Include facts, details, and precise language as they are appropriate in your writing.
If you are given sources to read/review that goes along with your writing prompt, be sure to include a Bibliography and cite your sources as you use them.
SAMPLE INFORMATIVE WRITING PROMPT
GRADE 8 RELEASED PASSAGE BASED WRITING PROMPT SET (LEWIS HINE)
SAMPLE INFORMATIVE ESSAYS THAT HAVE BEEN GRADED (LEWIS HINE)
For each Literature Project, you will need a TITLE PAGE that gives the following information:
Your Name
The Literature Project #
The Title and Author of the book
Your Name
The Literature Project #
The Title and Author of the book
Write an informative/explanatory essay to Mrs. Johnson explaining a topic that you recently read about. Include facts, details, and precise language as they are appropriate in your writing.
Informative Essay
SAMPLE 1
Goes along with a book
Kim Johnson
Literature Project #6
The War that Saved my Life
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Literature Project #6
The War that Saved my Life
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
To Walk
Birth defects are those present at birth. In The War that Saved My Life, Ada has a clubfoot. She is unable to walk
normal. She is nine years old and has just learned about crutches. She has crawled her whole entire life. Even though she has
only been exposed to her tiny apartment, she has the mindset that she will never be able to walk. According to the Medical
News Today website, birth defects result from heredity, environmental influences, or maternal illness. Such defects range from
the very minor, such as a dark spot or birthmark that may appear anywhere on the body, to more serious conditions that may
result in marked disfigurement, impaired functioning, or decreased lifespan. A number of factors individually or in combination
may cause birth defects.
To address the first factor, let's begin with heredity. Heredity plays a major role in passing birth defects from one
generation to the next. Inherited conditions are passed on when a baby receives a flawed gene from one or both parents.
Clubfoot is the most common deformity of the bones and joints in newborns. It occurs in about 1 in 1,000 babies. The cause of
clubfoot is not exactly known, but it is most likely a genetic or hereditary disorder and not caused by anything the parents did or
did not do. Parents of an otherwise normal infant who is born with clubfoot can be reassured that their baby, when treated by an
expert in this field, will have a normal looking foot with essentially normal function. The well-treated clubfoot, causes no
handicap and the individual is fully able to live a normal active life. Ada is an otherwise normal child and Susan takes Ada to the
doctor. She has a doctor look at Ada's foot and offers surgery if her mother agrees. Ada doesn't understand why her mother
never did anything when she learns that her clubfoot could have been treated when she was a baby—she could have had a
“normal” foot. She said, “I could have always lived outside the one room. I could have been like Jamie, running fast”.
The second factor, environmental influences, is supported with the theory that many obstetricians feel that intrauterine
crowding causes clubfoot. This theory is supported by a significantly higher incidence of clubfoot among twins compared to
single births. Intrauterine exposure to the drug misoprostol has been linked with clubfoot. For unknown reasons,
amniocentesis, a prenatal test, has also been associated with clubfoot (Morrison). These are just a few of the environmental
influences that have to do with a clubfoot forming.
Thirdly, research has found a link between the incidence of clubfoot and maternal age, as well as whether the mother
smokes cigarettes, and if she has diabetes. These illnesses associated with the mother has an effect on whether an unborn
baby has a chance of being born with clubfoot. Of course, the infants of mothers who smoke during pregnancy have a greater
chance of being born with clubfoot than are offspring of women who do not smoke.
To summarize, Ada is a normal child who cannot walk because of her clubfoot. However, with the help of Susan, Ada
will have the chance to walk normally. Whether Ada developed this birth defect because of heredity, environmental factors, or
her mother's illnesses is unknown. Even though Ada is nine years old and is not capable of walking at the moment, she has
gained much confidence by living with Susan and having her as her new mother. She knows that she will eventually be normal
and walk and run.
normal. She is nine years old and has just learned about crutches. She has crawled her whole entire life. Even though she has
only been exposed to her tiny apartment, she has the mindset that she will never be able to walk. According to the Medical
News Today website, birth defects result from heredity, environmental influences, or maternal illness. Such defects range from
the very minor, such as a dark spot or birthmark that may appear anywhere on the body, to more serious conditions that may
result in marked disfigurement, impaired functioning, or decreased lifespan. A number of factors individually or in combination
may cause birth defects.
To address the first factor, let's begin with heredity. Heredity plays a major role in passing birth defects from one
generation to the next. Inherited conditions are passed on when a baby receives a flawed gene from one or both parents.
Clubfoot is the most common deformity of the bones and joints in newborns. It occurs in about 1 in 1,000 babies. The cause of
clubfoot is not exactly known, but it is most likely a genetic or hereditary disorder and not caused by anything the parents did or
did not do. Parents of an otherwise normal infant who is born with clubfoot can be reassured that their baby, when treated by an
expert in this field, will have a normal looking foot with essentially normal function. The well-treated clubfoot, causes no
handicap and the individual is fully able to live a normal active life. Ada is an otherwise normal child and Susan takes Ada to the
doctor. She has a doctor look at Ada's foot and offers surgery if her mother agrees. Ada doesn't understand why her mother
never did anything when she learns that her clubfoot could have been treated when she was a baby—she could have had a
“normal” foot. She said, “I could have always lived outside the one room. I could have been like Jamie, running fast”.
The second factor, environmental influences, is supported with the theory that many obstetricians feel that intrauterine
crowding causes clubfoot. This theory is supported by a significantly higher incidence of clubfoot among twins compared to
single births. Intrauterine exposure to the drug misoprostol has been linked with clubfoot. For unknown reasons,
amniocentesis, a prenatal test, has also been associated with clubfoot (Morrison). These are just a few of the environmental
influences that have to do with a clubfoot forming.
Thirdly, research has found a link between the incidence of clubfoot and maternal age, as well as whether the mother
smokes cigarettes, and if she has diabetes. These illnesses associated with the mother has an effect on whether an unborn
baby has a chance of being born with clubfoot. Of course, the infants of mothers who smoke during pregnancy have a greater
chance of being born with clubfoot than are offspring of women who do not smoke.
To summarize, Ada is a normal child who cannot walk because of her clubfoot. However, with the help of Susan, Ada
will have the chance to walk normally. Whether Ada developed this birth defect because of heredity, environmental factors, or
her mother's illnesses is unknown. Even though Ada is nine years old and is not capable of walking at the moment, she has
gained much confidence by living with Susan and having her as her new mother. She knows that she will eventually be normal
and walk and run.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War That Saved My Life. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015.
Morrison, William MD. Medical News Today N.p., 4 April 2017. Web. 17 April 2017.
Informative Essay
Sample #2
The Benefits of Walking
If any of you are anything like me, you tell yourself all the time that you are going to start exercising more and get back into
shape. But then comes the excuse that you just haven't got the time. What I like doing best for exercise is walking, mainly
because it has helped me to lose weight and gain confidence. One of the greatest things about it, in my opinion, is the feeling
that I get when it's done. Walking is not very physical, of course, but it's the mental aspect and confidence that I appreciate the
most. At times walking can become boring, which makes it difficult to keep going. Last summer I began walking in my
neighborhood and started walking on the track at the local high school. A walking workout provides many health benefits for
people of all ages. I will briefly explain about the benefits of walking, the FIT Formula, and the three components of a walking
workout.
There are several benefits that come along with walking on a regular basis. If you walk at a brisk enough pace and maintain
a high enough heart rate you will gain cardiovascular fitness. Walking tones the leg muscles and strengthens tendons,
ligaments, and cartilage of the joints. It strengthens the heart and bones, and may slow down osteoporosis (Southerland).
Walking can improve ones self image and decrease depression and anxiety. It also helps control appetite and burn fat.
Regular exercise for people over the age of 55 can give a more positive mental outlook and increase the chance of remaining
indefinitely independent. Before you start walking toward any of these benefits there are a few things you should remember.
According to the walk for wellness website, you should first determine how often, how fast, and how long you should walk by
simply using the fit formula. The letter F is for Frequency. You should walk 3-6 times per week and let your body recover for at
least 1 day. The letter I is for Intensity. The general rule is to walk at a pace fast enough where your heart rate is within a range
of 0-60% of your maximum heart rate. And the letter T is for Time. To maintain fitness, 20-30 minutes a day is sufficient. Along
with the FIT Formula you need to remember the three components of a walking workout.
The three components of a walking workout are as follows. First, start with a warm up, walk slowly for 3-5 minutes and
then do some stretching exercises on both your legs and arms. The training period is the second component; this is basically
your walking workout, 20-30 minutes at a brisk enough pace to maintain a high enough heart rate. And finally a cool down for
about 10 minutes, it's just like the warm up; walk slowly and do stretching exercises to prevent the muscles from tightening and
becoming stiff. A walking workout provides many health benefits for people of all ages.
Walking is a simple and easy way to maintain physical fitness. Therefore, if you are one those people that tell themselves
they are going to exercise more and get into better shape, walking is the way to go. It's cheap and it's simple and almost
everybody can do it. It will help you to lose weight and gain confidence. It will give you a great feeling when you are done and
many health benefits as well.
shape. But then comes the excuse that you just haven't got the time. What I like doing best for exercise is walking, mainly
because it has helped me to lose weight and gain confidence. One of the greatest things about it, in my opinion, is the feeling
that I get when it's done. Walking is not very physical, of course, but it's the mental aspect and confidence that I appreciate the
most. At times walking can become boring, which makes it difficult to keep going. Last summer I began walking in my
neighborhood and started walking on the track at the local high school. A walking workout provides many health benefits for
people of all ages. I will briefly explain about the benefits of walking, the FIT Formula, and the three components of a walking
workout.
There are several benefits that come along with walking on a regular basis. If you walk at a brisk enough pace and maintain
a high enough heart rate you will gain cardiovascular fitness. Walking tones the leg muscles and strengthens tendons,
ligaments, and cartilage of the joints. It strengthens the heart and bones, and may slow down osteoporosis (Southerland).
Walking can improve ones self image and decrease depression and anxiety. It also helps control appetite and burn fat.
Regular exercise for people over the age of 55 can give a more positive mental outlook and increase the chance of remaining
indefinitely independent. Before you start walking toward any of these benefits there are a few things you should remember.
According to the walk for wellness website, you should first determine how often, how fast, and how long you should walk by
simply using the fit formula. The letter F is for Frequency. You should walk 3-6 times per week and let your body recover for at
least 1 day. The letter I is for Intensity. The general rule is to walk at a pace fast enough where your heart rate is within a range
of 0-60% of your maximum heart rate. And the letter T is for Time. To maintain fitness, 20-30 minutes a day is sufficient. Along
with the FIT Formula you need to remember the three components of a walking workout.
The three components of a walking workout are as follows. First, start with a warm up, walk slowly for 3-5 minutes and
then do some stretching exercises on both your legs and arms. The training period is the second component; this is basically
your walking workout, 20-30 minutes at a brisk enough pace to maintain a high enough heart rate. And finally a cool down for
about 10 minutes, it's just like the warm up; walk slowly and do stretching exercises to prevent the muscles from tightening and
becoming stiff. A walking workout provides many health benefits for people of all ages.
Walking is a simple and easy way to maintain physical fitness. Therefore, if you are one those people that tell themselves
they are going to exercise more and get into better shape, walking is the way to go. It's cheap and it's simple and almost
everybody can do it. It will help you to lose weight and gain confidence. It will give you a great feeling when you are done and
many health benefits as well.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Southerland, Jenna Bergen. "WALK A LITTLE LOSE A LOT." Prevention Jan. 2016: 98. Student Resources in Context. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.
"Walking for Wellness: 10 Reasons You Feel Better After A Stroll." Walking for Wellness. N.p., 30 Sept. 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.