How to prepare, organize and present a persuasive paper outline The Outline Stage How to prepare, organize and present a persuasive paper outline

First off, decide, by revisiting your research question and by skimming through your research, what the answer to your question is. This will be the thesis for your paper. History Example Research Question: To what extent did Operation Condor’s ideological purpose change over the course of time that it was active? Answer/Thesis: While initially Operation Condor was used to combat a leftist militant threat in the region, over time its mandate evolved greatly, eventually becoming a further tool of repression for the militant governments who sponsored it. The thesis

English Example Research Question: How and to what effect does J. K English Example Research Question: How and to what effect does J. K. Rolwing explore the theme of racism in her novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? Answer/Thesis: Using largely symbolism, repetition and contrast to examine the wizarding world’s view of muggles, Rowling suggests that racism is universal inevitable, institutionalized and subtle. The Thesis

With your thesis decided upon, you now need to determine what the body/argument of the paper will look like. Ask yourself these questions: What will be the guiding thread or principle? (compare and contrast, cause and effect, a list of reasons, problem-solution, a list of related themes…) How will sections and paragraphs be ordered? (chronologically, climactically, in order of weight or length..) What are the most convincing pieces of evidence, the best examples, the perfect quotations to use in each paragraph? (roughly 20 paragraphs with 3 references in each) The Structure

Using your thesis/road map write down COMPLETE SENTENCES that describe the sections of the essay English Example Section One: Through her portrayal of both evil and good characters, Rowling suggests racism is present in some form in all people. History Example Section One: When it was established, Operation Condor served the purpose of combatting leftist threats in South American countries. The Sections

Forget the idea of three being the “magic” number Forget the idea of three being the “magic” number. You might have two sections or you might have ten sections. The number will be determined by the guiding principle you chose and by the findings of your research. Finally, this number will be completely arbitrary and debatable; you might for instance decide to collapse your five sections into four because one of your sections is weak or because one of your sections works better as a sub section of another idea. The Sections

Sub-Sections (paragraphs) As with sections, the number of paragraphs will be a choice – you might have 12 or 25 paragraphs. Just remember that: Each paragraph must have a POINT or PURPOSE and it should be obvious what that is and what its relationship to the thesis is in the first sentence (ex: Another way Rowling uses the Weasley family to study racism is in their casual dismissal of muggles.) Each paragraph must follow a POINT (your opinion stated as a fact), PROOF (a quotation, a reference, a summary of evidence) and EXPLANATION (a discussion/analysis of how the proof you chose supports or illuminates your POINT) structure. Universities usually insist on THREE references per paragraphs, so the structure of every paragraph will be, at minimum, POINT-PROOF-EXPLANATION-PROOF-EXPLANATION-PROOF-EXPLANATION-CONCLUSION. Sub-Sections (paragraphs)