Informative & Explanatory Writing — English

Start with a topic sentence that names what the paragraph will explain.

Define each term in plain language, then anchor it with a concrete example a younger student would recognize.

Keep your own opinions out — informative writing reports and explains.

Historians and researchers sort the materials they use into two kinds: primary sources and secondary sources. A primary source is a firsthand record — something created by someone who was actually there at the time. A soldier's wartime diary, a photograph taken at an event, or the original results of a science experiment are all primary sources. A secondary source, by contrast, is created later by someone analyzing or summarizing those firsthand records. A textbook chapter about the war, or an article explaining what the experiment's results mean, is a secondary source. The simplest test is to ask when and by whom the material was made: if it comes straight from the event or person being studied, it is primary; if it looks back and interprets, it is secondary.

Response criteria

• Opens with a topic sentence naming the concept being explained
• Clearly defines both “primary source” and “secondary source”
• Gives a concrete example of each
• Tone stays objective and explanatory (no opinion or persuasion)

Underline every word that praises, urges, or judges (“best,” “everyone should,” “obviously,” “behind the times”) — those are the opinion leaks.

Keep the factual content: batteries instead of gas, home charging. Just report it neutrally.

Informative writing can still be interesting without telling the reader what to think.

Electric cars work differently from traditional cars in a few key ways. Instead of burning gasoline in an engine, they run on electricity stored in large rechargeable batteries, which power one or more electric motors. Because the energy comes from a battery rather than a fuel tank, these cars are refueled by charging rather than by pumping gas. Many owners charge at home by plugging the car into a charging unit, often overnight, while public charging stations are used for longer trips. In short, an electric car replaces the gas-and-engine system of a conventional car with a battery-and-motor system that is refilled with electricity.

Response criteria

• Removes the opinion and persuasive language (“best,” “everyone should,” “behind the times”)
• Preserves the factual content (battery power, home charging)
• Reads as neutral, explanatory prose
• Maintains a clear topic sentence introducing how electric cars work

The topic sentence should name what the paragraph explains, not jump straight into details.

Turn each given fact into a full sentence that explains what it means, not just what it is.

End by pulling the details together — what does the dance accomplish for the hive?

Honeybees have a remarkable way of sharing directions without words: a movement scientists call the waggle dance. The waggle dance is a repeated figure-eight pattern that a foraging bee performs on the honeycomb after it finds a good source of food. The most important part is the straight middle section, the waggle run: the angle of that run, measured against straight up, tells the other bees which direction to fly relative to the position of the sun. The length of the run carries a second message — the longer a bee waggles, the farther away the food is. Through this single looping dance, one bee can pass along both the direction and the distance of a meal, guiding the rest of the hive to food it has never seen.

Response criteria

• Opens with a clear topic sentence naming the waggle dance
• Defines what the waggle dance is
• Explains how it communicates both direction and distance using the given facts
• Ends with a concluding sentence that sums up the idea

An informative hook can be a vivid image or a surprising fact — it sets up curiosity, not an argument.

The thesis of an explanatory essay maps the explanation; it forecasts what the reader will learn.

You don't need to explain the science yet — just promise what's coming.

Twice a day, without fail, the sea climbs up the beach and then slides back out, moving trillions of gallons of water on a schedule so reliable that sailors set their lives by it. This rhythmic rise and fall is called the tide, and though it looks as if the ocean is simply breathing, it is actually the result of forces reaching all the way from space. This essay explains how tides work by looking at three things: the powerful gravitational pull of the moon, the smaller but real influence of the sun, and the reason most coastlines see two high tides and two low tides each day.

Response criteria

• Opens with an engaging hook suited to informative writing
• Provides background or context about tides
• Ends with a thesis that forecasts the essay's explanation
• Thesis previews at least two specific points to be explained

Find the topic sentence first — the one that introduces the whole process — and start there.

Put the actual steps in the order they must happen: you can't bake before you mix.

Transitions are signposts; add one to the front of each step so the sequence is obvious.

Baking bread has a few main steps. First, you mix flour, water, yeast, and salt into a dough. Next, the dough needs to rise for an hour or two so it fills with air. After it rises, you shape it into a loaf and let it rest again. Then you bake it in a hot oven until the crust is golden. Finally, you take the bread out and let it cool before slicing.

Response criteria

• Begins with the topic sentence introducing the process
• Orders all steps in a logical, correct sequence
• Adds clear transition words between steps
• Keeps all the original information without adding errors

Cause-effect writing names a cause, then traces its effect — use signal words to make each link visible.

Group the causes (surfaces, lack of trees) and show how each one raises the temperature.

A good closing sentence states the overall effect: the city ends up hotter.

Cities tend to be noticeably warmer than the rural areas around them, a pattern known as the urban heat island, and the cause lies in what cities are built from. Because streets and rooftops are covered in dark asphalt and shingles, they absorb large amounts of sunlight during the day and store it as heat. This effect is made worse by the fact that cities have far fewer trees than the countryside; with less shade and less moisture released by leaves, there is little to cool the air. As a result, the heat that builds up in all that pavement is released slowly through the evening, so the city never fully cools down at night. Consequently, the combination of heat-absorbing surfaces and missing greenery leaves urban areas several degrees hotter than the fields and forests just beyond their edges.

Response criteria

• Explains the topic using a clear cause-and-effect structure
• Incorporates the provided causes (dark surfaces, few trees, slow heat release)
• Uses cause-effect signal words to link causes to effects
• Makes the overall effect — hotter cities — explicit