An essay outline denotes how you’ll structure your paper. You can (and should!) make changes along the way. But you want to get everything written down so that you can refer to the outline while you’re writing your rough draft. If you start out with a good idea of how your paper will function and transition between ideas and paragraphs, then you’ll stay on track and avoid writing · An essay outline example: Choosing the best structure. When choosing the most fitting structure for your academic paper, it’s necessary to stick to the norms and guides offered by your professor. Fortunately, most types of essays have a classical structure, so you don’t need to have your head-dizzying when creating a well-designed outline. In case you are looking for polished skeletal For research papers, an outline may help you keep track of large amounts of information. For creative writing, an outline may help organize the various plot threads and help keep track of character traits. Many people find that organizing an oral report or presentation in outline form helps them speak more effectively in front of a crowd. Below are the primary reasons for creating an outline
How to Write an Essay Outline (Complete Step by Step Guide & Sample)
Your Browser is out of date and is outline of an essay supported by this website. Please upgrade to FirefoxChromeor Microsoft Edge. The best time to think about how to organize your paper is outline of an essay the pre-writing stage, not the writing or revising stage. A well-thought-out plan can save you from having to do a lot of reorganizing when the first draft is completed.
Moreover, it allows you to pay more attention to sentence-level issues when you sit down to write your paper. When you begin planning, ask the following questions: What type of essay am I going to be writing? Does it belong to a specific genre? In university, you may be asked to write, say, a book review, a lab report, a document study or a compare-and-contrast essay.
Knowing the patterns of reasoning associated with a genre can help you to structure your essay. For example, book reviews typically begin with a summary of the book you're reviewing. They then often move on to a critical discussion of the book's strengths and weaknesses. They may conclude with an overall assessment of the value of the book. These typical features of a book review lead you to consider dividing your outline into three parts: 1 summary; 2 discussion of strengths and weaknesses; 3 overall evaluation.
The second and most substantial part will likely break down into two sub-parts. It is up to you to decide the order of the two sub-parts—whether to analyze strengths or weaknesses first. And, of course, it will be up to you to come up with actual strengths and weaknesses.
Be aware that genres are not fixed. Different professors will define the features of a genre differently. Read the assignment question carefully for guidance. Understanding genre can take you only so far. Most university essays are argumentative, and there is no set pattern for the shape of an argumentative essay.
The simple three-point essay taught in high school is far too restrictive for the complexities of most university assignments. You must be ready to come up with whatever essay structure helps you to convince your reader of the validity of your position. In other words, you must be flexible and you must rely on your wits. Each essay presents a fresh problem. Though there are no easy formulas for generating an outline, you can avoid one of the most common pitfalls in student papers by remembering this simple principle: the structure of an essay should not be determined by the structure of its source material.
For example, an essay on a historical period should not necessarily follow the chronology of events from that period. Similarly, a well-constructed essay about a literary work does not usually progress in parallel with the plot.
Your obligation is to advance your argument, not to reproduce the plot. If your essay is not well structured, then its overall weaknesses will show through in the individual paragraphs. Consider the following two paragraphs from two different English essays, both arguing that despite Hamlet's highly developed moral nature he becomes morally compromised in the course of the play:.
a In Act 3, Scene 4, Polonius hides behind an arras in Gertrude's chamber in order to spy on Hamlet at the bidding of the king. Detecting something stirring, Hamlet draws his sword and kills Polonius, thinking he has killed Claudius. Gertrude exclaims, "O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!
Now Hamlet has blood on his hands, and the blood of the wrong person. But rather than engage in self-criticism, Hamlet immediately turns his mother's words against her: "A bloody deed -- almost as bad, good Mother, as kill a king, outline of an essay, and marry with his brother" One of Hamlet's most serious shortcomings is his unfair treatment of women, outline of an essay.
He often accuses them of sins they could not have committed. It is doubtful that Gertrude even knows Claudius killed her previous husband. Hamlet goes on to ask Gertrude to compare the image of the two kings, old Hamlet and Claudius. In Hamlet's words, old Hamlet has "Hyperion's curls," the front of Jove," and "an eye like Mars" Despite Hamlet's unfair treatment of women, outline of an essay, he is motivated by one of his better qualities: his idealism.
b One of Hamlet's most serious moral shortcomings is his unfair treatment of women. In Act 3, Scene 1, he denies to Ophelia ever having expressed his love for her, using his feigned madness as cover for his cruelty. Though his rantings may be an act, they cannot hide his obsessive anger at one particular outline of an essay his mother.
Outline of an essay counsels Ophelia to "marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them"thus blaming her in advance for the sin of adultery. The logic is plain: if Hamlet's mother made a cuckold out of Hamlet's father, then all women are capable of doing the same and therefore share the blame, outline of an essay.
The fact that Gertrude's hasty remarriage does not actually constitute adultery only underscores Hamlet's outline of an essay to find in women faults that do not exist.
In Act 3, Scene 4, he goes as far as to suggest that Gertrude shared responsibility in the murder of Hamlet's father By condemning women for actions they did not commit, Hamlet is doing just what he accuses Guildenstern of doing to him: he is plucking out the "heart" of their "mystery" 3. The second of these two paragraphs is much stronger, largely because it is not plot-driven. It makes a well-defined point about Hamlet's moral nature and sticks to that point throughout the paragraph.
Notice that the paragraph jumps from one scene to another as is necessary, but the logic of the argument moves along a steady path. At any given point in your essays, you will want to leave yourself free to go wherever you need to in your source material.
Your only obligation is to further your argument. Paragraph a sticks closely to the narrative thread of Act 3, Scene 4, and, as a result, the paragraph makes outline of an essay different points with no clear focus. Most essay outlines will never be handed in. They are meant to serve you and no one else. Occasionally, your professor will ask you to hand in an outline weeks prior to handing in your paper. Usually, the point is to ensure that outline of an essay are on the right track.
Nevertheless, when you produce your outline, you should follow certain basic principles. Here is an example of an outline for an essay on Hamlet :, outline of an essay. Thesis: Despite Hamlet's highly developed moral nature, he becomes morally compromised while delaying his revenge.
This is an example of a sentence outline. Another kind of outline is the topic outline. It consists of fragments rather than full sentences. Topic outlines are more open-ended than sentence outlines: they leave much of the working out of the argument for the writing stage. The earlier you begin planning, outline of an essay, the better. It is usually a mistake to do all of your research and note-taking before beginning to draw up an outline.
Of course, you will have to do some reading and weighing of evidence before you outline of an essay to plan. But as a potential argument begins to take shape in your mind, you may start to formalize your thoughts in the form of a tentative plan.
You will be much more efficient in your reading and your research if you have some idea of where your argument is headed. You can then search for evidence for the points in your tentative plan outline of an essay you are reading and researching. As you gather evidence, those points that still lack evidence should guide you in your research. Remember, though, that your plan may need to be modified as you critically evaluate your evidence.
Though convenient, the common method of jotting down your notes consecutively on paper is far from ideal. The problem is that your points remain fixed on paper. Here are three alternatives that provide greater flexibility:. When you are researching, write down every idea, fact, quotation or paraphrase on a separate index card.
Small 5" by 3" cards are easiest to work with. When you've collected all your cards, reshuffle them into the best possible order, and you have an outline, though you will undoubtedly want to reduce this outline to the essential points should you transcribe it to paper. A useful alternative involves using both white and coloured cards. When you come up with a point that you think may be one of the main points in your outline, write it at the top of a coloured card.
Put each supporting note on a separate white card, using as much of the card as necessary. When you feel ready, arrange the coloured cards into a workable plan. Some of the points may not fit in. If so, either modify the plan or leave these points out. You may need to fill gaps by creating new cards. You can shuffle your supporting material into the plan by placing each of the white cards behind the outline of an essay it helps support, outline of an essay.
A different way of moving your notes around is to use the computer. You can collect your points consecutively, just as you would on paper, outline of an essay. You can then sort your ideas when you are ready to start planning. Take advantage of "outline view" in Word, which outline of an essay it easy for you to arrange your points hierarchically. This method is fine so long as you don't mind being tied to your computer from the first stage of the writing process to the last.
Some people prefer to keep their planning low-tech. This method is designed to get your ideas onto a single page, where you can see them all at once. When you have an idea, write it down on paper and draw a circle around it. When you have an idea which supports another idea, do the same, but connect the two circles with a line. Supporting source material can be represented concisely by a page reference inside a circle.
How to Create a Clearly Structured Essay Outline - Scribbr ��
, time: 3:54How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples
Most essay outlines will never be handed in. They are meant to serve you and no one else. Occasionally, your professor will ask you to hand in an outline weeks prior to handing in your paper. Usually, the point is to ensure that you are on the right track. Nevertheless, when you produce your outline, you should follow certain basic principles. Here is an example of an outline for an essay on · An essay outline example: Choosing the best structure. When choosing the most fitting structure for your academic paper, it’s necessary to stick to the norms and guides offered by your professor. Fortunately, most types of essays have a classical structure, so you don’t need to have your head-dizzying when creating a well-designed outline. In case you are looking for polished skeletal An essay outline denotes how you’ll structure your paper. You can (and should!) make changes along the way. But you want to get everything written down so that you can refer to the outline while you’re writing your rough draft. If you start out with a good idea of how your paper will function and transition between ideas and paragraphs, then you’ll stay on track and avoid writing
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