There are many things to consider when writing an informative essay, but what are the features that differentiate them from other types of writing? An informative essay is a piece of writing that provides information on a topic. It does not have the nature of claiming opinions or persuading readers.
Since it is different from argumentative or narrative texts, the way of writing them also varies. What are the things to remember when writing or revising one? When looking over an informative essay, it’s important to consider the facts, their validity, and audience-appropriate language because they differ from other types of essays.
In order to write a helpful informative essay, the main thing to ensure is that there are no opinions. These types of essays are like manuals of information. That means that the purpose of them is to tell information, not thoughts. They should explain absolute facts about things, not what some people think about it. Accordingly, it is not informative writing if there is one’s opinion in it.
Moreover, opinions can interrupt readers from getting the information they need. People read instructive essays to learn about subjects, and someone’s view is not what they want. Especially if the opinion exposed in it is different from the readers’ thoughts, the essay will confuse them rather than help them. The fact that an instructional article is to give information, not other’s personal thoughts, makes it important to assure that no opinions are in it.
It’s also important to only use facts that are true. Now that the internet has developed immensely, people can easily find references online. However, there is a variety of data on the internet, including false facts. This suggests that writers should be careful not to use them in their writings when using that information. It would help if they use reliable websites or research papers as the sources.
Also, invalid information will disturb the readers. For example, if a reader who knows the subject well sees false facts, they will doubt the whole essay. This is wasting both the reader and the writer’s time because the reader cannot trust it and the writer has failed to provide useful information. Since there is a lot of invalid information that can disturb the readers, it is important to verify them when revising an informative essay.
After writing an informative paper, make sure to check that appropriate language for the readers is used. In my case, when watching my classmate’s presentation, it was hard to understand some parts because there were lots of complicated words. The writer should explain or substitute difficult terms to easy words in order to help the reader understand the essay without great effort.
Nevertheless, writers should know how to use technical terms to make the writing credible. Complicated words tend to have more detailed meanings than simple expressions. If the readers are professionals, they will think the essay is trustworthy if the words are used at the right places. Appropriate language is one of the things to consider because it helps the reader understand and trust the text.
It’s important to remember these parts for informative essays because they differ from other types of essays. In persuasive essays, it only needs enough information to support an opinion and appeal to the reader because it is mostly focused on what the writers think. However, informative writing uses only facts and it’s important to not have any opinions. That’s why one needs to consider different points when revising.
When writing a personal piece, there is less of an importance on audience-appropriate language since it’s all part of the writer’s story. The point of narrative writing can be interpreted differently depending on the reader because it is like a novel so the writer doesn’t need to be particularly accurate with their words. This is different from informative writing because those readers should all receive the same information from the text. This is why specific things need to be revised in informative essays and not in persuasive or personal writings.
To sum up, unlike other essays, when revising an informative essay, it is essential to check the facts, their validity, and appropriateness of the language used. This is to provide clear information, guarantee the trustworthiness of the writing, and to help the readers’ understanding. There are many opportunities to encounter informative essays. It might be on a school assignment, on office jobs, or when one is searching for information. By considering these points of revision, one is sure to be a better, stronger essay.
By: Jiyoung Ahn
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