Research your topic thoroughly to seek out as much information on the subject as possible. If, for example, you're writing an informative essay about the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco between the 1930s and mid 1960s, it's important to gather as many details that will help make your essay effective. If you choose an obscure topic but can't find enough sources, broaden your topic or select a new one.
Always use credible research sources. Use encyclopedias, newspaper articles, biographies or autobiographies and government agency research articles. If you're using the Internet for research, use websites which have the domains edu(university website), gov(government-related) or org(private or nonprofit organizations).
Start your essay with an interesting lead. If you're writing an essay in which you're making an argument that hip-hop culture has helped many young African-American people become entrepreneurs, start your essay with some brief profiles of local young entrepreneurs who were influenced by hip-hop culture and artists such as Jay-Z and Dr. Dre.
Stick to the topic of your essay. Don't introduce a new subject in the body of the essay because this will confuse your reader. If you're starting a new thought, make sure it relates to the main idea of the essay.
Keep your personal opinions out of the essay and instead focus on the facts. For example, if you're making a claim that it is wrong for the U.S. government to bail out major banks, don't discuss how you know a homeowner who may lose her home and you feel it's the bank's fault for not helping the person out.
Pay special attention to the format of your essay. If your teacher wants you to type the essay in the style of the Modern Language Association (MLA), visit your library and check out a book that will help you do this. Use Times New Roman as your font and choose 12 as your font size.
End your essay with a strong conclusion. If you wrote an informative essay about the history of minority-owned businesses in America, end it by discussing the success of a well-known minority-owned business you know about and talk about the impact this business has made on the community in general.