WRITING AN INFORMATIVE
ESSAY
PREPARING FOR AN INFORMATIVE
ESSAY
• BRAINSTORM A LIST OF ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE TO DO
• MAKE CATEGORIES FOR YOUR ACTIVITIES
THESIS STATEMENT
• A THESIS IS A ONE SENTENCE STATEMENT (NOT A
QUESTION) THAT EXPLAINS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR
ESSAY.
• A GOOD THESIS IS STRONG, STRAIGHTFORWARD
AND CONCISE
WHAT SHOULD MY THESIS STATEMENT INCLUDE?
• YOUR THESIS STATEMENT SHOULD MENTION
ALL 3 OF YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES.
• (LOOK AT YOUR BRAINSTORM LIST-THE 3
YOU CHOSE!)
• A POSSIBLE THESIS STATEMENT FOR THIS
COULD BE:
• OUT OF ALL THE ACTIVITIES THERE ARE, I
LIKE PLAYING SOFTBALL, READING AND
SWIMMING THE BEST
• MORE ON THESIS STATEMENTS:
• MAKE SURE YOUR THESIS IS AT THE END
OF THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
• CREATE TOPIC SENTENCES THAT ALIGN
WITH YOUR THESIS STATEMENT
• AFTER YOU FINISH YOUR ROUGH
DRAFT, GO BACK AND READ ONLY
YOUR THESIS STATEMENT AND TOPIC
SENTENCE. IF IT MAKES SENSE, THEN
YOUR RIGHT ON TRACK, OTHERWISE,
REVISE!
TOPIC SENTENCES
• EVERY BODY PARAGRAPH WILL BEGIN WITH A SENTENCE THAT INTRODUCES THE CONTENT OF
THAT PARAGRAPH
• YOUR TOPIC SENTENCE WILL ALSO SERVE AS A TRANSITION FROM THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPH
• USE TRANSITIONAL WORDS OR PHRASES TO SHOW HOW YOU ARE MOVING FROM ONE
TOPIC TO THE NEXT.
• TRANSITIONAL WORDS = NEXT, THEN, SECOND, THIRD, IN ADDITION, ON THE OTHER HAND,
EVENTUALLY, ETC.
BODY SENTENCES
• EACH PARAGRAPH SHOULD BE LIMITED ONE GENERAL IDEA.
• THIS WILL ALLOW FOR CLARITY AND DIRECTION THROUGHOUT THE ESSAY.
• CREATES AN EASE OF READABILITY FOR ONE’S AUDIENCE.
• EACH PARAGRAPH IN THE BODY OF THE ESSAY MUST HAVE SOME LOGICAL CONNECTION TO THE
THESIS STATEMENT IN THE OPENING PARAGRAPH.
• EACH PARAGRAPH NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST 5-7 SENTENCES
• BE CREATIVE.
• DO NOT WRITE SIMPLE SENTENCES THAT ARE BORING! BE CREATIVE (IT WILL BE MORE FUN!)
WRITING A HOOK SENTENCE
WHAT IS A HOOK SENTENCES AND WHAT DOES IT
DO?
• A HOOK SENTENCE IS THAT JUICY STRING OF WORDS THAT MAKE UP THE FIRST SENTENCE
(OR TWO) OF YOUR WRITING PROJECT
• THE WORDS THAT GRAB YOUR READERS’ ATTENTION AND DON’T LET GO.
• GOOD HOOK SENTENCES SAY, “DROP EVERYTHING YOU’RE DOING AND READ ME RIGHT
NOW,” WITHOUT ACTUALLY COMING OUT AND JUST SAYING THAT.
FOUR SIMPLE STEPS TO WRITE A HOOK SENTENCE
• STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE
• ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:
• WHO IS MY AUDIENCE?
• STEP 2: IDENTIFY THE PURPOSE OF YOUR
WRITING
• ANSWER THESE TWO QUESTIONS:
• DO I HAVE TO CAPTIVE AUDIENCE?
• HOW DO I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO FEEL?
• WHAT MATTERS TO MY AUDIENCE?
• WHAT DO I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO TAKE
AWAY?
FOUR SIMPLE STEPS TO WRITE A HOOK SENTENCE
CONTINUED…
STEP 3: CHOOSE YOUR HOOK WISELY
STEP 4: CRAFT YOUR HOOK
CONCLUSION
• A CONCLUSION THAT DOES NOT SIMPLY
RESTATE THE THESIS, BUT READDRESSES IT IN
LIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE PROVIDED.
• DO NOT INTRODUCE ANY NEW
INFORMATION
• SUM UP “YOUR FINDINGS”