Fillable Printable Sample Outline Format

Sample Outline Format

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

ReferenceDepartment(225)771‐2875

Website://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://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://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

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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://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://www.lib.subr.edu



Createdby:M.Payne9/08



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