How to Create a Research Paper Outline Outline (or “How creating an effective Outline saved my life and lowered my cholesterol.” ). Compiled from the Purdue OWL website at

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.

Then: 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.

Sample Outline: Thesis: (Thesis statement goes here) I.Main heading A.Subheading a)Detail B.Subheading a)Detail b)Detail c)Detail II.Main heading A.Subheading a)Detail b)Detail B.Subheading C.Subheading

Sample Outline: Thesis: With the exception of Eastern European Jews, no group suffered more indignant persecution by the Nazis than homosexuals, who were tortured, striped of all their worldly possessions, and dehumanized in an orderly, state sponsored campaign. I.Nazi attitudes towards homosexuals A.History a)Contributions of homosexuals to German culture B.Acceptance in society C.Change in societal acceptance a)Germany prior to 1933 b)Germany after 1933 c)Crackdown on homosexuals II.Forms of persecution A.Physical abuse a)Beatings b)Torture B.Loss of material possessions C.Dehumanization

Remember: Include your final thesis statement at the top of your outline. You cannot have an “I” without a “II”, or an “A” without a “B”, etc. Main headings describe the topic, subheads describe the main headings, details describe the subheading, etc. Creating an outline before writing your paper will make organizing your thoughts a lot easier. Whether you follow the suggested guidelines is up to you, but making any kind of outline (even just jotting down some main ideas) will be beneficial to your writing process.

The End The End …or is it? Tune in next week for “Parenthetical citations: friend or foe?”