Informational writing—also known as expository or nonfiction writing—delivers facts or instructions in a clear, organized way to educate or inform the reader. Unlike narrative writing, which tells a story, informational writing focuses solely on presenting information, processes, comparisons, or explanations, without including characterization, personal opinions, or emotional influence. It maintains an unbiased, objective tone, ensuring the writing centers on facts. The aim is to present knowledge logically and sequentially, making it easy for the reader to understand.

Here’s a breakdown of the different types:

Types of Informational Writing:

1. Straight Information – Presenting factual information on a topic.
2. How-to Piece – Explaining how something is done or how to complete a task.
3. Compare/Contrast – Analyzing similarities and differences between two or more items or ideas.
4. Biography – Detailing the life and achievements of a person in a factual manner.

So, how do authors convey ideas clearly and concisely, ensuring that the reader can easily understand the information being presented? There are a number of skills that typically help students become accomplished writers of informational text.

Key Skills Involved in Informational Writing:

1. Organization – Clear structure is essential to make the content easy to follow. Writers must organize their ideas in a logical, sequential order so readers can easily process the information. This requires planning and the use of graphic organizers, ie Informational Pillar. 
2. Crafting Broad Yet Distinct Main Ideas – Each paragraph or section should revolve around a distinct main idea, which is broad enough to encompass several supporting details but specific enough to avoid confusion with other ideas.
3. Supporting Details – Writers need to expand on the main ideas with supporting details that reinforce and strengthen the central idea. These facts, statistics, examples, and explanations, provide context that helps the reader understand the significance of the information. The use of Transitional words and phrases effectively guide the reader through the text and connect ideas seamlessly. 
4. Powerful Details (Golden Bricks) – Writers use techniques like anecdotes, quotes, and statistics to add weight to their writing, making it more engaging and compelling. These more powerful details help illustrate points and make abstract ideas more tangible.
5. Introductions and Conclusions – The introduction sets the stage by outlining the topic and its relevance, while the conclusion wraps up the information and may also emphasize the key points or offer a final thought. Both should engage the reader and reinforce the purpose of the writing.

Informational Skills for Generative or Responsive Writing:

Informational writing skills are crucial for tasks like creating reports, essays, or any text that conveys factual information. These skills focus on clarity, organization, and presenting facts in an objective manner. When it comes to writing a response to narrative or informational text, these same skills come into play—especially when summarizing, analyzing, or providing evidence-based responses. For example, when responding to an informational text, you might summarize the main points, interpret information, or provide facts that support a response task. For a narrative text, you might focus on explaining the plot, character development, and themes, all while keeping a logical structure. In both cases, your goal is to effectively communicate your understanding and analysis of the text, keeping it clear and informative. 

In summation, informational writing is a practical skill that requires careful planning, clarity, and a logical flow of information. It's not about the writer's personal feelings or opinions, but rather about presenting facts in a way that helps the reader learn or understand something new. This kind of writing is useful in generating text and in responding to source text. 

Check us out!

Our resources like the Empowering Writers’ Informational and Opinion Writing Guide or the All-In-One Guide take you on a deeper dive into the skills of informational and opinion writing. These guides offer structured tools, strategies, and examples that make it easier to teach and learn the nuances of clear, effective writing. They help break down the steps of an informative essay into manageable pieces, such as how to create a well-organized composition, crafting strong introductions and conclusions, and supporting Main Ideas/Reasons with elaborated details. 

And Empowering Writer's dynamic workshops are an awesome way to reinforce these skills, allowing for hands-on learning and real-time feedback. Have you had the chance to explore any of these resources or workshops yet? They are a great fit for anyone looking to improve their writing expertise!

Plus, review our student samples of informational writing—especially those annotated with skills and prescriptive lessons—you can get a deeper understanding of where students might need improvement. These annotations can highlight areas like sentence structure, use of transitions, or the strength of the supporting evidence.