What is an Informative Essay Outline and How to Write it?

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 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.

Understand How to Create 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 know 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, 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’s 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, 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

1. Hook Sentence
2. Background information
3. Thesis statement

1 Body Paragraph

1. Topic Sentence (1^st point in the thesis statement)
2. Supporting Details
3. Transition sentence that leads to the second point in your thesis statement

2 Body Paragraph

1. Topic Sentence (2^nd point in the thesis statement)
2. Supporting Details
3. Transition sentence that leads to the third point in your thesis statement

3 Body Paragraph

1. Topic Sentence (3^rd point in the thesis statement)
2. Supporting Details
3. Transition sentence that leads to the conclusion part

Conclusion

1. Thesis restatement
2. Summary of main points
3. 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.)

Steps for Writing an Informative Essay

Here, let us look at the key steps for writing an informative essay

Select a topic

If you are not allocated a topic for your informative essay, then first you must choose your topic. Always, select a topic that you are familiar with and is interesting. Ensure that the topic is appropriate for an informative essay and that you have enough material to research.

Perform research on the topic

Conduct extensive research on your issue utilizing credible sources such as academic publications, books, and websites. Gather material to support your points and make your writing more persuasive.

Frame a thesis statement

Create a coherent thesis statement that explains the major argument or objective of your essay. Most importantly, your thesis statement should give your essay a clear direction and it should be concise and focused.

Develop an outline

Create an outline for your informative essay after you have done your research and chosen the sources you are about to utilize. An essay outline is a basic “skeleton” of your paper that summarizes the points you will make in each paragraph.

Write the essay

Compose your informative essay in the format specified in your outline by including essential components such as the introduction, body, and conclusion. At this point, don’t worry about getting the right tone or keeping flawless flow between paragraphs; these can be refined throughout the revision stage. So, simply focus on obtaining words on the page that provide an easy-to-follow overview of your issue. Your tone should be neutral and informed, with no literary techniques.

Add citations

The final step in preparing an informative essay is to include a citation page. Here, you must give due acknowledgment to the sources you have used to obtain the statistics, facts, and other objective data that are included in an informative essay. Remember, your citations page should be formatted according to whether your essay is written in MLA, APA, or Chicago style.

Proofread and Edit

After you have finished writing your informative essay, check and edit your essay for punctuation, grammatical, and spelling mistakes. Make sure your essay is easily readable, has a clear structure, and is backed up by solid facts.

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 decide 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 that 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 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-on 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: Anyone can 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.

The Bottom Line

You will have learned how to write an informative essay outline by now. If you are about to write an informative essay, then before that, collect the necessary ideas and organize those ideas using the standard informative essay outline format. It is not mandatory to create an outline for an essay. However, sketching an essay outline according to the guidelines specified in this blog will be helpful for you in composing a well-structured and coherent essay. In case, you experience any difficulties with informative essay outline writing, get in touch with us. As per your specifications, the talented essay writers from our team will assist you with all the phases of the informative essay preparation process, including essay topic selection, outline creation, writing, and proofreading.