Examples of Informative Essays

Examples of Informative Essays
The purpose of an informative essay, sometimes called an expository essay, is to educate on a certain topic. It is not for giving an opinion or convincing someone to do something or change his beliefs. In addition to being informative, it needs to be interesting.


Structure of an Informative Essay

The basic structure of an informative essay is very simple. It needs to have a beginning, middle, and end.

The beginning needs to present the topic and grab the attention of the audience. It needs to include the focus sentence for the entire essay.
The middle will be the main bulk of the essay and it will contain all the important facts that you are covering. This is where the audience will get their questions answered. Remember to answer these questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how.
The end is a conclusion where you will summarize the essay. It should spur the reader or listener to learn more about the topic.
The Beginning

Here is an example of the beginning of an informative essay:

As you are listening to me, you might not think that today is the day that you will save a life. It is quite easy to save a life any day and it only takes a little bit of your time. I’m not talking about being a paramedic or fireman; I am talking about donating blood.
The Closing

Here is an example of a closing:

So that now you know how easy it is to donate blood, it’s time to take action. After all, you have plenty of blood, so why not share? When you do, you will feel good about yourself and you will save a life.
Subjects of Informative Essays

Informative essays, sometimes called expository essays, can be used for many purposes. They can compare viewpoints on a controversial subject as long as they don’t include the author’s opinions. They may analyze data, like in a cause and effect situation, or educate the audience on ways to do something, like solving a certain kind of problem.

For example:

An informative essay might explain the pros and cons of the death penalty, using statistics on crime rate reduction as a pro and statistics on innocent men being found guilty as a con.
An informative essay might analyze whether lack of education is a cause of homelessness by using statistics and information about the educational attainment of homeless men and women.
An informative essay might educate the audience on how to open a bank account.
Informative Essay Titles

To help you get a better idea of the different types of informative essays, here are some possible titles for this type of essay:

Understanding the Link Between Cholesterol and Heart Disease
How to Buy a House
Understanding Your Credit Score
Defining Poverty in the City of Chicago
The Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet
The Importance of Regular Daily Exercise
The Causes of Global Warming
Reducing Carbon Emissions with Alternative Fuels
Cost Savings of Hybrid Vehicles
Understanding Geothermal Heating and Cooling
Why Cleaning Your Ducts is Important
Qualifications of Contractors
How to Get your Commercial Driver's License

Steps in Creating an Informative Essay

Most of the work on an informative essay is done before you actually sit down to type. Here are the general steps to take:

After you have chosen the topic, you will need to research and gather all the pertinent details on that subject. You need to ascertain what you already know about the subject and then decide what you would like to know.
You will need to make a list of the important facts and then list the main steps in your paper. Make sure all your facts are accurate. You will need to write a topic sentence for each fact and write a focus sentence (thesis statement) for the entire essay.
Create an outline that will organize your facts in a logical way. Then you will be ready to make your first draft.
Editing is an important step for any writing project. Reading your essay out loud will help you notice places where the writing is awkward or unclear. If possible, have someone else read it and give you their ideas for improvement. Of course, you will need to pay attention for grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and other errors.
An informative essay is the best way to explain something that is complicated...in an uncomplicated way.