Are you confused about how to prepare an informative essay outline? We are here to help you! Check this blog post and get important tips on how to structure an informative essay outline effectively as per the informative essay format with examples.
What is an Informative Essay?
An informative essay is a kind of academic writing that aims to inform the audience about a given subject by offering fresh and engaging facts. Although it is frequently written for a variety of goals, its main objective is to increase the reader’s understanding rather than convince them. Since it just depends on the facts, reliable information, or statistics, this style of essay does not call for your opinions or viewpoints on the subject.
The first thing you need while writing an informative essay is a good topic. You can look up informative essay topics online and choose the one that best fits your interests and the requirements of your instructor.
An excellent informative essay topic is one that
- Captivates the audience.
- Contains references from reliable sources.
- Holds factual information or statistics that support the thesis.
- Contains original information to keep readers’ knowledge updated.
Is a decent topic sufficient to write an informative essay? No, you should create an informative essay outline in order to prepare a complete informative essay.
An Overview of Informative Essay Outline
An action plan or checklist that you can use to arrange and create your informative essay’s content is called an informative essay outline. To put it simply, the outline serves as a road map for composing an essay.
Although it is not required, professionals advise drafting an outline for essays because of the advantages it brings. It is usually advisable to prepare an essay outline on the chosen subject before you begin creating the body of your essay, regardless of the style of essay you are writing (informative or other).
The informative essay outline’s main purpose is to highlight the ideas that you must include in your essay. If you have an essay outline, you will be able to easily craft your essay content while not missing any major points. You can also use the essay outline to structure the entire essay and organize your points coherently.
How to Write an Informative Essay Outline?
Writing the layout of the informative essay is similar to other types of essays like argumentative essays, persuasive essays, etc. If you are asked to write an informative essay outline, then make sure to include the following essential components.
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
You can structure the informative essay outline with 5 or 6 paragraphs depending on your writing needs and the topic you have chosen. Most importantly, for writing a successful informative essay, you should have knowledge of what to include in each component or section of the informative essay outline.
Here, let us have an in-depth insight into the informative essay outline sections.
Informative Essay Introduction
The introduction section is the opening part of the essay where you need to introduce your topic to your readers by giving brief background information about your essay topic.
People will generally skip reading your essays if your introduction looks blunt. Hence, in order to grab the attention of your readers, you should have an engaging introduction paragraph by beginning it with a catchy hook sentence. Your hook can be an anecdote, an interesting fact, statistics, a controversial statement, or a funny story relevant to your topic.
Next to the hook sentence, you can explain the significance of your essay topic to your readers and then end the introduction paragraph with a strong thesis statement. The thesis statement should explain to your readers the essay purpose and the main points you are about to discuss in the body paragraphs of your essay. Make sure your thesis statement is brief and clear.
After you have written an engaging introductory paragraph with a valid thesis statement relevant to your essay topic, you can move forward to writing the body paragraphs.
See Also – Outstanding Ways to Write Impactful Argumentative Essay Outline
Informative Essay Body
The body section is the soul of the informative essay, and it should be composed of 3 or 4 paragraphs based on your topic. While writing the body paragraphs of your informative essay, you should make a note to include a target point and supporting facts.
Remember, each paragraph in the body of the essay should start with a topic sentence that is relevant to the thesis statement mentioned in the introduction. Then, in order to prove your topic sentence, you should provide valid evidence from credible sources and should cite the sources at the end of your essay to avoid plagiarism.
The body paragraphs are said to be effective if you make a claim and provide evidence in support of the claim with a proper explanation. When writing the body of the essay, each topic sentence should be discussed in separate paragraphs. Always discuss the strong topic sentence in the first body paragraph.
As an informative essay is all about factual data, avoid sharing your opinions or viewpoints in the body paragraphs. Use transition words or sentences for smooth narration and explain the key points in a way that is understandable to your target audience.
Informative Essay Conclusion
After you have completed your body paragraphs, then jump to the conclusion paragraph. The conclusion section is the last part of your informative essay outline where you need to wrap up all the information. In the conclusion paragraph, you should include a thesis restatement, summarize all the major arguments and recommend a call to action.
Like the introduction, the conclusion section should also be engaging. If you end your essay without a catchy concluding statement, then the purpose of your essay will be diluted, and your readers may forget what you have discussed in the whole essay. Hence, make sure to write a simple, precise, and effective conclusion.
Never introduce new ideas in the conclusion paragraph. Write the conclusion paragraph at a length that is similar to your introduction paragraph.
Standard Template of an Informative Essay Outline
Mentioned below is the sample informative essay outline template you can consider while preparing the outline.
Introduction
- Hook Sentence
- Background information
- Thesis statement
1 Body Paragraph
- Topic Sentence (1st point in the thesis statement)
- Supporting Details
- Transition sentence that leads to the second point in your thesis statement
2 Body Paragraph
- Topic Sentence (2nd point in the thesis statement)
- Supporting Details
- Transition sentence that leads to the third point in your thesis statement
3 Body Paragraph
- Topic Sentence (3rd point in the thesis statement)
- Supporting Details
- Transition sentence that leads to the conclusion part
Conclusion
- Thesis restatement
- Summary of main points
- Your final impression or thoughts on the topic
Works Cited
(Here, list the sources in alphabetical order as per the standard referencing styles. The source of reference can be a book, website, magazine, newspaper article, or any other credible source.)
Examples of Informative Essay Outline
If you are not sure how to write an informative essay outline, then check the below-mentioned informative essay outline examples and get a clear idea.
Example 1
Here is a sample informative essay outline on the topic “The Negative Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body”.
Introduction
Hook: Do you know that after drinking alcohol your visual acuity will noticeably reduce, and you will require stronger lighting to distinguish smaller objects?
Purpose: Everyone should be aware of how the daily consumption of alcohol affects the human body.
Importance: The readers should make a decision whether or not they should consume alcohol.
Thesis Statement: Alcohol may relax and give a soothing effect to the nervous system, but along with that it also causes many painful manifestations that may prevent a person from having a healthy life.
Body Paragraphs
Topic Sentence 1: How does alcohol affect the human brain vessels?
Supporting details:
- In a state of alcohol intoxication, dangerous complications such as cerebral strokes occur.
- Prolonged consumption of alcohol may disturb the blood supply to the brain and may lead to lethargy or lack of concentration
- With alcoholic brain damage, sleep disturbance may occur frequently, and it may create an experience of a violent nightmare.
Topic Sentence 2: A person who drinks alcohol for a long time may become immune to criticism.
Supporting details:
- No interest in learning new things.
- This creates irritability and aggression, and hence the person may lose friends or social contacts.
Topic Sentence 3: Changes in the brain structure caused by alcohol intoxication are reversible.
Supporting details:
- This leads to disorders in the peripheral nervous system, in addition to the mental disorders
- It is necessary to consult doctors as early as possible and take necessary treatments even if changes in the nervous system are minor. Generally, the treatment is expensive, and it takes a longer time.
Conclusion
Summary: The effects of alcohol on the nervous system may decrease the vision and hearing capacity of humans. Hence, it is necessary for every individual to be aware of the dangers of drinking alcohol and to leave this bad habit before it is too late. Remember, alcohol never solves a problem; it only creates them.
Also Read: Know the Movie Review Format and Writing Guidelines
Example 2
Here is a sample example of an informative essay outline on stress relief.
Introduction
Hook: For those who are in anxiety, relieving stress does not have to be a challenge.
Important Points: Potential forms to relieve stress include exercise, acupuncture, and exposure to the outdoors.
Thesis statement: The most effective tools that will kill stress are physical activity, fresh air, sunlight, and alternative medicine.
Body Paragraphs
Topic Sentence 1: Exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress
Evidence: Scientific reasoning
Analysis: Analyze Studies
Topic Sentence 2: Exposure to the outdoors will relieve stress
Evidence: Scientific reasoning
Analysis: Analyze Studies
Topic Sentence 3: Alternative Medicines
Evidence: Acupuncture and Science
Analysis: Analyze results
Conclusion
Thesis restatement: The great ways to relieve stress are physical activity, trying alternative medicines, and chilling outside.
Note, the sample outline mentioned above is a condensed version, and you can elaborate on it by including as many details as possible. If you have a detailed outline, it will be easy for you to draft your essay content.
Example 3
Here is a sample example of an informative essay outline on the topic “Ineffectiveness of Incarceration”.
Introduction
Hook: The USA has the highest rates of incarceration in the world. However, statistics show that there is a rise in criminal activities despite the high incarceration rate.
Purpose: To inform the public on how the criminal justice system that is reliant on incarceration is defeating us.
Thesis statement: Why reliance on incarceration is failing the criminal justice system?
Body Paragraphs
First Main Point: The list of ways the criminal justice system deals with criminals
Details:
- Define the meaning of incarceration
- Why do they rely on incarceration methods? (Cite relevant statistics and also compare them with other methods)
- Incarceration facilities- Jails and prisons
Second Main Point: Incarceration hasn’t reduced the street crimes
Details:
- High rates of recidivism
– Inadequate policies to deal with prisoners.
– Proliferation of gangs within the prisons.
– Mentally ill patients are in prions rather than asylums.
Third Main Point: Methods that can make prisons and jails more effective in prisoner rehabilitation
Details:
- Policy change in the criminal justice system
- Using other lawful methods to deal with criminals rather than taking them to jail
- Changing the social perception of incarceration
Conclusion
Summary: Within the criminal justice system, one of the most relied-upon methods to deal with offenders is incarceration. However, it has not reduced crime rates. But the policy change and using alternative methods to deal with criminals have the potential to reduce the crime rate.
Concluding Remarks: It is highly possible for anyone to find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Therefore, creating a system that is deterrent and effective in dealing with offenders and rehabilitating them is necessary.
Final Thoughts
We hope you are now clear on how to write an effective informative essay outline. Your essay content mainly depends on the outline you prepare. Hence, to make your essay informative to your readers, follow the tips mentioned in this blog post and craft a strong outline.
Preparing an essay outline is one of the best ways to write a brilliant informative essay. So, never skip this step. If you are struggling to write an informative essay outline, then take professional assignment help from us. We have a team of academic writers to provide reliable essay writing services on almost all essay types without skipping deadlines. Just send your requirements to us and get high-quality, plagiarism-free essays on the best essay topics beyond your expectations.
