Unit 4: Extended Writing Project

Informative/explanatory writing examines a topic and conveys ideas and information through comparisons, description, and explanation.

The purpose of informative writing is to help readers expand their understanding of a topic.

The foundation of informative/explanatory writing is the thesis statement. This is a single sentence that summarizes the central idea or position that the writer will develop in the body of the essay through organized facts, details, quotations, definitions and other pieces of textual evidence.

The introduction is the opening paragraph or section of a nonfiction text.

In an informative/explanatory text, the introduction provides readers with important information by introducing the topic and stating the thesis that will be developed in the body of the text.

In an informative/explanatory text, the introduction provides readers with important information by introducing the topic and stating the thesis that will be developed in the body of the text.

An essay’s introduction often contains a “hook,” or an element that grabs the reader’s attention and piques reader curiosity to encourage the reader to keep reading.

Body paragraphs are the section of an essay that fall between the introductory and concluding paragraphs. This is where you support your thesis statement through analysis and by developing your main points with evidence from the text.

Analysis/Explanation #1: After presenting evidence to support your topic sentence, you will need to analyze the evidence and explain how it supports your topic sentence and your thesis.

Analysis/Explanation #2: Analyze this second piece of evidence and explain how it supports your topic sentence and your thesis.

Transitions are connecting words and phrases that explain and clarify the relationships among ideas in a text.

The conclusion is the final paragraph or section of a nonfiction text.

Sources are the documents and information that an author uses to research his or her writing.

A primary source is a firsthand account of thoughts or events by the individual who experienced or witnessed them.

A secondary source analyzes and interprets primary sources.

Reliable sources are those that are known to be accurate and trustworthy.

Instead, give credit to the source where the idea or quotation came from using a citation.