Informative essay examples + tips on structure and format

In High School and College students often get an assignment to write an informative essay. It might seem easy, as from the very term you understand that you should inform your reader about something. However, it is not always as easy as it seems. To write this essay type, a student should be well versed in the topic they are writing about. Informative essay has its peculiarities like a movie review essay example. If you want to learn the most effective strategies and techniques for writing an informative essay fast and effectively, keep reading the article.

What is an informative essay

An informative essay is one of the most common academic assignments given to high school and college students. It is an essay (usually not very long) the main purpose of which is to inform the audience on the chosen topic, idea, phenomenon, thing, person, etc. Quite often students are asked to write an informative essay on the new notions or ideas discussed in class or to make a more extended research and find interesting facts about the already known topic.

The main purpose of the informative essay is to inform. Thus, you should not express your opinion, convince the audience, or argue some points like in a persuasive, argumentative, or opinion essay. An informative essay is often compared to an expository writing. But the main difference is that in an informative essay the writer is to inform and educate the reader by providing the existing facts without sharing personal opinion. In an expository paper, a student is to provide information by explaining some notions, ideas, and providing explanations. 

Informative essay outline 

If you have decided to write an outline for your informative essay, you are on the right track. Many students skip this part considering it a waste of time. But, actually, an outline saves time, as you organize your ideas in a logical way, and then just develop them. With an outline you do not need to think what to write next, you just follow the plan.

An outline for an informative essay is classical. It looks as follows.

• hook
• Background information on the topic
• Thesis statement

• Topic sentence expressing one of the main ideas
• Controlling and supporting ideas
• Concluding sentence

• Restated thesis statement
• Summary of the main points
• Concluding sentence

 

How to write a good informative essay in steps

To write any type of essay, not only informative paper, you should have a plan. Random essay writing rarely brings good results. You should have an algorithm and follow it step-by step.

1. Read the instructions carefully. Always check the guidelines given to you  to be sure you understand what is required and not to do unnecessary work.
2. Choose the topic. Picking a topic for your essay is the first step. If it was assigned by a professor, great! You can start with actual essay writing. If not, you will have to choose it. Make sure the topic is interesting and relevant.
3. Draft a thesis statement. It is the main idea of the essay. Thus, formulate it before you start writing.
4. Create an outline. An outline is a plan of your essay. Create and list simple outline with the main ideas you want to cover in your essay organized logically.
5.  Write introduction, main body, and conclusion paragraphs. These are the three indispensable parts of any essay. Make sure to complete them all. If one part is missing, the paper will be incomplete.
6. Proofread your essay. Always check your essay for any type of mistakes, coherence of ideas, as well as check your paper for plagiarism.

 

Informative essay format

In terms of paper formatting, it all depends on the instructions assigned by the professor. The most common formatting styles are MLA, APA, and Chicago. Make sure to specify the right one for your essay, and format your title page, headings, in-text citations, and bibliography accordingly not to miss the points. Informative essay has a classical essay structure. It should include introduction with a strong thesis statement, at least three body paragraphs, and conclusion paragraphs.

 1. Informative essay introduction example

An introduction is the first part a reader sees. Its purpose is to catch readers attention and inform what the paper is about. Thus, a paper usually starts with a hook sentence. It can be a provocative question, shocking fact or statistic, a relevant quote by a famous person. After this, provide some general info on the topic, and finish an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement. This is an example of an informative essay introduction: 

Currently, the problem of the professional identity of young people is one of the most important in terms of evolution of an individual as a full member of society. Thus, choosing a relevant educational institution, as well as being prepared for possible changes that occur on the way of professional development, is a very responsible step for each person standing on the threshold of making a career choice.

2. How to write a thesis statement for an informative essay

A thesis statement is the main idea of an essay. It is a one or two sentences, which are placed at the end of the introductory paragraph. A thesis statement should be essay specific. A bare fact or a quote cannot be a thesis statement. 

Sample informative essay thesis statement:

Thus, choosing a relevant educational institution, as well as being prepared for possible changes that occur on the way of professional development, is a very responsible step for each person standing on the threshold of making a career choice.

3. Informative essay conclusion example

A conclusion is the final part of a paper. It is the summary of the whole paper and the ideas discussed in it. A conclusion usually starts with a restated thesis statement. Make sure to restate it do not copy-paste. Then, summarize the main ideas you have covered in paper. Do not repeat them, synthesize. Conclude your informative essay with a general conclusion by answering the So what? Question. You may also finish with a question to the audience to give readers food for thoughts. Check an example of an informative essay conclusion.

Therefore, it is possible to conclude that motivation for higher education occupies a leading position in personality structure; exactly through this concept the dynamics of human behavior is explained. By choosing an education establishment and profession, young people make a step toward professional self-realization. Each representative of a young generation wants to have a prestigious and well-paid job, which, in addition, will be consistent with his or her capacities, tastes and skills. Consequently, choosing a career is similar to equations with many unknowns, thus the successful solution of this equation affects an individual’s future greatly.

 

What to write in an informative essay

The purpose of an informative essay is to inform the reader about the topic, notion, idea, person, or phenomenon. Thus, when choosing the topic for your essay, make sure you understand it well and make  research if necessary. Informative essay is not an opinion essay or a persuasive essay. Thus, there is no need to express your opinion, make assumptions, provide arguments, or convince the reader. Also, use third person narration and don’t use the pronoun I in the essay. Just inform the audience by providing the existing facts on the topic.

How do you choose the right informative essay topic?

 If you were not assigned a topic and you have to choose a good one, but you don’t know how to do it right, follow these simple steps.

1. Think of the class you are writing this essay for and read the assignment instructions.
2. Brainstorm and write down all the ideas that come to your mid
3. Search for the lists of topic ideas online
4. Narrow down your list to 3-5 topics leaving only the most interesting ideas
5. Make a research on each topic to check whether there is enough information available to write your topic
6. Choose the topic that is the most interesting for you
7. Write down a thesis statement and create an outline.

 Top 20 informative essay topics ideas

We have created a list of the most interesting topics to help you choose the right one and inspire you.

1. What is an emotional intelligence and why it matters
2. The effect of stress on college students
3. Healthy and unhealthy ways to cope with stress
4. Most widespread eating disorders and how to cope with them
5. What is domestic violence, its main reasons, and how to deal with is
6. Main reasons of child obesity
7. How to deal with bullying at schools
8. Causes and outcomes of on-campus violence
9. Plastic surgery and why people resort to it
10. Countries with the highest poverty levels
11. Which country/city is the most favourable for life
12. The most damaging natural disasters of the 21 century
13. How has Coronavirus affected the world
14. The milestones of 2020
15. Tanning as one of the main reason of skin cancer
16. Main causes of teenage pregnancy and how to prevent it
17. Sex-education in schools
18. Causes and outcomes of the #BlackLivesMatter movement
19. Trump Presidency outcomes
20.  The countries with the highest and lowest literacy levels.

 

Helpful tips for an A+ essay

If you want to write a really good essay and get an A for your work, follow these:

• Choose a topic that is interesting for you
• Make sure that there is enough information available on your topic
• Create an outline and thesis statement to make your essay logical
• Keep to the essay structure: introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion
• Avoid adding judgments or expressing your opinion in an informative essay
• Do not add new ideas in a conclusion part
• Properly cite all the borrowed ideas
• Proofread your paper for mistakes and check it for plagiarism before submitting it.

 Informative essay examples

To write a good informative essay, you need to see how it looks like. To  have a better understanding, see an example of an informative essay about career choice.

 

Example 2: Essay on tattoos

 

An informative paper is relatively easy type of essay. However, it has its peculiarities, which a student should know and follow to write a really good paper. Follow the pieces of advice we have given you, and you will make you essay batter. If you are not sure in your writing skills, have no time, or want help from professional writers, you can try our online writing service and receive a good paper, A+, and extra time in one click.