JohnB.CadeLibrary ReferenceDepartment(225)7712875 Website:http://www.lib.subr.

edu

How to write an Outline for a Paper

What is an outline? Anoutlinecanbedefinedasanorganizationalplantohelpyoudraftapaper.Writingan outlinebeforebeginningapaperisthemosteffectivewaytoorganizeyourthoughts.An outlinebreaksdownthepartsofyourthesisinaclear,hierarchicalmannertohelpyouseethe overallformatofyourpaper. Remember:Thethreepartsofapaperincludedinyouroutlineare:anINTRODUCTION,aBODY, andaCONCLUSION. INTRODUCTIONStateyourthesisandthepurposeofyourresearchpaperclearly.Whatis thechiefreasonyouarewritingthepaper?Statealsohowyouplantoapproachyourtopic.Is thisafactualreport,abookreview,acomparison,orananalysisofaproblem?Explainbriefly themajorpointsyouplantocoverinyourpaperandwhyreadersshouldbeinterestedinyour topic. BODYThisiswhereyoupresentyourargumentstosupportyourthesisstatement. RemembertheRuleof3,i.e.,find3supportingargumentsforeachpositionyoutake.Begin withastrongargument,thenuseastrongerone,andendwithstrongestargumentforyour finalpoint. CONCLUSION-Restateorrewordyourthesis.Summarizeyourarguments.Explainwhyyou havecometothisparticularconclusion. What is a thesis statement? Athesisstatementdeclareswhatyoubelieveandwhatyouintendtoprove.Agoodthesis statementmakesthedifferencebetweenathoughtfulresearchprojectandasimpleretellingof facts. Agoodtentativethesiswillhelpyoufocusyoursearchforinformation.Butdontrush!You mustdoalotofbackgroundreadingbeforeyouknowenoughaboutasubjecttoidentifykeyor essentialquestions.Youmaynotknowhowyoustandonanissueuntilyouhaveexaminedthe evidence.Youwilllikelybeginyourresearchwithaworking,preliminaryortentativetheses whichyouwillcontinuetorefineuntilyouarecertainofwheretheevidenceleads. Thethesisstatementistypicallylocatedattheendofyouropeningparagraph.(Theopening paragraphservestosetthecontextforthethesis.)
Createdby:M.Payne9/08

JohnB.CadeLibrary ReferenceDepartment(225)7712875 Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu

Remember,yourreaderwillbelookingforyourthesis.Makeitclear,strong,andeasytofind.

Sample idea for creating an outline for a paper

I will create an outline that focuses on the life of Senator Barack Obama.
Howdoyoucreateanoutline? Keepinmind:Ifyourenotsurewhetheryouhaveagoodthesisstatement,seewhetheryou canfityourideasintooneofthesebasicpatterns. {Something}{Doessomething}because{reason(s)} Example: BarackObamamadeanearlycommitmenttoexcelinschoolinordertoachievehisgoalsinlife. Forlongerpapers,thesisstatementscanbeverycomplex. While{aspecific,namedperson}says{adirectquoteorparaphrasefromthesource}, {adifferent,namedperson}says{somethingelse}. Whilethetwoauthorsdisagreeover{aminorpoint},theybothshareadeepconcernover{the topicofyourpaper}.{Personones}refusaltoaccept{aparticularpointmadebypersontwo} suggeststhat{personone}is{yourthesisstatingtherealreasonwhypersononewontagree withpersontwo}.
Createdby:M.Payne9/08

JohnB.CadeLibrary ReferenceDepartment(225)7712875 Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu

Sample Outline Format

TitleofOutline(Placetitleoftheoutlinehere) (Example)TheLifeandcareerofBarackObama) Thetopicofyourpaperisimportant.Trytosumupthepointofyourpaperinonesentenceor phrase.Identifyingthetopicwillfocusthemainpointofyourpaper. I. Introduction(BriefcommentleadingintothesubjectmatterThesisstatementonthe subject) Remember:Athesisstatementtellsthereaderwhattoexpectfromtherestofthe paper. Body(Thebodycoverswhatyouwillcoverinyourpaper) Example:BarackObamasEarlyLife,Marriage,Works,RunforPresident. A. EarlylifeinHonolulu,andIndonesia 1. BarackObamasfamily a) Baracksfather b) Baracksmother 2. BarackObamasmarriage a) MichelleObama b) BarackObamaschildren B. BarackObamasCareer 1. PoliticalCareer a) CivilRightsLawyer b) Communityorganizer c) U.S.Senator C. BarackObamas2008PresidentialCampaignIssues 1. TheEconomy a) TheAmericanOpportunityTaxCredit b) SimplifyingtheFinancialAidProcess Conclusion A. Analyticalsummary 1. BarackObamasearlylife 2. BarackObamascareer 3. BarackObamas2008PresidentialCampaignIssues B. Thesisreworded C. Concludingstatement

II.

III.

Createdby:M.Payne9/08

JohnB.CadeLibrary ReferenceDepartment(225)7712875 Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu

Blank Sample Outline Format

TitleofOutline i. Maintopic a. Importantsubtopic b. Importantsubtopic 1. Detail a. Subdetail b. Subdetail c. Subdetail 2. Detail 3. Detail a. Subdetail b. Subdetail MainTopic a. Importantsubtopic b. Importantsubtopic 1. Detail 2. Detail

ii.

References
Obama,Barack.DreamsFromMyFather:AStoryofRaceandInheritance.NewYork:TimesBooks,1995. Strunk,W.(2000).TheElementsofStyle.NewYork:Longman.

Createdby:M.Payne9/08

JohnB.CadeLibrary ReferenceDepartment(225)7712875 Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu

Createdby:M.Payne9/08