What is the difference between an informative essay and a persuasive essay?

Answer 1

An informative essay does what the word implies: it provides information about a topic. A persuasive essay seeks to convince the reader to think or act in a particular way.

Answer 2

Informative essays do just that - they "inform" or provide "information" to the reader; whereas persuasive discussions aim to "persuade" or convince, the audience, of a particular viewpoint[s].

Both discussions can pull from research and data; qualitative and quantitative analyses; to convey information, but Informative writing offers broader insight into literature and studies, ideas and contexts. Persuasive discussion, conversely, includes more narrowly focused support and compelling arguments to substantiate its claim[s].

Answer 3

An informative essay discusses a subject in detail, while a persuasive essay convinces someone to take on a certain opinion about a topic.