Research Paper: The Outline Advanced Composition Owens

Where we are… Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper. Organize: Group related ideas together. Order: Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete. Label: Create main and sub headings.

An outline is a listing of brief ideas that will be in the paper. The Outline If you take the time to think about what you want to say and to put your ideas into an outline, writing the actual paper will be easier. An outline is a listing of brief ideas that will be in the paper.

Why create an outline? Aids in the process of writing Helps you organize your ideas Presents your material in a logical form Shows the relationships among ideas in your writing Constructs an ordered overview of your writing Defines boundaries and groups

How do I create an outline? Determine the purpose of your paper. Determine the audience you are writing for. Develop the thesis of your paper.

How do I create an outline? Determine the purpose of your paper. THESIS STATEMENT (time to review)

Outlines provide a summary showing the logical flow of a paper. They are useful because: help the writer organize their thoughts before getting bogged down in word choice and sentence structure; show which ideas need illustration or elaboration; and help the writer decide on an organizational structure for the report, whether it be logical, chronological, or categorical in nature.

Remember: creating an outline before writing your paper will make organizing your thoughts a lot easier.

Try to bring related material together under general headings and arrange sections so they relate logically to each other. An effective introduction will map out the journey your reader is about to take, and a satisfactory conclusion will wrap up the sequence of ideas in a nice package.

BASIC OUTLINE FORM I. Introduction (includes hook & thesis) II.  MAIN IDEA A. First Supporting Idea (Should be your STRONGEST) B. Second Supporting Idea     1. Supporting Idea for B     2. Supporting Idea for B         a) Supporting Idea for 2         b) … III.  MAIN IDEA  A. First Supporting Idea B. Second Supporting Idea  C. Third Supporting Idea IV.  MAIN IDEA (This will generally be your WEAKEST) V. Conclusion – Restate and include “Call to Action”

II. Gun bans help lower violent crime The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. Example: II. Gun bans help lower violent crime A. In Sky City, violent crime fell 30% after the city council voted for stricter background checks B. …

Alphanumeric outlines An alphanumeric outline uses Roman numerals, capitalized letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters, in that order. Each numeral or letter is followed by a period, and each item is capitalized:

The MLA Handbook suggests the following "descending parts of an outline":

IMPORTANT!!! It is up to the writer to decide on how many main ideas and supporting ideas adequately describe the subject.  However, if there is a I in the outline, there has to be a II; if there is an A, there has to be a B; if there is a 1, there has to be a 2, and so forth.

Sample alphanumeric outline Thesis statement: “The rate of violent crime can be lowered by increasing the waiting period for gun purchases, extending background checks, and banning assault weapons.” I. Increasing waiting period A. Five days has been shown to be more effective than the current three 1. Statistic 1 2. Study C B. Longer waiting period reduces “Crimes of Passion”… II. Extending background checks A. … 1. … 2. …

The Working & Final Outline A Working Outline might be only an informal list of topics and subtopics which you are thinking of covering in your paper. The working outline can be revised as you discover new material and get new ideas that ought to go into your paper. Revise your outline as you start writing, cutting stuff that’s not needed and doing extra research to strengthen parts of your outline that seem weak. A Final Outline will more closely reflect the actual structure of your finished paper.

Topic Outlines vs. Sentence Outlines A final outline can be written as a topic outline, in which you use only short phrases to suggest ideas, or as a sentence outline, in which you use full sentences (even very brief paragraphs) to show the development of ideas more fully.

The following sample of a topic outline is also taken from the 1994 MLA Handbook. Your ROUGH OUTLINE should look like this (no complete sentences)—also see Rough Outline Notes on Resources Page.

The Final Outline A Final Outline should enhance the organization and coherence of your research paper. Material that is not relevant to the purpose of your paper as revealed in your outline should be excised from the paper; if portions of your outline seem weak in comparison to others, more research may be required to create a sense of balance in your argument and presentation.