What should an outline for an essay look like

These may come in the form of statistics, examples from your sources, or supporting ideas. The rest of the body of your paper will be made up of more major and minor points. Each major point should advance the paper's central argument, often building on the previous points, until you have provided enough evidence and analysis to justify your paper's conclusion.

Your conclusion both restates your paper's major claim and ties that claim into a larger discussion. Rather than simply reiterating each major and minor point, quickly revisit your thesis statement and focus on ending the paper by tying your thesis into current research in your field, next steps for other researchers, your broader studies, or other future implications.

Note that this video was created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines. Didn't find what you need? Search our website or email us. Read our website accessibility and accommodation statement. Writing a Paper: Outlining. Print Page Report a broken link. Outlining Strategies Outlining your first draft by listing each paragraph's topic sentence can be an easy way to ensure that each of your paragraphs is serving a specific purpose in your paper.

Example Outline The following outline is for a page paper discussing the link between educational attainment and health. Introduction A. Current Problem: Educational attainment rates are decreasing in the United States while healthcare costs are increasing. Key Terms: healthy, well-educated Thesis Statement: Because of their income deficit cite sources and general susceptibility to depression cite sources , students who drop out of high school before graduation maintain a higher risk for physical and mental health problems later in life.

Dramatic floods A, Cost in dollars and lives 1. Great Midwestern Flood of 1. Lost wetlands in IL 2. Devastation in some states C. Flood Prevention 1. Plants and Soils 2. Floodplain overflow III. Wetland laws A. Inadequately informed legislators 1.

Watersheds 2. Interconnections in natural water systems B. Water purification IV. Need to save wetlands A. New federal definition B. Amount of active ingredient standardized and stabilized B. Drug users with addiction issues would get more help 1.

Hospitals 2. Clinics 3. Public health clinics C. Each capital letter A, B, C, D… indicates a main point within the structure of the paragraph. So in our introduction, A. Each Arabic numeral 1, 2, 3, 4… indicates a sentence or piece of supporting evidence for each main point. So in the first body paragraph II.

FAQ Actions. Was this helpful? Yes No Print Tweet Share on Facebook. Comments This is very helpful. Thanks a lot! Very nice and very helpful. I mean my parents are making me do a outline about a state. Very helpful, it cleared things up a lot for me, so thanks! Very helpful! Thank You! Thumbs up!! Were very helpful Thanks! Thank you guys this helped me out big time! It's actually saving my English grade from dropping.

Thanks so much! This is perfect, especially the way you've explained what each area should contain. It's something writers need to know but so often get wrong. Thank you!! This was very helpful, as I am a watch and do type of person! The hardest part in writing a paper is the outlining.

You made outlining easy for me Am forever grateful. This is a great video, very helpful and easy to follow. This was VERY helpful. Thank you! Exactly what I needed.

Thank you. Thank-you for taking the time to do this, I found it very helpful. After 45 minutes of surfing the web, this is the first helpful article I have come across in my attempt to find an outline example.

Conclusion - Research and evidence show that more focused and personalised attention for students at secondary and tertiary level reduce dropout levels. If you're writing a longer word argumentative essay, you can structure your outline to look something like this:.

Thesis statement: what is the main argument you want to present? Explanation for evidence - how does the evidence support point 1? Explanation for evidence - how does the evidence support point 2? Explanation for evidence: how does the evidence support point 1? Concl usion: re-state why your idea is correct and how your points support it. You might be asked to include counterpoints in your essay, so you can add those to your outline as well. After each supporting point add in a counterpoint with evidence and explanation which will help you prove that you've taken the the counterpoint into consideration but that in fact it does not affect your supporting point.

An easier way to create a sentence outline would be to use any EssayJack smart template. You can pick a template for the type of essay you are writing and simply answer the question in each text box with one sentence, giving you a quick full-sentence outline. You can then export the outline or share it with friends and educators who also use the EssayJack platform to get feedback. The left side of the image below shows how creating an outline in EssayJack is simply about following the structure set out for an essay and answering the interrogative questions in the text boxes.

This is then pulled together to form a full essay draft or an outline which you can see on the right side of the image. Use the following checklist to see if you've got an effective and useful outline:.

Does my outline have a structure - main idea, supporting points, conclusion? Do my supporting points have relevant evidence listed for longer essays or research papers? Does my one line explanation for each piece of evidence make sense for longer essays or research papers? Is my outline organised using one order chronological, spatial, or order of importance? Remember, when you're given an assignment that requires you to write an essay, it's good to form a habit of writing an outline first.

You can write a quick one then build it out slowly as you do more research but make sure you hit all the relevant points in the checklist and you're good to go! Get essay writing tips from educators and offers from partners sent directly to your inbox regularly.

How to write an effective outline for academic essays EssayJack. Jump to: Outlining basics Include information on what an outline is, how long it should be and when you need to write one. Writing an outline step-by-step Learn to understand the purpose of your essay in order to choose the order and structure of your outline.

Checklist for an effective outline Use these six points to check if you've got a solid outline. The advantages of writing an outline for any essay whether a short word essay or a 10,word senior thesis are: i.

Structure: following a coherent flow and giving some order to your ideas. Focus: prevents you from going off on a tangent. Feedback: an outline, especially for a longer essay, can be used to give you feedback on your ideas and flow before you even start writing, potentially saving you from massive rewrites and edits on drafts later on.

Requirement: sometimes your teacher or professor requires an outline before you get started.