List all the ideas that come to mind (good or bad) and then look over the list you have made and group similar ideas together. Expand those lists by adding onto the list or by using another prewriting activity. [2] X Research source Freewriting. Write nonstop for about 5-10 minutes. Write whatever comes to mind and don’t edit yourself. When you are done, review what you have written and highlight or underline the most useful information. Repeat the freewriting exercise using this information as a starting point. You can repeat this exercise multiple times to continue to refine and develop your ideas. [3] X Research source Clustering. Write your subject down on the center of a piece of paper and circle it. Then draw three or more lines extending from the circle. At the end of each of the lines you have drawn, write down a new idea that corresponds to your main idea. Then draw three or more lines from each of those new ideas, and write ideas that corresponds to those ideas. Continue developing your cluster until you feel that you have explored as many connections as you can. [4] X Research source Questioning. On a piece of paper, write out “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Space the questions about two or three lines apart so that you can write your answers on these lines. Respond to each questions in as much detail as you can. This exercise will help develop your ideas and identify areas of your topic that you need to learn more about. [5] X Research source
Make sure your thesis is arguable. Do not state facts or matters of taste. For example, something like “George Washington was the first president of the United States,” would not be a good thesis because it states a fact. Likewise, “Die Hard is a great movie,” would not work because it expresses a matter of taste. [9] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC’s on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source Make sure your thesis provides enough detail. In other words, avoid simply saying that something is “good” or “effective” and say what specifically makes it “good” or “effective. “[10] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC’s on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc,) are used to mark each major heading or section. You will typically have three for an essay outline: one for your introduction, one for your body, and one for your conclusion. Capitalized letters (A,B,C, etc. ) mark each primary point within a major section. Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc. ) are used to flesh out primary points. Lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc. ) are used if further detail is still required.
A decimal outline begins with “1. 0” and other sections will begin with different numbers (2, 3, 4, etc. ). Therefore, the first section would read “1. 0,” the second would read “2. 0,” and the third would read “3. 0. " The number after the decimal point changes when new information is presented. For instance, under the “1. 0” section, you would expect to see “1. 1,” “1. 2,” and so on. Further subsections can be added by adding another decimal, followed by a number that corresponds to the new information. For instance, under the first “1. 1” section, you might find “1. 1. 1,” “1. 1. 2,” and “1. 1. 3” labels.
For example, if section I of your outline begins with something like “buying a new book,” then section two should begin with a similarly structured phrase. Something like “reading my new book” would be appropriate whereas “read my new book” would not be appropriate.
For example, if you are writing a narrative essay about discovering and reading your favorite book and the first section of your outline is titled “Hearing about the book,” then “Checking the book out of the library” and “Reading the book” would be appropriate titles for the other sections of your essay outline. These outline section titles feature information that is as important as the first section title. However, titling a section something like “went to my room and closed the door” would not be appropriate. This line would work better as a subsection under “Reading the book. ”
For example, under the section heading “Hearing about the book,” you might also include subsections called “talking to my best friend,” “listening to the radio on my way to school” and “browsing the internet for new book ideas. ” Beneath each of these subsections you would provide additional sub-subsections to break down the information that you will need to include in each of these subsections.
Under the first sub-point, write a sentence that introduces the essay topic while also grabbing the reader’s attention. A shocking fact or anecdote is a great way to start. The second sub-point should describe the topic, history of the issue, background, or problem being explored. Keep this section brief, but include the information that your readers will need to know in order to understand your paper. The final sub-point should be your thesis statement. State the idea or argument that you plan to discuss in your essay.
Do not label each point as “main point. " Instead, directly write out the point being explored. Under each main point, you should write supporting evidence to back the point up. Give each piece of supporting evidence its own line and sub-section. Then, write out an explanation analyzing the evidence and showing how it supports your claims. If desired, you could also include a sentence that transitions into your next major point at the end of each “main idea” section. This is not strictly necessary, though.
Restate your thesis first. Do not copy your original thesis statement word-for-word. Instead, restate the idea, but rephrase it in a new way. Make a concluding statement. A concluding statement will usually discuss the implications of the thesis, propose solutions to problems addressed in the essay, or explain the importance of the thesis to something outside of the range of the essay.
