Umbrella Statements

Creating an umbrella statement involves 4 steps:

1. Determine your purpose: "What is the point I am trying to convey with the details I have written in my draft?” Ex: To demonstrate an ability to provide the expected results given limited resources.

2. Summarize the supporting evidence: “What are the most important points supporting the purpose?” Ex: All travel expenses, research, and publication costs must be met within a limited budget of $2000.

3. Tell your story: "Which details will convince my reader of the claims I am making?" Ex: We created a detailed budget based on estimated expenses in 3 categories: travel, research, and publication. The budget spreadsheet will be provided as supporting evidence of how we accomplished our budget goals. Your roadmap for the next part of your message.

4. State the goal. Connect the purpose to the larger point the paper makes (the thesis): "Why does this point matter?" Ex: The career path I am pursuing in the non-profit sector will require me to accurately estimate and track expenses needed to complete my work.

Ex: My capstone project required my team to rely on a limited budget of $2000 for all travel, research, and publication expenses to provide the results our client expected. Working within a budget is important because the career path I am pursuing in the non-profit sector will require me to accurately estimate and track expenses needed to complete my work.

Next, develop your supporting points from most to least important. Provide clear explanations and details and stay on point. Avoid rabbit trails: "Based on the purpose of my message, which details distract from my point and need to be omitted?" Ex: In addition to limited resources, we also had a tight deadline of 4 months to complete all of the work. [rabbit trail]

This type of organization will have more impact than one that relies on a narrative to organize your points. Most readers are more interested in the "bottom line" (whether it be the information you learned from your research, the skill you acquired while on the job, the conclusion your analysis draws, the recommendation your evaluation makes) rather than the story behind it.

These handouts will help you create umbrella statements for your papers.

Handout

Worksheet