INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATIVE WRITING TIPS AND HOW TOS

INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATIVE WRITING TIPS AND HOW TO’S © Maggie Ernest 2014

STANDARDS • • • Subject: English Language Arts Strand: 5. W: Grade 5 Writing Performance Standard: 5. W. 3: Writing Genres Benchmark: 5. W. 3. 2 Description: Write informative compositions on a variety of topics that - Introduce a topic; organize sentences and paragraphs logically, using an organizational form that suits the topic. Employ sufficient examples, facts, quotations, or other information from various sources and texts to give clear support for topics. Connect ideas within and across categories using transition words (e. g. , therefore, in addition). Include text features (e. g. , formatting, pictures, graphics) and multimedia when useful to aid comprehension. Use appropriate language, vocabulary, and sentence variety to convey meaning; for effect; and to support a tone and formality appropriate to the topic and audience. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.

I CAN… • I can write an informational piece on a specific topic. • I can organize my paragraphs and paper logically, while using transition words. • I can gather information and facts from more than one source. • I can correctly quote and cite in my writing. • I can use text features, a variety of sentence types, and appropriate tone in my writing. • I can write a concluding paragraph to wrap up my thoughts and main points.

INTRODUCE THE TOPIC • The topic paragraph should catch the reader’s attention. • The topic paragraph should only give the biggest and most important details. It gives an overall “snapshot” as to what the entire paper will be about. You should have a minimum of 3 -5 sentences. • Good example: Have you ever been fed up by a bully and unfair rules? If you have, then you might understand how the Sons of Liberty felt about the British government in 1773. They wanted to be in charge of their government and felt that they needed to do something about the situation. We should all be thankful for their bravery and courage to stand up for our country’s freedom! • Bad example: The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that took place in 1773. The Sons of Liberty did not like the British rules. They thought it was unfair. They wanted to make their own rules.

ORGANIZING SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS LOGICALLY Each paragraph should look like this: The paper should look like this: • Topic sentences • Topic paragraph • Detail • Supporting Paragraph • Closing sentence • Closing paragraph (You can add more detail sentences, but you CANNOT have less than 3) (You can add more supporting paragraphs, but you CANNOT have less than 3)

TRANSITION WORDS • Transition words are the words that you should use to let the readers know that you are going to begin talking about something new. • They lead the reader to your next point or to the next important detail, and they tie two or more thoughts together. • They are typically used at the beginning of a sentence (but does not have to) and towards the beginning of paragraph. • Examples of transition words: • Therefore, in addition, next, then, finally, first, second, lastly • Example of transition words in a sentence and paragraph: • Therefore, the Boston Tea Party was a major event that led to the American Revolution. In addition to the British Government ruling the American Colonies from a different country, they over-taxed and made unfair laws.

PAPER ORGANIZATION • When writing an informational paper, it is important to have the paragraphs in logical order, or an order that makes sense. • Historical event or a biography: should be in chronological order. • Chronological order=arranged in time order • Specific topic (ex: basketball, ocean life, recycling): detail paragraphs should focus on the most important details, beginning with the most important. • How-To’s: step-by-step order from first to last.

FACTS AND EXAMPLES • Facts: events and information that actually happened or can be proven. • When looking for facts about a topic to use in an informational writing piece, you should use sources that tell truths and not opinions. • Websites that end in. org are usually trustworthy sites that give facts. • www. Wikipedia. com is often not a reliable source because anyone can add to the website and can be opinionbased. • If making generalizations in your informational writing, you should give examples to back up your thoughts. The Revolutionary War is one of the most important wars our country has ever fought. On July 4, 1776, the U. S. adopted the Declaration of Independence from the British Government. By 1783, the U. S. and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris and the British Troops left New York City. When the U. S. Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787, the war was over and the United States was a country under it’s own rule.

PLAGIARISM • Anytime you use information directly from a website, or from an author, you must give credit to them. • If you use someone else's words or thoughts and do not cite (give credit) the author, it is called plagiarism. • Plagiarism: taking another person’s work and passing it off as your own.

CITING SOURCES • There are two ways to use another author’s work: • Direct quotations-writing the exact words that someone says. • Indirect quotations-writing the words so that they mean the same thing, but does not have to be the exact words. • Example • Original author, Sam Jones’s, work: • “The Civil War is the most interesting war the United States has ever been involved in to date. ” • Direct Quotation • “The Civil War is the most interesting war the United States has ever been involved in to date, ” said Sam Jones, a history professor at Harvard University. • Indirect Quotation • According to his book, Sam Jones thinks that of all of the wars the U. S. has been involved in, the Civil War is the most interesting.

CITING SOURCES CONT. • The last page of your paper should be a Sources or Works Cited page, where you should give information about which book or website you used to get information. • Websites: • Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article. ” Publication date: page. Site Owner. Date of visit. Website Address • Miller, Richard. “The Civil War. ” 2007: p. 2. Brainpop. August, 11, 2014. www. brainpop. com • Books: • Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City: Publishing Company, date. • Richardson, William. History Mysteries. San Francisco: Random House, 2000.

USING QUOTATIONS • When you are going to use the exact words of another person, you need to use quotation marks around the words that they said. • RULES • If the quotation is at the beginning of the sentence: • If the sentence in quotation ends with a period, change it to a coma. • “George Washington is the best president the U. S. has ever seen, ” said Dr. Sparzo. • If the sentence in quotation ends with an exclamation point or question mark, leave them. • “Who do you think is the best president the U. S. has had leading our country? ” asked Mr. Richardson. • If the quotation is at the end of the sentence: • State who is being quoted, followed by a coma. • Dr. Sparzo said, “My opinion is that George Washington is the best president our country has seen. ” • If the quotation is split at the beginning and the end of the sentence: • Use both rules. • “George Washington, ” said Dr. Sparzo, “is the best president our country has ever seen. ”

TEXT FEATURES • Formatting: This is how the paper looks. • Example-the title should be at the beginning of the paper and centered, each paragraph should be indented, and double space should be used to space out the text. • Pictures: pictures should be added to give more meaning to the writing. Giving a visual helps the reader make a connection. • Tables: a visual way to show information quickly. • Timelines: a visual way to show the order of events.

TEXT FEATURES Formatting The Goldendoodle Are you interested in a dog who is loyal, athletic, and friendly? Then a Goldendoodle could be for you! They have the gentle nature of a Golden Retriever and the non-shedding hair of a Poodle. Do you have allergies? No problem! Goldendoodles are hypoallergenic! Goldendoodles are a mix of Golden Retrievers and Poodles. Some dogs have more Golden Retriever and some have more Poodle in their mix. The more Poodle in the dog, the less allergenic the dog will be. Pictures

TEXT FEATURES Tables Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Money earned $15 $23 $19 $22 Timelines Born 1984 Began playing volleyball in 1996 Sports Competition 4 3 Moved to Indianapolis 1986 2 1 Bought 1 st car in 2000 Molly Smith’s Life 0 Volleyball Basketball Bobby Baseball Tommy Football Johnny Began coaching volleyball in 2010

TONE • Tone is the attitude an author takes in a piece of writing. • Tone can show many emotions. • The tone you have in your writing shows how you feel about the subject. • If you are writing about a serious subject, it would be important to set the tone in a serious and respectful way. • Example: On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by terrorists. Commercial airliners were hijacked and flown into the Twin Towers in New York City, into the Pentagon in Washington D. C. , and into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This day that changed the course of history was very scary and tragic. Many people lost their lives.

STO P CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH • The concluding paragraph is where the writer should restate the main points made in the paper. It should only summarize the main points and wrap up what the writer wanted to say. • Bad example: Volleyball is a sport enjoyed by many people. You should wear knee pads when you play. If the opposing team hits the ball to your side and it is out of the lines, let it go and your team will get a point. • Good example: Volleyball is a sport enjoyed by many people. To play the game, each team needs 6 players. Each player has a specific job on the court. When each player does their job correctly, the team will surely be successful. To win games in volleyball, working as a team is the key to victory!

SOURCES Kindig, Thomas. ”The Declaration of Independence. ” US History, Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web. 21 October 2014. http: //www. ushistory. org/declaration/revwartimeline. htm Ernest, Maggie. 2014 Independence