You have your topic and have a killer thesis statement. Now what?
Now it is time to organize your paper and get your notes and thoughts in order. An outline can help you do just that.
What is an Outline?
Think of your outline as a map of your paper. Your outline will help organize your paper and flesh out all the points and ideas that you wish to convey. It can even help you develop your thesis. To write your outline, you need to follow a specific structure. The main points (such as your thesis and each paragraph) are numbered by Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). Any sub points that fall under each main topic is lettered with an uppercase letter (A, B, C, etc.). Sub points below that are numbered (1, 2, 3, etc.) and sub points below that are lettered in lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). Each tier of sub points is indented.
Your outline will help you easily move (transition) from one point or idea from another. It will help you articulate your ideas and make your paper flow more smoothly.
Writing an Outline
Any written work can benefit from an outline. While short essays may not find it as necessary to have an outline as long essays do, it can help any written work maintain coherence and order. It is a good practice to create and outline anytime you write, whether it is an academic paper for science, a speech for competition or an essay for a creative writing project. It is very easy and makes writing your paper so much easier! The cool thing is that once you learn how to create an outline you will remember the steps and each time it will be easier. Eventually, you will wonder how you ever wrote without creating an outline first.
Research
When you begin creating your outline, you should at least have done enough research to know where you are going with your paper. That is not to say that you won’t change your slant or focus once you delve deeper into your research, but you at least need to have an idea of your topic and some broad main points that you want to cover. You may even have the beginnings of a thesis and you can expand from there. Once you have some basic info, you can fill in the blanks as you continue your research.
Another option is to do all of your research and then create your outline. This may cause some complications if, through the course of writing your outline, you decide to take your paper in another direction. However, if you are set on a topic and focus, it should be fairly simple to complete all of your research first.
Organize
Write your thesis, if you have not already. During this time you need to organize you paper by deciding who your audience will be and deciding on the purpose of your paper. You want to write to your audience. For instance, if you are writing to teens, you don’t want to write in the same way that you would write for doctors or lawyers.
Once you have determined these things, you can decide what you need to include in your paper and what you can leave out. You need to know the purpose of your paper so you will know what to include in your outline and paper.
Structure
There are several ways to structure an outline. If it is an assignment for an academic paper, your instructor may have specific instructions for creating it. The entries in the main headers for the outline may be a word, short phrase or a complete sentence. Each sub topic beneath the main headings, or topics, may follow the same. The main thing is to keep the structure consistent throughout the outline, particularly if you are submitting it with your paper.
Begin by selecting your main topics or headers. The first, “I,” is, of course, your thesis. The next will be a main point and so on. For the most part, the outline details what is in the body of your paper. The body of the paper is where the supporting information for the thesis is maintained.
Put your main heading or topics in an order that is logical and easy to follow. Follow the headings or topics with sub topics. Then you can write your paper from your outline. Once you have completed your outline, all you have to do is “fill in” information and transition phrases. All of your main points will already be there, you only have to tie it all together.
Final Touches
Your thesis statement should be the first category (introduction) and you should reword your thesis (restate your thesis) in the conclusion. If you have trouble deciding which topic should be, think about the logical order of the information. If the information explains a topic or heading that you have already listed, then it probably needs to go under that topic.
When you are labeling each topic or category under the main headings, you must have at least two entries, preferably three. In other words, under “I” you need an “A” and a “B,” preferable a “C” as well. This should go for each sub topics as well. In each sub topic you need at least two entries.
As you are creating your outline, remember that each new or different idea needs to be in its own division. If the idea is completely different, it should have its own category. If it is different, but fits under one of the larger headings, you may put it there. Once you begin creating outlines, it will become easier. You will see how the topics and sub topics seem to naturally fall into place.
As with anything, practice makes perfect. Creating outlines is no different. Once you have practiced making outlines a few times, it will begin to come naturally. You can use your note cards and notes from your research to pull your outline together. Just keep working and practicing.
