Explains how Year 6 students structure and write an information report: the classification statement, description paragraphs with subheadings and topic sentences, and an optional conclusion and glossary. Covers the language features of formal, factual writing, with a platypus model text, a formal-versus-informal table and a self-check.
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Curriculum: Australian Curriculum. We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.
Completed: Informative Writing: Information Reports
Ready for more? Move on to Year 7 English.
Year 6 students (typically ages 11–12) working on informative writing. It is pitched at level 2 · standard.
This is a study guide, so there is no separate answer sheet; the 'Check yourself' questions include answers.
About 15 minutes. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.
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Year 6 · English · Informative Writing
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An information report gives facts about a topic. It describes a whole class of things (sharks, volcanoes, the water cycle) rather than telling one story about one event. Its purpose is to inform, not to persuade or entertain, so it is written in the present tense, in the third person, and in a formal, objective voice with no "I think" or "I reckon".
| Section | Purpose | Example (topic: the platypus) |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Names the topic | The Platypus |
| General statement (classification) | Says what the subject is and which group it belongs to | The platypus is an egg-laying mammal, or monotreme, found only in eastern Australia. |
| Description paragraphs with subheadings | Each paragraph covers one aspect: appearance, habitat, diet, behaviour, life cycle | Habitat: Platypuses live in freshwater creeks, rivers and lakes… |
| Conclusion (optional) | Sums up or ends with a memorable fact | Although shy and rarely seen, the platypus remains one of Australia's most remarkable animals. |
| Glossary and diagram | Explains technical terms; labels key features | monotreme: a mammal that lays eggs |
Language features. Use technical vocabulary (nocturnal, habitat, predator) and explain it in a glossary. Use the timeless present tense: "Platypuses hunt underwater", not "hunted". Use general nouns (platypuses, not my platypus) and factual adjectives (webbed, venomous, nocturnal) rather than opinion adjectives (cute, gross, amazing). Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that announces what the paragraph is about.
Build a paragraph from a topic sentence
Fix an informal sentence
Planning. Research first and jot facts in your own words under subheadings. Order the sections from general to specific: classification, then appearance, then habitat, diet and so on. Write, then edit for tense and tone. Finally, check every fact against your source.
| Opinion or informal (avoid) | Factual and formal (use) |
|---|---|
| Sharks are really scary. | Sharks are apex predators at the top of the ocean food chain. |
| Kangaroos jump heaps far. | A red kangaroo can leap more than 8 metres in a single bound. |
| I think the Great Barrier Reef is amazing. | The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system. |
| Volcanoes were erupting. | Volcanoes erupt when magma rises through cracks in the Earth's crust. |
Answers: 1. The present tense 2. It says what the subject is and which group or class it belongs to 3. Model answer: Wombats are powerful diggers that build extensive burrow systems. 4. nocturnal 5. For example: Appearance, Habitat, Diet, Life cycle (any three) 6. Model answer: Koalas live in eucalypt forests and woodlands across eastern and south-eastern Australia.
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Students write an explanation text that describes how a natural process or system works, such as the water cycle, how bees make honey or…
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