1. Informational Writing
What is it?

2. Informational Writing Vocabulary
Informational/Expository Writing, Details, Accuracy, Focus, Clarity, Audience, Tone, Autobiography, Biography, Textbooks, Newspapers, Magazines, Reports, Brochures, and Technical Manuals

3. Definition: Nonfiction text (real, not just “realistic”) Factual
Used to inform or explain something to the reading audience
Many different types…

4. Informational Writing
This type of writing explains or answers questions such as:
What does this mean?
- How does this work?
- Why does this happen?
- Why is this important?

5. Examples of informational texts:
Newspapers - a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements

6. Examples of informational texts:
Biographies – accounts of the series of events of a person’s life (not Bibliographies)
Autobiographies – biographies of yourself

7. Examples of informational texts:
Almanacs - annual publications of weather forecasts and other information arranged according to the calendar of a given year

8. Examples of informational texts:
Magazines - periodic publications containing pictures, stories, and articles of interest to those who purchase or subscribe to it.
QUESTION: Are ALL Magazines informational?
NO! …at least not all sections.

9. Informational Writing Opening Paragraph
Focus the essay by telling what it is about. Then stick to that topic. Avoid getting sidetracked by digressions.
A grabber, strong opening, makes the readers want to go on reading. You can… a. Ask a question b. Tell a story c. Use attention-getting language

10. Informational Writing
Informational writing is based on research such as gathering facts.
You cannot write a successful informative piece without a thorough command of all relevant information on the topic.
Writers seeking to write informative essays become experts on their subjects as part of the writing process.

11. Informational Writing Body Paragraphs
Put each reason in a separate paragraph
Use transitions to connect the paragraphs
Support your explanation with convincing details and examples
Vary the sentence structure and the choice of words
Check your paper for usage, spelling capitalization, and punctuation.

12. Informational Writing Closing Paragraph
Introduce a new fact that supports your explanation and/or make a generalization and/or a person observation.
End with a zinger.

13. Bibliography
On the last page of your five paragraph essay, you will need to cite the sources of your factual information.
Example from an Internet Source: Ackermann, Ernest. "Writing Your Own Web Pages." Creating Web Pages. 23 Oct Oct

14. Bibliography Example from a book source:
Pfeifer, Kathryn Browne. The 761st Tank
Battalion. New York: Twenty-First
Century Books, 1994.