Effective OutliningYou MUST do Steps 1-3 to get full credit!

STEP 1: Brainstorming: List the major concepts/ideas related to your topic. Under each, free-write words or phrases related to those concepts/ideas. Listing difficult questions: Make a list of a few questions related to your topic that you think would be very challenging to answer. Your thesis should come from one of these questions so that it represents both a topic AND an assertion. STEP 2: Identify your audience: In one complete sentence, describe the audience for whom this piece of writing is intended. Decide on your organizational plan: Will you structure your paragraphs in chronological order, description, criteria, categorical order, order of importance, order of appeals? In one complete sentence explain which organizational plan you will use. STEP 3: Outlining the body: ***You may have 3 body paragraphs or more. In a compare and contrast essay, you may only have 2 body paragraphsone for similarities and one for differences. Why do we choose 3 body paragraphs in the first place? Perhaps we feel 3 reasons is enough proof to win an argument. For Essays in General I. Explain your first main point. A. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. B. More details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. C. More details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. II. Explain your 2nd main point. A. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. B. More details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. C. More details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis details. III. Explain your 3rd main point. A. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. B. More details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. C. More details, proof, and/or appeals, which support your main point. 1. Analysis of details. For Compare and Contrast Essays I. Explain the similarities A. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support the similarity. 1. Analysis of details B. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support another similarity. 1. Analysis of details C. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support another similarity. 1. Analysis of details II. Explain the differences A. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support the difference. 1. Analysis of details B. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support another difference. 1. Analysis of details C. Provide details, proof, and/or appeals, which support another difference. 1. Analysis of details

If you have completed steps 1-3, you have completed your outline! OTHER HELPFUL HINTS--Feel free to use one or more of these to begin and end your essays. See below.

*Introduction strategies: a. Provide an interesting story/anecdote related to your topic. b. Pose a challenging question that makes the reader uncomfortable or makes him/her think. c. Discuss some statistics or research related to your topic that your reader might find interesting. d. Define, in your own words NOT Websters, your topic or some aspect of your topic. e. Discuss alternative views concerning the topic you are about to address. f. Provide an unusual comparison related to your topic. *Conclusion strategies: a. Restate main points b. Reflection on topic now that you have communicated your views. c. Relation of topic to you, your life, and your world. d. Prediction of future based on ideas presented. e. Final opinion concerning topic.