- Informative Writing Topic Selection, Organization, and Presentation of Information Education Presentation Purple and Green Illustrated Style

INFORMATIVE

WRITING 5.6.W.3

Selection, Organization, and Presentation of Information

LESSON OBJECTIVES

• Learn about informative writing and its purpose

• Learn how to select and narrow your topic

• Learn about ideal sources

• Learn about appropriate structure and style

INFORMATIVE WRITING

Informative writing, also known as expository writing, is like when you want to teach someone something or tell them about a topic. You can find this kind of writing in school books, articles, and research papers. The goal is to help people learn about something in a clear way with facts and proof. It's not for sharing your own thoughts or trying to convince someone of something.

The purpose of informative writing is to educate the reader about a specific subject in a clear, objective way.

TOPIC SELECTION FOR INFORMATIVE WRITING

Since informative writing is not opinion-based writing, you will need to select a topic that can be explored through nothing but facts. You also want to think about topics that interest you to make the research more enjoyable.

There are a wide variety of topics that can be written about informatively. Here are some categories to consider:

• History and Culture
• Science and Technology
• Health and Wellness

• Travel and Geography
• How-To Guides
• Academic Subjects

TOPIC SELECTION AND PROPER SCOPE

Once you decide on a category of information that interests you, you need to narrow your focus, also referred to as scope, to a manageable topic. If you are interested in animals, you need to think about ways to narrow it down so that the research and writing is not overwhelming.

Here is an example of how to narrow the scope of your topic:

Animals

Tigers

Habitats

Protection

Jungle Cats

DEVELOPING A RESEARCH QUESTION FOR YOUR NARROWED TOPIC

Creating a research question can help guide you in your research. It can also help with thesis statement writing once your research is complete. The question will need to be specific and something that can be clearly answered post-research.

Using the example topic explored in the previous slide, here is a sample research question:

Where Do Tigers Live in the Wild?

IDEAL SOURCES FOR INFORMATIVE WRITING

Since informative writing is not opinion-based writing, you will want to primarily use sources that are objective. This means the sources are focused on facts and evidence (proof). Objective sources do not focus on opinions.

Some ideal places to find objective sources are:

• Encyclopedia websites
• Credible biographies
• Textbooks and reference books
• Government publications
• Science publications

THESIS STATEMENTS FOR INFORMATIVE WRITING

A thesis statement is a sentence shared in the introduction of an essay and explains the focus on the writing.

After completing research, revisit your research question and try to answer it to create a thesis statement. For example, here is a thesis generated from the research question, "Where Do Tigers Live in the Wild?"

Tigers inhabit diverse ecosystems across Asia, including dense forests, grasslands, and wetlands, and understanding their natural habitats is crucial for their conservation and survival in the wild.

GROUPING AND ORGANIZING INFORMATION

The subject of your writing will help you determine how to organize your information. Here are some approaches, descriptions, and their ideal uses.

Present information in the order of events

Historical events, biographies, how-to directions

Chronological

Any topic that can be broken into multiple categories

Present information in categories based on shared characteristics

Classification

Organize information based on physical location

Spatial

Places, environments, or objects

Arrange information from main topic to subcategories

A topic with categories that can be separated into levels

Hierarchial

PRE-WRITING FOR INFORMATIVE WRITING

After deciding on how to group and organize your information, it is time to do some pre-writing. A great pre-writing strategy for informative writing is creating an outline. An outline helps a writer organize their points and make connections between ideas. It also allows the writer to start to make decisions about what evidence to use. Below are examples of items to consider while creating an outline.

Introduction:

• Interesting Opening
• Background
• Thesis Statement

Body Paragraphs:

• Topic Sentence
• Evidence
• Concluding Statement

Conclusion

• Revisit Thesis
• Summarize Points
• Concluding Statement

The number of body paragraphs will defer by assignment and scope of topic.

FORMAL STYLE FOR INFORMATIVE WRITING

When you're completing school writing, you need to make it sound a bit fancier than how you talk. You can do this by using some tips to make your writing more polished and detailed.

Avoid using:

• Contractions like "can't" or "won't"
• First person pronouns like "I" or "My essay"
• Vague statements like "It is good!" Instead, go into detail about what is good about that particular thing
• Slang words or filler words like "really," "literally," or "basically"

As we begin to complete informative writing assignments, consider these steps to select a topic, gather information, and present your findings in the clearest way possible.