Fillable Printable Sample Outline Format

Sample Outline Format

JohnB.CadeLibrary

ReferenceDepartment(225)771‐2875

Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu



Createdby:M.Payne9/08

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How to write an Outline for a Paper

What is an outline?

Anoutlinecanbedefinedasanorganizationalplantohelpyoudraftapaper.Writingan

outlinebeforebeginningapaperisthemosteffectivewaytoorganizeyourthoughts.An

outlinebreaksdownthepartsofyourthesisinaclear,hierarchicalmannertohelpyouseethe

overallformatofyourpaper.

Remember:Thethreepartsofapaperincludedinyouroutlineare:anINTRODUCTION,aBODY,

andaCONCLUSION.

INTRODUCTION‐Stateyourthesisandthepurposeofyourresearchpaperclearly.Whatis

thechiefreasonyouarewritingthepaper?Statealsohowyouplantoapproachyourtopic.Is

thisafactualreport,abookreview,acomparison,orananalysisofaproblem?Explainbriefly

themajorpointsyouplantocoverinyourpaperandwhyreadersshouldbeinterestedinyour

topic.

BODY‐Thisiswhereyoupresentyourargumentstosupportyourthesisstatement.

RemembertheRuleof3,i.e.,find3supportingargumentsforeachpositionyoutake.Begin

withastrongargument,thenuseastrongerone,andendwithstrongestargumentforyour

finalpoint.

CONCLUSION-Restateorrewordyourthesis.Summarizeyourarguments.Explainwhyyou

havecometothisparticularconclusion.

What is a thesis statement?

Athesisstatementdeclareswhatyoubelieveandwhatyouintendtoprove.Agoodthesis

statementmakesthedifferencebetweenathoughtfulresearchprojectandasimpleretellingof

facts.

Agoodtentativethesiswillhelpyoufocusyoursearchforinformation.Butdon’trush!You

mustdoalotofbackgroundreadingbeforeyouknowenoughaboutasubjecttoidentifykeyor

essentialquestions.Youmaynotknowhowyoustandonanissueuntilyouhaveexaminedthe

evidence.Youwilllikelybeginyourresearchwithaworking,preliminaryortentativetheses

whichyouwillcontinueto

refineuntilyouarecertainofwheretheevidenceleads.

Thethesisstatementistypicallylocatedattheendofyouropeningparagraph.(Theopening

paragraphservestosetthecontextforthethesis.)

ReferenceDepartment(225)771‐2875

Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu



Createdby:M.Payne9/08



Remember,yourreaderwillbelookingforyourthesis.Makeitclear,strong,andeasytofind.

Sample idea for creating an outline for a paper

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I will create an outline that focuses on the life of Senator Barack Obama.

Howdoyoucreateanoutline?

Keepinmind:Ifyou’renotsurewhetheryouhaveagoodthesisstatement,seewhetheryou

canfityourideasintooneofthesebasicpatterns.

{Something}{Doessomething}because{reason(s)}

Example:

BarackObamamadeanearlycommitmenttoexcelinschoolinordertoachievehisgoalsinlife.

Forlongerpapers,thesisstatementscanbeverycomplex.

While{aspecific,namedperson}says{adirectquoteorparaphrasefromthesource},

{adifferent,namedperson}says{somethingelse}.

Whilethetwoauthorsdisagreeover{aminorpoint},theybothshareadeepconcernover{the

topicofyourpaper}.{Personone’s}refusaltoaccept{aparticularpointmadebypersontwo}

suggeststhat{personone}is{yourthesis—statingtherealreasonwhy

persononewon’tagree

withpersontwo}.



ReferenceDepartment(225)771‐2875

Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu



Createdby:M.Payne9/08



Sample Outline Format

TitleofOutline(Placetitleoftheoutlinehere)

(Example)TheLifeandcareerofBarackObama)

Thetopicofyour paperisimportant.Trytosumupthepointofyourpaperinonesentenceor

phrase.Identifyingthetopicwillfocusthemainpointofyourpaper.

I. Introduction‐(Briefcommentleadingintothesubjectmatter‐Thesisstatementonthe

subject)

Remember:Athesisstatement

tellsthereaderwhattoexpectfromtherestofthe

paper.

II. Body‐(Thebodycoverswhatyouwillcoverinyourpaper)

Example:BarackObama’sEarlyLife,Marriage,Works,RunforPresident.

A. EarlylifeinHonolulu,andIndonesia

1. BarackObama’sfamily

a) Barack’sfather

b) Barack’s

mother

2. BarackObama’smarriage

a) MichelleObama

b) BarackObama’schildren

B. BarackObama’sCareer

1. PoliticalCareer

a) CivilRightsLawyer

b) Communityorganizer

c) U.S.Senator

C. BarackObama’s2008PresidentialCampaignIssues

1. TheEconomy

a) TheAmericanOpportunityTaxCredit

b) SimplifyingtheFinancial AidProcess



III. Conclusion

A. Analyticalsummary

1. BarackObama’searlylife

2. BarackObama’scareer

3. BarackObama’s2008PresidentialCampaignIssues

B. Thesisreworded

C. Concludingstatement

ReferenceDepartment(225)771‐2875

Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu



Createdby:M.Payne9/08



Blank Sample Outline Format

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TitleofOutline

i. Maintopic

a. Importantsubtopic

b. Importantsubtopic

1. Detail

a. Sub‐detail

b. Sub‐detail

c. Sub‐detail

2. Detail

3. Detail

a. Sub‐detail

b. Sub‐detail

ii. MainTopic

a. Importantsubtopic

b. Importantsubtopic

1. Detail

2. Detail

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References

Obama,Barack.DreamsFromMyFather:AStoryofRaceandInheritance.NewYork:TimesBooks,1995.

Strunk,W.(2000).TheElementsofStyle.NewYork:Longman.



ReferenceDepartment(225)771‐2875

Website:http://www.lib.subr.edu



Createdby:M.Payne9/08



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