help him to follow your thoughts and ideas. This means that your essay should consist of the key sections (introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion), contain a thesis statement and follow all the formatting requirements demanded by the teacher.

The most common mistakes of such tasks are:

• Wrong topic. If you don’t choose a subject you are interested in, you may lose motivation and drop the assignment in the middle of the process;
• Weak sources. If you ask us, ‘what is an informative essay?’ we will definitely say that it is the sources you use. That is why you need to do your best and find credible data to back all the arguments. Make sure you base your essays only on credible books and articles, as your professor may ask you to rewrite the assignment if you are not able to back your ideas with proof;
• Lack of details. Make sure you avoid generalities and add statistics, figures, examples and charts to make your text as informative as possible;
• Plagiarism. Even if you use downloaded samples, you need to deliver the original text. It is very simple to check whether you have copied someone else’s text, and most likely, your professor will do that!

Now, that you know what an informative paper is about and what mistakes you should avoid, it is the right time to concentrate on the most useful tips. They include:

• Brainstorming. Before making up your mind on what topic to choose, try to analyze the given options and find out which subjects have more information online. Choose the one which has the most recent materials and is appealing to the audience. Such topics may include gun control, eating disorders, abortions, feminism and so on;
• Writing a strong and professional thesis statement. You need to persuade the reader that your topic is important, so don’t hesitate to add shocking statistics, a catchy quote or rhetorical questions to add value to your work;
• Completing a draft. Don’t start writing the final version of your paper at once. You will surely have to rewrite certain parts over and over again, so just start writing your essay and then fix all the mistakes, switch paragraphs and add details in the process;
• Observing all the possible sources. All the sources you are using, whether they were taken in the library or online, should be younger than five years old, be up-to-date and relevant;
• Editing the final version. Before delivering your essay, make sure you have fixed all the mistakes, typos, lexis, grammar errors, and so on. Always polish your essay before delivering it to your professor!

Informative Essay Examples

Informative essays don’t have one particular direction, which means you can select a topic depending on your interests and class requirements. However, it often happens that students don’t know where to start and are looking for help online.

In such situations, there are informative essay examples, which you can download and use as a sample for your own work. It is a simple and legal way to improve the quality of your future essay and save lots of personal time!

General Informative Essay Outline

You won’t be able to understand how to write an informative essay without a clear understanding of its outline and structure. So make yourself comfortable and be ready to get all the information you need!

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You should always start your paper with an informative essay outline. Take a separate piece of paper and write down all the things you want to include to your work. Here are the main sections you should consider to make your essay complete:

• – Introduction. Start your first paragraph with a catchy and interesting hook. It should grab the interest of the audience and hold it until the last sentence. Your hook can be a quote, statistics, anecdote or a personal story, depending on the general mood of your work. You should also pay great attention to your thesis statement. It should contain the main idea of your essay, which will be supported during your work. Make sure every argument you provide is related to your thesis. Close your introduction with a rhetorical question, predictions, and so on;
• – Body paragraphs. The number of your main paragraphs depends on the number of arguments you are going to present to the audience. However, not to bore the reader, try to have a maximum of three body paragraphs. Each of them should contain a credible claim and supporting elements. All these claims and evidence should be based on credible sources and thoroughly gathered information;
• – Conclusion. Close your essay with a summary of all the arguments you have provided in your body paragraphs. You can also add an exclamation or prognosis for the future, fresh ideas or a quote. Adding new information will be a bad idea, as this section is created only to restate all the data you have presented in your essay.

Another important detail is the bibliography page. You should always finish your essay with a list of the sources you have used. They should be properly formatted according to the required style. Ask your professor for specific demands and carefully follow the peculiarities of the chosen format.

Informative Essay Topics

Being assigned such a paper may puzzle even the most experienced students because it requires a very serious approach to choosing a matter to discuss. If you were not given a list of informative essay topics and have to choose one on your own, here is a list of the best issues to discuss:

1. How to become a professional football player: five simple steps;
2. Has basketball become a part of the American culture?
3. How to search for a perfect hobby for the whole family;
4. Why is it so important to brush your teeth regularly?
5. How to develop the potential of young geniuses?
6. How to get back on your feet quickly when you suffer from a cold?
7. Principles of good behavior, while you are having a meal;
8. Common social problems in poor countries;
9. What government types exist today;
10. Easy ways to make savings;
11. Ways to prevent teenage pregnancy;
12. What are the main causes of violence in the country;
13. Impact a domestic violence has on the society;
14. Why it is so important to base the government system on democracy;
15. Feminism as a type of female protection from the cruelties of the world.

As you see, such topics can be not only informative but also thought-provoking and debatable. If you want to impress your teacher, you should definitely choose one of the above topics and create an outstanding essay!