Foundations of Real Estate 10

Writing an Informative Paper

Did you ever pick up a magazine or newspaper and after reading the article say, “Hmm! I did not know that!” That article is an informative essay. Informative essays, also called expository essays, seek to inform or educate the audience on a given topic.

Goal: The goal is not to persuade the reader but to give the reader more information, to provide the reader with insight, and to support the writer’s interpretations with factual information.

Informative essays do not express the writer’s opinion. Views, pro and con, can be included, but they must be presented in an unbiased fashion, pointing out comparisons and contrasts of viewpoints. One way to do this is to imagine that the audience holds a common view of the topic; the writer’s purpose is to give the audience a surprising new view based on research.

To do this you can do the following:

· Enlighten your audience with new facts and/or statistics.

· Give them usable material that they can apply.

· Present sufficient information to explain the new findings about the topic.

· Make clear from the beginning of your paper its purpose.

Here is an example of an informative essay topic: A student wrote about technology invading churches in the form of ATM machines. He called it “Technology Goes to Church.” His purpose was to inform readers that because of the decrease in weekly donations, some churches are now installing ATM machines in the hopes of raising their revenue.

WRITING AN INFORMATIVE PAPER—A WALK THROUGH

This reading will walk you through the process of writing an informative paper or essay by letting you look over the shoulder of one writer, Maggie Durham. The best writing is the result of a process:

· Step one: selecting a topic and conducting research

· Step two: brainstorming for key points

· Step three: writing an outline

· Step four: writing the essay

Selecting a topic is the first step in writing any essay.

Once the topic is chosen, it is time to hit the library and do some research.

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Once the topic is selected, and some basic research conducted, the next step is to narrow the focus focus. Use brainstorming strategies to focus on the key points.

Free-writing: Try using free-writing, simply writing nonstop on a topic for a specified period of time (usually 5 to 15 minutes). Errors are not corrected, and revision is not allowed; the writer's goal is to set down whatever comes into his or her mind.

Questioning: Another good way to settle on some specific key points is to use questioning. This is just what it sounds like: write out as many questions as you can think of.

Table: Many people are more visual, and for those people, the best technique may be to use graphic organizers. These are simply tools that help us “see” the topic. Note an example of how to set up a table to help organize thoughts.

Step Three: Writing an Outline

Every informative essay is going to be different because every reader is going to have new information to share with the reader.

Outlining before writing an essay will help you identify your main points, organize them well, and catch important elements you may have missed.

Example of an initial outline:

1. Introduction

a. Parents and coaches are destroying kids’ sports by fighting on the sidelines, screaming abusively, encouraging physical violence among players, and in general modeling unsportsmanlike behavior.

b. Young athletes (6 to 12-year-olds) are becoming discouraged and dropping out of organized sports, not because of their own physical limitations or lack of knowledge, but because of the violent parental conduct, verbal and physical abuse of the coaches, and the lack of civility and sportsmanship.

2. The inappropriate conduct of parents who are losing their perspective and putting too much pressure on young players is a contributing factor to young athletes dropping out of sports.

a. Parents want the best for their children and, when it comes to sports, they want the young player to be the star; this appears to be causing them to treat youth sports as training for the World Series or the Super Bowl.

b. Parents can be seen exhibiting “ferocious temper tantrums” and physically abusing coaches, as well as hitting, kicking, slapping, insulting, and verbally abusing their children (Lord, 2000).

This process continues with the two remaining points:

1. The coaches of many youth teams vary from former players with some background to volunteer dads to “wannabe” championship coaches, some with little or no experience.

2. The quality of sportsmanship, civility, and ethics is being replaced by a “win at all costs” attitude.

Write it, revise it, and give it a final polishing and proofreading. Provide evidence to support the points you want to make, provide an introduction that starts with a startling statistic to grab readers' attention or something that will grab the reader’s interest, and a conclusion that drives the points home. Pay careful attention to the citation of outside sources throughout, both direct quotations and paraphrases. Note how each supporting detail is cited. Citation is an important part of writing with integrity.

If you need additional help, see the Writing Center or Writing Resources with the Academic Success Center (formerly the Academic Support Center) located in the Academic Tools area of the course.