ELA · Writing Lab

Informative Writing

Explain a topic clearly using facts — your job is to teach the reader, not to argue a side.
📚Inform, Don't Argue
📘INFORMATIVE
just the facts
Teaches & explains a topic
Stays objective — no opinions
Built from facts & reliable sources
📰 like a textbook or how-to
📣PERSUASIVE
picks a side
Tries to win an argument
Shares the writer's opinions
Wants you to agree or act
📢 like an ad or debate
🍔Build It Like a Burger
🍔 Stack a strong essay
Top bun = Thesis. One sentence with your main point.
Patties = Facts. Body details from your research.
Lettuce = Citations. Show where each fact came from.
Bottom bun = Conclusion. Wrap up what you taught.
🔍Use Sources the Right Way
Quote
the planet's exact words copied here
Copy the source's exact words and put them inside quotation marks.
🔁Paraphrase
same idea, said in your own words ✍️
Restate the idea in your own words — and still cite the source.
🚫 Using someone else's words or ideas as your own is plagiarism. A citation gives credit and keeps your writing honest!
🔑Key Terms
📘Informative Writing meant to inform or explain a topic with facts.
🎯Thesis A statement summing up the main point of the essay.
⚖️Objective Presenting facts neutrally, without personal opinion.
🏷️Citation A note giving credit to the source of information.
📚Source A book, article, website, or person providing information.
🔁Paraphrase Restating information from a source in your own words.
Remember: informative writing teaches, not argues — stay objective and cite reliable sources to prove where your facts came from!
✏️ ELA Anchor Chart · Informative Writing
From ClickClass — hundreds of free printables at clickclassedu.com/printables