Which sentence belongs in an informative piece about frogs?
AFrogs are the best animals in the world.
BI wish I had a pet frog.
CFrogs begin life as tadpoles that live in water.
DMy favorite color is green, like a frog.
Informative writing gives facts about the topic. 'Frogs begin life as tadpoles' is a fact a reader can learn from. The other choices state the writer's opinions, wishes, or preferences, which belong in opinion or personal writing.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
A student writes: 'Owls hunt at night. Owls have soft feathers. Owls eat mice. Owls fly quietly.' What would most improve this piece?
AAdd more exclamation points
BGroup related facts together, such as the facts about hunting, and add an opening and a closing sentence
CChange the topic to a different animal
DAdd the writer's favorite bird
The facts are accurate, but they jump between topics. Hunting at night and eating mice belong together; soft feathers and quiet flight belong together. An opening sentence that names the topic and a closing sentence that wraps it up help the reader follow the piece.
Question 3 True / False
Informative writing and opinion writing have the same purpose.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Opinion writing states what the writer thinks and gives reasons. Informative writing teaches the reader facts about a topic. Both use a clear beginning and supporting details, but their purposes differ.
Question 4 Short Answer
Why does sorting facts into groups before writing help a young writer produce a clearer informative piece?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Sorting shows which facts belong together, so the writer can put each group in its own part of the piece. The reader then meets one idea at a time instead of jumping between unrelated facts.
Grouping is the early form of paragraphing. When children learn to keep facts about one subtopic together, they are building the habit that later becomes topic sentences and body paragraphs.