55 Informative Essay Topics (Your Professor will Love)

55 Informative Essay Topics (Your Professor will Love) So now you need to write an informative essay but don’t have a good informative essay topic! No biggie—we’ve all been there. Take a breath, close your eyes, clear your mind and relax. Let your brain wander a bit. Now stop—what ideas are coming to your head? Most likely they are the things you like and care about. So why not write about them? That’s the key to writing a great informative essay: Write about a subject you enjoy. To get started, just pick a topic that interests you and begin listing the things you know. You’ll probably want to do a little research or reading just to brush up on the details and give your essay more depth. The main thing is to pick a topic that you love. If you can’t think of anything off the top of your head, use this list of topics to get the wheels turning! What is an Informative Essay? An informative essay is an essay that tells the reader about something. It is objective rather than critical or argumentative. The main purpose is not to argue or persuade but rather to inform. Writing a good informative essay depends upon your ability to provide good, clear information to your reader. The essay should be logical, coherent, concise, and easy to understand. The best informative essays follow a basic pattern consisting of giving the reader background information, current information, or helpful information that can be of use going forward. It is also a good idea to know your audience so that your essay can be tailored to meet their needs. How to Pick a Topic Choosing a topic for an informative essay does not have to be hard. Really, the best topics are those that you yourself feel comfortable telling another person about. There has to be something that you know a lot about. Even if it is something like fashion, cars, comic books, painting, or music—it doesn’t matter. Your job is just to inform your audience about it! So choose something that you yourself are an expert on. Consider these topics to help you get started! Informative Essay Topics For High School Students: 1. World of Warcraft Tell what it’s like to play this popular video game. 2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Room Describe these cult-classics and how they are still celebrated today. 3. The films of Stanley Kubrick Inform your reader about the career of Kubrick, his films and those he never got to make. 4. The life of Malcolm X Tell how Malcolm Little became Malcolm X. 5. The Apollo missions to the Moon Give information on how the moon landings were accomplished. 6. Dating Write an informative essay on dating, including techniques, tips and recommended best practices. 7. The history of drinking in America in the 20th century Alcohol has a unique history in the U.S.—tell the reader all about it. 8. Capital Punishment in the Western world Describe the uses of capital punishment in the West throughout time. 9. The rules of a professional sport Give information on how to play a particular sport at the highest level—whether NBA, MLB, or NFL. 10. The history of aviation Tell how flying began. 11. How to buy something on Ebay Inform your reader about the art of the online auction. 12. Working at a job If you have a job, inform your audience about what it’s like to work there. 13. How does the bond market work? The bond market plays a big role in international finance. So tell about how debt is used as an instrument to fund pensions, construction, development, and so on. 14. What you want to be when you grow up and why Do you want to be an engineer? A pilot? An artist? A teacher? An informative essay doesn’t have to be impersonal. If you are the best subject you know, use yourself as the focus of your paper and tell the reader about what you want to do with your life. Tell what that career entails and how you will obtain it. 15. Building a house Everyone needs a place to live. Inform your audience about how to build a house—whether a simple, basic dwelling or something grand and exquisite. 16. How to diagram a sentence Impress your teachers with this informative essay: show that you not only know how to write an essay but that you have excellent command of English grammar as well! 17. Eating out There are probably a lot of restaurants to choose from in your town. Select a few, visit them, and write up your informative essay like a Yelp! reviewer might write a review. 18. Good games to play when entertaining When it comes to hosting a party, you need food, drinks and entertainment. Give information on which games are good ones for a small gathering of friends and family. For Middle School Students: 19. Taking the bus to school Some people have no idea what it’s like taking the bus—so here’s your chance to tell them. 20. After school programs These can be a lot of fun: share what they are like if you are familiar with them. 21. Playing a sport This is a great subject for an informative essay because you can share information about the position you play, the character it builds, and the thrill of competition. 22. Video games A great way to recreate, playing video games helps you build computer skills and problem-solving skills. 23. Using social media Explain how to use social media and what it’s good for. 24. How advertising works Inform your reader about what the way that advertisements work on the psyche. 25. Eating healthy meals Give information about ways to eat a healthy diet. 26. Dinnertime at your house Share with your audience what it’s like to have dinner at your house. 27. A family vacation Tell about a recent trip your family has taken together. 28. A hobby you enjoy Do you have a hobby you enjoy? Is it reading, writing, collecting cards, etc? Tell about it! 29. The last book you read Write an informative essay about the last book you read front to back. 30. A film you have enjoyed Tell about a film you watched recently that you really enjoyed. 31. Your favorite superhero There are a lot of superheroes to choose from, so select one you particularly love and inform your reader about what makes that superhero unique, special, or particularly worth following. 32. Surfing Do you know how to surf? A lot of land-locked individuals don’t, so tell what it is and how to do it! 33. Hunting Hunting takes a particular skill. Inform your reader about how to hunt using a variety of weapons for a variety of animals. 34. Taking a walk around your neighborhood This can be a very simple informational essay. In it you can tell about your neighborhood, what kind of people live there, how big it is, and anything else you see. 35. Volunteering Inform your reader about opportunities to volunteer in your community. 36. Going to the movies Tell your audience about all the different cinemas in your region, which are the best, what the prices are, and which to avoid. 37. What’s needed for a great campout Camping out can be a lot of fun—but you need some essentials to make it really magical. Tell what your reader should bring for his or her campout. Current Event Topics: 38. What is a trade war? The U.S. finds itself more and more using rhetoric that suggests a trade war with various countries is unavoidable. So what is a trade war? Write an informative essay on the subject. 39. Space exploration Space X has its eyes set on Mars and NASA has just been rejuvenated under President Trump, with Vice President Pence overseeing new space aims. Inform your reader about what space exploration has accomplished to this point in history and what future exploration hopes to achieve. 40. Block chain technology Most people have heard of Bitcoin by now, but few people understand it. Write an essay in which you inform your reader about how Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies work. 41. Wonder Woman Who is she? Where does she come from? How has she been portrayed on the screen in the past? 42. The New Silk Road China is developing a new silk road and if it is actually completed it could change the face of trade across the planet. 43. Why is gold a safe haven? Gold and silver are viewed by investors as safe havens or hedges in risky economic times. Why is this? Inform your audience about whether or not we are currently in just such a time. 44. Superteams in the NBA The Warriors are now a super team with the addition of Durant. James likes to surround himself with other superstars. The Rockets are trying to build one—and so is just about every other franchise that can afford it. Tell what a superteam is and how it is changing the NBA. 45. Watching videos online Inform your reader about the best options available: Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube. Give costs, benefits, and depictions of exclusive content. 46. EMP Today’s world depends a lot upon electricity and the Internet. That’s why one of the biggest threats that people keep talking about is the EMP—electromagnetic pulse. Tell what it is to your reader who might know nothing about it. 47. The War on Terrorism Write an informative essay on the War on Terror, how it started, what’s been achieved, and where it is heading. 48. Legal cannabis Cannabis has been legalized in several states—in some cases for medicinal use and in other cases for recreational use. Tell what is going on with cannabis in the U.S. and what the Federal government is doing about it. 49. Marvel and DC cinematic universes Marvel and DC are competing at the box office. Give your reader all the information on this topic—from how this competition began to what’s in store for viewers in the coming years 50. Return of the Star Wars franchise Now that Disney owns the rights to the Star Wars franchise, we can expect a lot more installments. A new Han Solo film is currently underway. Bring your reader up to speed on how this is all playing out. 51. College basketball Every year it’s a tradition: ranking the best teams in the NCAA. UK looks to be up there at the top again. Who else? Inform your reader about the top prospects, which teams look good, and who has the best shot to go all the way. 52. The Tesla Model 3 It’s coming—but what is it? And how does it work? Give some background information on the electric car before telling about the Model 3 and why consumers are looking forward to it. 53. Sharing Economy Uber, AirBnB, Lyft—these are just a few examples of how the sharing economy is changing various sectors. Inform your reader about what the sharing economy is and why it is making such a big impact. 54. Social Justice Social justice is a big issue on a lot of campuses right now. What is advocacy and how’s it work? 55. Syria Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Turkey—they’re all involved some way or another, ultimately, in what happens in Syria. See if you can explain what’s happening. Conclusion When it comes to picking the right informative essay topic, focus on subjects that you feel comfortable talking about. Sure, you can always pick something that’s new to you—but that means you’ll have to do lots of reading and research in order to properly inform your reader about it! The key is to concentrate on getting the info right—and then delivering it in a way that is easy to comprehend. Arrange your essay according to themes if, for instance, you are writing about a topic that has a lot of dimensions. Arrange it chronologically if your topic is historical. Arrange it logically if it is a how-to kind of informative essay. Hopefully these topic ideas will help you when it comes time to write your own essay. Check out our other articles on how to write an informative essay for more great tips and advice! Good luck!