Outlining

Structured Outline Example

I. Introduction

  • Thesis: Indicate your topic, your main point about that topic, and the points of discussion for that topic.

II. Body Paragraph 1: Topic sentence goes here.

  • Supporting evidence: A paraphrase or quote from one of your sources goes here, along with an in-text citation.

    • Explanation of the meaning of the supporting evidence.

    • So what? A direct statement on how the supporting evidence does in fact support the claim made in the topic sentence.

III. Body Paragraph 2: Topic sentence goes here.

  • Supporting evidence

    • Explanation

    • So what?

IV. Body Paragraph 3: Topic sentence goes here.

  • Supporting evidence

    • Explanation

    • So what?

V. Conclusion:

  • Rephrased Thesis Statement: Rephrase your thesis.

  • Strong Closing: Close your paper with the significance of this discussion. Why is this discussion important?

The example outline structure can be adapted or expanded as needed. While it is structured as such, it is rare that a college essay is going to fall into the five-paragraph form. You will more than likely have more paragraphs, but in some cases, you could actually have less than three topics to explore.

We also have an outline structured for the research process that can be adapted to help with organizing counterarguments and incorporating quotations. Research and quotations should be handled in similar ways; both need to be rigorously evaluated before inclusion into the essay proper as well as fully explored and explained when they are incorporated. (For more information about quotation integration, check out The Writing Process: Finding the Evidence.)

Additional Resources

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Outlining

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Writing a Paper: Outlining

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Outlining