Information Paragraphs
What are they?
• Information paragraphs do exactly that: they
provide information to readers about one
aspect of a person, place, event, activity or even a
natural/scientific phenomenon.
• It can also be as simple as explaining how
something works or giving even simple
instructions on how to do something.
Pre-reading and planning
The first step in writing an information paragraph is
to
 Gather the information – this means
identifying the main ideas (reading and
highlighting) of the text.
Step two, is to make sense of the information.
 Categorize the information into 3 to 4
simple groups.
For Example
• If the passage you read was about ‘’Basketball’
• You could then categorize some of the
information you found in the text into smaller
groups like…
1) rules
2) training
3) well known players
4) equipment
Categories
• EACH category must include at least 3 pieces of
supporting information about the topic.
• Once the categories are filled, you then….
 Order the information in each category
(1-3 in order of importance)
• For example under the heading – Basketball rules:
1) 5 players on court at time
2) If you stop, you must pass or shoot
3) Must dribble the ball
Planning and Writing
• Once the information is organized, the next step
is to create a topic sentence to introduce what
you will be writing about.
Topic sentence example:
“The sport of basketball is one that requires a lot
of training, motivation and some equipment.
With some awareness of the rules, anybody can
become successful. ”
Writing it out
• Using the categories of information you collected
in steps 1 and 2 and using transition
words/phrases you then select the important
points from each category and connect the
information within a paragraph.
• Once again, you are focusing on improving the
flow in your writing and it must make sense!
Example
• “The sport of basketball involves 5 players
being on the court at a time. (rules) Players
score points by shooting the ball through the
basketball hoop at their teams end of the court.
(equipment). Lebron James, is a well known
basketball player who finds many ways to score
points (player) which he accomplishes through
hard work and effective training”. (training)
To conclude
• Your conclusion MUST sum up in general terms
what the topic of your information paragraph
was about.
• We usually do this be restating/rewording our
topic sentence in a different way.
Things to check:
• A few golden rules for this format of writing:
1) Have you used the right transition and does it
flow smoothly?
2) Have you used the correct grammar, spelling,
punctuation?
3) Have you given your work a title?