Reading an Informational Paragraph and Essay

Before you write your essay, you'll want to see how others did so. This lesson shows you an informational paragraph and an informational essay, explaining each part. As you read them, think about how the writers put ideas together and how you could describe the results of a classroom poll in your own essay.

Reading an Informational Paragraph

An informational paragraph has three main parts. The topic sentence names the topic. The body sentences explain the topic. The ending sentence gives a final idea about the topic. This paragraph explains the results of the poll about students’ favorite seasons.

Sample Paragraph

Warm-Up for Writing Essays

(c) Thoughtful Learning 2016

An essay explores a topic in great detail using multiple paragraphs. This lesson will show you one special way to gather information for your own essay.

What Is an Essay?

You first learn how to write sentences. Then you learn how to write paragraphs. Next, you learn how to write essays. Each new form builds on what you learned before: A group of related sentences forms a paragraph. A group of related paragraphs forms an essay.

An essay gives information about a single topic. The beginning paragraph introduces the topic, the middle paragraphs explain the topic, and the ending paragraph summarizes the main points. Essays explain, describe, or persuade.

In this unit, you will write an essay that explains how a group of third graders answered an interesting question.

Thinking About Polls

Big companies and organizations take polls to find out what people are thinking. For example, when there is an election, voters will be asked who they are going to vote for and why. Asking these questions helps candidates know how they are doing during their campaign.

Consumers are asked what they like such as thin or thick crust on their pizza. Young TV viewers like you may be asked about their favorite shows. Even principals and teachers use polls to ask their students different questions.

Editing for Sentences

Every sentence needs a subject and a verb. The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. The verb tells something about the subject.

If a group of words does not have a subject or a verb, it is a fragment.

To fix a fragment, add the part that is missing—subject, verb, or both.

Revising for Structure

Your first job in revising is to check the overall structure of your paragraph. Choose one of the paragraphs you have written and check each part below.

1. How could my first sentence more clearly identify my topic?
2. How could I capture my reader’s attention in the first sentence?

Understanding Persuasive Paragraphs

In a persuasive paragraph, you give your opinion on a subject and try to get your reader to agree with you. To do this, you need to give facts and other reasons to support your opinion. Otherwise, you won’t persuade your readers.

Understanding Explanatory Paragraphs

Your main purpose in an explanatory paragraph is to give information about a subject. You may give directions, present ideas, or explain how to do something. An explanatory paragraph uses transitions such as first, then, after, and finally.

Understanding Narrative Paragraphs

In a narrative paragraph, you tell a story about a personal experience. You try to pull your readers into the story and keep them wondering what will happen next. Be sure to include specific details to make your experience come to life.

Writing Strong Beginnings and Endings

An effective paragraph begins with a clear topic sentence and ends with a strong closing point. These activities will help you practice writing these important parts.

Writing Topic Sentences

The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about. It names the topic and gives a thought or feeling about it. Most of the time, it is the first sentence of the paragraph.

Sample Topic Sentence

The new indoor skateboard park challenges even the best skateboarders.

1. My brother’s room is the messiest room on the planet.

   Topic:

   Thought or feeling:

2. Keeping a well-organized backpack is one of the keys to a good day at school.

   Topic:

   Thought or feeling:

Warm-Up for Writing Paragraphs

Paragraphs are the building blocks of great writing. This unit will show you how to create paragraphs for three different purposes: to tell a story, to explain a topic, and to influence readers.

What Is a Paragraph?

© Thoughtful Learning 2016

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic. Usually, the first sentence names the topic, and the other sentences give more details about it. In a well-written paragraph, sentences follow a clear order so that readers can quickly understand the topic.

Think of a paragraph as a telescope: It focuses on one specific idea and magnifies it so that people can see it more clearly.

Learning to write good paragraphs is essential to becoming a good writer. This unit will give you a chance to improve your paragraph-writing skills.