Informational Writing: More Than Just a Standard
The Common Core State Standards may hold the argument essay in high regard. However, it is the expository essay that many students will be required to write for most of their young adult and adult lives. The ability to inform and explain through writing is just not a skill one needs to make it through school. Most jobs have one thing in common: to be a competent employee, one needs the ability to inform and to explain through writing. As our students grow older, they might have to write a letter to their credit card company, write during a job interview, or write reports for their job. It is doubtful that an adult will be asked to write an essay about the use of symbolism in a story. It is more likely that they will be asked, in a job application, to write why they should be the applicant hired, or answer to a boss who demands that they write a year-end report, or file an insurance claim that asks them to explain their side of the story. This is why it is so important that we teach our students the skills to write an informational essay.
Good informational writing should not read like a textbook or an encyclopedia entry; it should read like literature. The main purpose of an informational essay is to relay facts and information in a cohesive and thoughtful way. It should reveal big thinking behind an idea by intriguing the reader with facts and information to show how much the writer really knows and has thought about that idea. A key to success in informational writing is that it anticipates and answers the reader’s questions. Writers need to consider the audience and include information in “just right doses” so the topic will fascinate the reader.
We have been teaching informational reading and writing well before the Common Core State Standards were developed, as they are important foundational skills that our students will carry with them throughout their educational careers. You can check out our complete Informational Essay writing unit in our teacher Pay Teacher store. The unit includes:
A complete informational writing unit presentation in several formats
Research graphic organizers
A student checklist
Essay outline graphic organizer
Several posters to help guide your students in the writing process
A grading rubric
This is a great, comprehensive unit that will take you and your students through the informational writing process from start to finish. It even includes a ton of awesome revision strategies that take your students’ writing from meh to YEAH!
Happy teaching!